nma songs that have personal meaning

[Pol]

We all have different nma songs that have personal meanings to each of us. Some have been shared in various posts before.
I'm going to nominate the song ' No Pain' for me this always reminds of the loss of people who were very close, most notably my parents and my big mate Sean who was a big nma fan himself. When the song is played live it is always a extremely emotional moment and I like to raise both hands in air and point to heavens and remember them

[Master Ray]

For me, it's always Modern Times...

It seems strange to write about these things now
but the time has probably come when we should
accept whatever is past and gone and never will return.
Looking back to the beginning
I see a flood of painful memories
and the bitter hurt and wounded pride that comes with our defeat
We set out with our heads held high,
so sure our ground, our righteousness,
the new Jerusalem to be built with love and guts and truth
But in the end we surrendered easily.
It's no use pretending otherwise . . .
well most of us had a little something to lose, enough to break our nerve.
Well, some of us made an easy peace and moved into the Brave New World;
it's hard for the true believers to look back now and realise
that for many of the crowd it was just the fashion, the cause of the moment,
well we if anyone should know that you can look pretty dumb
standing in last year's clothes.
And some of us, shell-shocked still, ran for shelter and do the rituals
the same old way pretending that someone out there cares
And some of us live in the modern world.
We give unto Caesar what is due
and harbour the bitterness of defeat and daydreams of revenge.
Now nothing you see out there is real,
It matters not what you believe in.
It matters less what you say but only what you are.
It matters what you are. It matters what you are.

[Anna Woman von NRW]

Kinda guessed on Saturday night down the front there that that one was special to you.

I think that's quite a brave post dude - fair play x

Mine will always be Today Is A Good Day. My thread says it all as does the ink going up the leg over the back and down the other leg. It's not an exaggeration to say that that song was one of the important rocks that held me afloat during the worst 3 weeks of my life.

Beyond that there's loads that resonate deeply because they hit something inside (the list could go on an on...), somehow a connection is there and it's Yes - that's exactly how it feels. Thank you so much 

On one level, music is just that - music. On another, sometimes it's an important part of our lives.

Contrary to what the wider world might believe there is no agenda with NMA, there's no prescriptive attitude it's just how stuff FEELS Allied to that is this misconception about it all being grim northern grey skies bollox, It's just not true. I never understood how the joy, compassion and love got missed along the way, maybe itr's because it's expressed so passionately people mistake it for aggressiveness?

Last of my fracking nonsense, have to say Bad Old World is very close behind TIAGD 

[Amandistan]

Dawn- When my mind goes in that dark, frightening place, I find it comforting. Plus i really relate to it as it's about a man who tried to commit suicide. I had a similar experience when younger. I also failed at ending my own life and found natural things such as trees and bodies of water to made life more bearable. Actually i am beginning to feel similar again and it's comforting. It starts with sadness and then  "There's no way back from this spiral." He got the feeling of hopelessness correct in his lyrics.

Family Life as Well. It reminds me of how i feel about my family and painful it is.  nothing is ever good enough for them and I will never live up to their expectations. I heard it a few times live and completely cried as it made me think about my dad an how he treated me as a kid. All i ever wanted was for him to hug and show that he cares, offer some comfort and encourage me. Instead i got him shouting at me and calling me names when i fell or got hurt as a small child. I am still desperate for love and in search of a new father until i get that. Therefore Family life means a lot.

Bad Old world as well for me too. It is very comforting. It gives you the illusion that someone is there to support you. Even it it is just in a song.

 and High. As i find nature and being in a high position comforting. Sometimes i wish i could just stay there and not ever come back.

Sorry for sharing such dark stories. That is just the personal meaning they have.

[Rusco]

Bad Old world as well for me too. It is very comforting. It gives you the illusion that someone is there to support you. Even it it is just in a song.

Bad Old World for me too. I see the lyrics containing some meaning with being 'active' and fightining for a better world, which isn't bad of course but... I used to be so-called activist and hanged around with those folks (and friends). But I've found I'm not an "organisational" person. It's just personal feeling with the song.

On the other hand, it's the last song on Navigating by The Stars and it's meanings. They're very dark there you know. Without explaining it further - some years ago there were quite nasty headlines on a newspaper and I, as a deep-hearted person entered to think deeper philosophies about morality within people who are up to some cause and later on end to some terrible solution as total contrary to their earlier beliefs. I maybe should not say this but I've been always, always on behalf of idea that never turn against what's moral; never turn to human hater if you know what I mean. The grade of life and living matters always more... Oh there I go again I shut up now...

[huwcamden]

Bad old world 4 sure, shame it never gets played live anymore.

[Guillaume]

Sometimes i think that people relate more to the melancholic side of NMA's lyrics than on their most optimistic tunes, but maybe i am wrong!
"Between dog and wolf" was a rather melancholic, downbeat album i think.

Some songs and lyrics that have a kind of personal meaning for me, at least i can empathize with their content and Justin's lyrics stick in my soul!

"225": modern life that sometimes is boring, Technology evolving too fastly for us, poor human beings!
"Green and grey": lost friends
"Ballad of bodmin pill": "What i am going to do with my life?"
"Family": "Swimming alone against this tide" "and now she's gone with someone else..."
 "Ghost of your father"
"Headlights": "the past is close behind..."
"Someone like Jesus": "there's always something in the corner of our lives that we cannot quite see" 
"Falling": "This fear you carry with you is not of your own making...let it go"
"Sentry": "Only the seasons change..."
"Home": "These things that destroy are inside ourselves..."
"One bullet": "I think of her sometimes, when i'm on my own...i'm sorry now but you can't go back, i was wrong and i have paid, carry it with me for the rest of my days"
"High"! "All these things your fear so much depend on angles of vision"
"Peace is only": "Peace is only for the dead and the dying!" 
"March in September": "ain't it always the ones who want to be saved that do all the saving"
"I need more time": well, most of the lyrics!
"Tales of the road": WE ALL WANT WHAT WE CANNOT HAVE! 

I can somewhat feel some things in new songs like "Devil's bargain" and "Happy to be here" but i'm not sure if what i feel from these songs are my own feelings, ideas or the precise content of the songs...

[Shush]

Waiting

Always strikes a cord with me. Aren't we always waiting. At school we were waiting for the next half term, on the dole you are waiting for giro day, at work you are waiting for the holiday you booked off, on Monday you are waiting for Friday whatever your situation is. What are we waiting for ? Happiness, things to be good the way you hoped they would be, but nothing ever happens, nothing ever happens.

Most personal line, Down at the bus station, doing time.. I am one of the few of us that never learned to drive. I must have wasted 2-3 years of my life at bus stations, bus stops waiting to get to places I didn't even want to go to.

God, that sounds sad.

Appy Christmas   

[Bunny]

Modern Times- for me personally relates to bitterness and anger at being a bit different in thought to a lot of people I know, which is kinda not the songs intent but some lyrics reflect that to me.

Bad Old World is a song of hope. Not ashamed to admit it but travelling to see the good lady in hospital the day after the birth of my second son, I had this song on and nearly started blubbing after all the worry of the day before. So for me, its the hope for my son. Fairly confident JS hadnt got that in mind when he had his pen. 

[Belza]

For me that has always been the strength of NMA and what has continued to draw me to them.  Almost every song resonates with me and feels so personal, like someone was writing a soundtrack to my life.  I find it amazing that so many of us can listen to their lyrics and find so many different meanings within them.  Always delivered with so much passion and often spine tingling beauty.

[jackroadkill]

Difficult for me to choose, but One Bullet, High, Green And Grey, Drummyb (Billy McCann version), My Country and The Hunt all have a special place in my heart due to their impact on me at various times in my life and the feelings they inspire in me.

[Amandistan]

For me that has always been the strength of NMA and what has continued to draw me to them.  Almost every song resonates with me and feels so personal, like someone was writing a soundtrack to my life.  I find it amazing that so many of us can listen to their lyrics and find so many different meanings within them.  Always delivered with so much passion and often spine tingling beauty.

You have summed it up perfectly here. 

[rick a.]

Orange tree roads has "spoken" to me since the first time I heard it. It seems to be about the changes we all go through in life and I just love it.

[Willard]

Orange tree roads has "spoken" to me since the first time I heard it. It seems to be about the changes we all go through in life and I just love it.

It's just the best.  I used to sing it to my daughter as a lullaby.

[sozbot]

Orange Tree Roads for me, too. While my life is comparably settled now, it hasn't always been this way, and I especially relate to the shedding of the old skin! It reminds me that the past is past, and it doesn't have to impact on your future and especially your future self unless you want it to.

Green and Grey, because I am a long way from where I came from.

No Greater Love, because I really feel like my life's been saved, too.