Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins are one of my all time favorite bands. In the early nineties they basically shaped my taste in music in terms of opening me up to the whole grunge rock scene. It wasn't Nirvana for me. It was Billy Corgan and his band The Smashing Pumpkins. To me Corgan is one of the greatest musicians of the grunge/rock era. He is what I would describe as an artist. Every album they have released has been something of an evolution.

With their third studio album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness they released their most ambitious work. The two disc epic that housed twenty eight tracks and went onto sell what many have opinions about but it's been estimated at around eighteen million copies.

The album for me and my choices will be a big one as it was so hard to choose just three off this epic album. My choices involve four songs from the album. I had to narrow it down to my four favorites and they all display my favorite lyrics on the album as well. Two of the lyrical choices are singles that were released to the public. My other two choices are two of what I think of as the most personal songs on the album.

I guess I can relate to those two personal songs in terms of lyrical content much more then any of the other songs on the album. Still I hope you enjoy my choices and let me know if you guys agree or what your favorite lyrics off Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness are as I'd love to hear some other peoples opinions on their choices.


SINGLES


TONIGHT, TONIGHT

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave
Without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel

Believe, believe in me, believe
That life can change
That you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, We're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight

And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you help yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade in your city by the lake
The place where you were born

Believe, believe in me, believe
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight

We'll crucify the insincere tonight
We'll make things right
We'll feel it all tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight
The indescribable moments of your life tonight
The impossible is possible tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight


BULLET WITH BUTTEFLY WINGS

The world is a vampire, sent to drain
Secret destroyers, hold you up to the flames
And what do I get, for my pain?
Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game

Even though I know, I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold, like old job

Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage

Now I'm naked, nothing but an animal
But can you fake it, for just one more show?
And what do you want?
I want to change
And what have you got, When you feel the same?

Even though I know, I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold, like old job

Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was the only son, yeah
Tell me I'm the chosen one
Jesus was the only son for you

Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage
And someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage

Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a
Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was the only son for you

And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved


PERSONAL


TO FORGIVE

Ten times removed
I forget about where it all began
Bastard son of a bastard son of
A wild eyed child of the sun
And right as rain, I'm not the same but
I feel the same, I feel nothing

Holding back the fool again
Holding back the fool pretends
I forget to forget nothing is important
Holding back the fool again

I sensed my loss
Before I even learned to talk
And I remember my birthdays
Empty party afternoons wont come back

Holding back the fool again
Holding back the fool pretends
I forget to forget nothing is important
Holding back the fool again
I forget to forget me
I forget to forget you see
Nothing is important to me

I knew my loss
Before I ever learned to speak
And all along, I knew it was wrong
But I played along, With my birthday song

Holding back the fool again
Holding back the fool pretends
I forget to forget nothing is important
Holding back the fool again


THIRTY-THREE

Speak to me in a language I can hear
Humour me before I have to go
Deep in thought I forgive everyone
As the cluttered streets greet me once again
I know I can't be late
Supper's waiting on the table
Tomorrow's just an excuse away
So I pull up my collar and face the cold, on my own
The earth laughs beneath my heavy feet
At the blasphemy in my old jangly walk
Steeple guide me to my heart and home
The sun is out and up and down again
I know I'll make it, love can last forever
Graceful swans of never topple to the earth
And you can make it last, forever you
You can make it last, forever you
And for a moment I lose myself
Wrapped in the pleasures of the world
I've journeyed here and there and back again
But in the same old haunts I still find my friends
Mysteries not ready to reveal
Sympathies I'm ready to return
I'll make the effort, love can last forever
Graceful swans of never topple to the earth
Tomorrow's just an excuse
And you can make it last, forever you
You can make it last, forever you