My Interpretation

I tried writing a beautiful and succinct paragraph that would explain this post to you, but it failed miserably.  So instead, here is a little dialogue scenario that makes more sense:

(after watching Nemo)
You: Oh my goodness gracious I just watched an adorable movie about a little fish who gets separated from his overbearing father and winds up in Sydney, Australia and it was so cute!
Other person: Nemo?
Y: Yes!
OP:  Well obviously you were watching with a blindfold and earplugs, that's not at all the story of Nemo.
Y: Uhm... so it's not about parents learning to have more faith in their child?
OP: Nope.
Y: It's not about making friends or doing things that scare you so you can achieve success?
OP: Nope.
Y:  Then what the heck is it about?
OP: Well obviously it's about the greed of the government corrupting disabled children who are strung out on methamphetamines.
Y: .........


Everyone has been through this situation at some point or another.  Well, okay, maybe it wasn't this extreme, but you get the point.  Books, movies, art, music-- anything that is a form of artistic human expression is put out there for people to experience and interpret as it makes sense to them.  But the way people experience these things always varies in at least one way, and sometimes there are absolutely no similarities between what you learn when you read 1984 compared to what your friend learns.  I was thinking about this today, and it is for this reason that I decided to interpret Florence's "Shake It Out" for y'all.

Lyrics:
"Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play"

Interpretation:

This is setting up the stage for her story.  In the first two lines, the person in the song is     reflecting on their life and realizing all the mistakes they've made.  They're in a dark place, and "can see no way" so they turn to bad choices, which is when "all of the ghouls come out to play".

Lyrics:
"And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn"

Interpretation:

See, at first listen  one might think that the demon is just your standard old hide-under-the-bed-and-niblle-your-toes kinda thing, but nope.  Actually, this is line part where we realize that the girl in this song is a stripper.  The demon is a customer that wants more than just a good show, he wants "his pound of flesh".  The girl tells herself "it's always darkest before the dawn" in hopes of cheering herself up, because her life sucks.

Lyrics:"And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around"

Interpretation:

The girl is owning up to her bad choices, realizing that she's "been a fool and been blind"  but she knows that she's stuck with those choices now, hence the "I can never leave the past behind".  She still feels like there's no hope for a better lifestyle though, and she "can see no way", so she's resigned to live like she's been doing.  The horse she drags around with her is her guilt at her lifestyle.

Lyrics:
"All of these questions, such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues drawn
But it's always darkest before the dawn"

Interpretation:

"These questions" are the ones asked by her parents and family members, who of course don't know about her predicament.  However, she's decided that she's not ashamed of what she does, so she is going to bury her guilt, dump that horse carcass and tell her family.  Yeah, she's terrified that they'll judge her, but like she said; "it's always darkest before the dawn". 

Lyrics:"Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa"

Interpretation:

Now that this girl has accepted her profession, she can "shake it out" without feeling bad.  Florence tells her "it's hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off", meaning that the girl needs to forget what her parents tell her about burning in Hell, forget the devil, shake him off so you can shake it for the money!

Lyrics:
"And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my rope
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat
Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me"

Interpretation:

She knows that no matter which way she chooses, she's pretty much screwed, so why no have some fun and get wasted?  She already tried "looking for heaven" but it wasn't working out so well for her.  She's happy with herself at last, and it can't be better said than this: "Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me".

No longer is this song merely a song about self confidence anymore.  It is, but on a much deeper and profound level.  Now that I've bored you with that, however, I will leave you.  Enjoy my loveys, and I wanna hear what things you can interpret for me!