Talk:Santa Monica (Everclear song)

Song meaning

This translation is just not correct, one read of the lyrics and it is clear that it is not about suicide, but about new beginnings. Further more, the song writer addresses his intentions in the following quotes:

"I'm using a place where I grew up and palm trees as iconic references. It's what I grew up with. I grew up in a seaside town called Santa Monica, which is like L.A. but on the coast. I've lived in cold places and been in bad relationships, and I think everybody has a place in their mind that is like a safe haven. It's also about getting away from bad times... the ending of something is also the beginning of something new, whether it's with someone or getting out of a bad job, a bad way of life or an abusive relationship.

In the Eastern way of looking at things, 'Chaos' doesn't necessarily mean no boundaries, it means new beginnings. It's kind of one and the same, something that never ends. It's about getting to a point where you can leave bad things behind and just be self sufficient. There's a sense of romance about it. I feel like that very much now, but I was just getting to where I understood that when I wrote that song."

(emphasis added)

SF: Did you know it was going to be a hit?

Art: I didn't know it was going to be a hit, I don't think like that. I do know that when I played it for people, they liked it, but you can't write songs with that in mind.

This interview can be found at the following link: http://www.songfacts.com/int/2008/01/art-alexakis-everclear.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.141.24.7 (talk) 03:27, 6 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've heard people insist that the song is about suicide, and if you look at the fact that Alexakis has been pretty open about his troubled youth and his own suicide attempt by jumping off the Santa Monica pier, it's easy to assume that the song could be autobiographical. But like a lot of great songs (and this is definitely a great song, I still get goosebumps when I hear it) or other works of art, there are multiple possibilities as to its true meaning. I've edited the article to hopefully reflect that and renewed the old fact cite tag, so if somebody else can find a source for that claim, please add it. Zephyrnthesky (talk) 01:36, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Band Hero

The song is available in Band Hero —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.92.0.57 (talk) 04:26, 7 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]