Archive for the 'Music and Lyrics' Category

Jan 27

Fiction

2 comments - Post a comment

This is Chelsea’s tattoo.

“Written down here, gentle reader
It seems too good to be true
But there’s a girl in Kansas City
With my favourite tattoo
Oh why would I lie to you?
This was in another century
Somewhere near the summer’s end
The fahrenheit was frightening
I was awake the whole weekend
Invited to a barbecue
I found refuge in the kitchen
Discussing post-war US literature
With a girl whose upper arm read “
fiction
Like it might have been typewritten
I asked her its significance
She said she sometimes took reminding
What she wanted to be doing
Whether reading it or writing”

- “Fiction” by The Lucksmiths

Tags: ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (83 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

IMG_0115

Isadora explains her tattoo:

my tattoo has multiple meanings.. ‘Until I Find You‘ is the title of a book by John Irving, a book that made me understand a lot of things about myself, and it basically is a physical manifestation/visual representation of my broken heart (how sad!), I am not one to talk about things so I think my tattoo says all that i don’t say. ‘Clair de Lune’ is there because it is to me the most beautiful piece of music in the world (Debussy), and the dove is the holy spirit, taken from the main stained glass window in St. Peters (rome) and designed by Bernini. All three of my tattoos make me remember that there is and will be beauty in life.

Tags: , , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (43 votes, average: 3.05 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Oct 02

if i had wings

5 comments - Post a comment

This is Hannah’s tattoo:

It’s from a Peter, Paul & Mary song that we sing at the camp I went to for 10 years, which meant a lot by itself, but I also love the word ‘if’ and its possibilities.

DSCF0051
“If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, no one asks why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.
Yesterday’s eyes see their colors fading away
They see their sun turning to grey
You can’t share in a dream, that you don’t believe in
If you say that you see and pretend to be me
You won’t be then.
How can you ask if I’m happy goin’ my way?
You might as well ask a child at play!
There’s no need to discuss or understand me
I won’t ask of myself to become something else
I’ll just be me!
If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, and no one asks her why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.”

“If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, no one asks why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.

Yesterday’s eyes see their colors fading away
They see their sun turning to grey
You can’t share in a dream, that you don’t believe in
If you say that you see and pretend to be me
You won’t be then.

How can you ask if I’m happy goin’ my way?
You might as well ask a child at play!
There’s no need to discuss or understand me
I won’t ask of myself to become something else
I’ll just be me!

If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, and no one asks her why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.”

- “If I Had Wings” by Peter, Paul & Mary

Tags: ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (43 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Aug 19

Defy Gravity

3 comments - Post a comment

defy gravity tattoo

This is Kat’s tattoo:

It says “Defy Gravity” and is from the play Wicked. I actually just saw the show for the first time recently, but I fell in love with it instantly. The showstopping number “Defying Gravity” was not only a highlight of the play for me, but its message of empowerment really spoke to me. I wanted the tattoo from the moment the show let out, as a reminder to just go for it in life and not let anyone or anything hold me down :)

Wicked (songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman) is based on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.

Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (55 votes, average: 2.71 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Tattoo

Tattoo_new

“But we’re older now and oh, we’re ever hopeful:
I’ve got a feeling that the dash is going to make up for the trouble.
Now it’s roaring noon and it’s a celebration,
And we gallop through the city, you’re the chief investigator.”

“But we’re older now and oh, we’re ever hopeful:
I’ve got a feeling that the dash is going to make up for the trouble.
Now it’s roaring noon and it’s a celebration,
And we gallop through the city, you’re the chief investigator.”

- Excerpt from the song Excellent News, Colonel by Bound Stems.

This tattoo is on Christin from Atlanta, GA.

Tags:
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (54 votes, average: 3.46 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Serra‘s tattoo.

P3081666

P3081667

The useless drag of another day
The endless drags of a death rock boy
Mascara sure and lipstick lost
Glitter burned by restless thoughts of being forgotten
And in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Desperate and displeased-with whoever you are
And your a star
Somwhere-he pulls his hair down-over a frowning smile
A hidden diamond you cannot find
A secret star that cannot shine over to you
May the king of gloom, be forever doomed
And in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Burning up in speed
Lost inside the dreams, of teen machines
The useless drags, the empty days
The lonely towers of long mistakes
To forgotten faces and faded loves
Sitting still was never enough
And if you’re giving in, then your giving up
Cause in your sad machines
You’ll forever stay
Burning up in speed
Lost inside the dreams of teen machines

- Here Is No Why by The Smashing Pumpkins

Tags:
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (44 votes, average: 3.45 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

tomwaits1

tomwaits2

And I wish you’d a-known her, we were quite a pair
She was sharp as a razor and soft as a prayer

- Excerpt from the Tom Waits song Bad Liver And a Broken Heart.

This tattoo comes from Anne in Toronto, who says:

I’ve always loved that line and feel it perfectly represents the duality that seems to define me. It’s also a tribute to Waits, who is one of my heroes (as cheesy as that is) and favourite artist.

Tags:
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (57 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This tattoo was submitted by Debs from São Paulo, Brazil, who says she “wanted something to illustrate the end of a relationship.”

broken-promises

Pay attention my love cause its over
At the tip of my tongue is the price you weren’t willing to pay
Still this is something akin to a breakdown
And your impression of a woman supposed to be easy to see
That there’d be torn up photos and lonely nights
Cursing crying and drawn out fights
Make up sex and a brand new start
Broken promises for broken hearts

- Excerpt from Broken Promises For Broken Hearts by She Wants Revenge

Tags:
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (70 votes, average: 3.59 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Theme Week: Tattoo Misspellings

Day 7: It would have been so pretty…

hank snow tattoo

Last night I dreamed a sweet sweet dream
I thought I saw my home sweet home
And oh how grand it all did seem
I made a vow no more to roam
By that dear old village church I strolled
While the bell in the steeple sadly called
I saw my daddy old and grey
I heard my dear old mother say
You’re as welcome as the flowers in May and we love you in the same old way
We’ve been waiting for you day by day, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May
We’ve been waiting for you day by day, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May

- You’re as Welcome as the Flowers in May by Hank Snow

Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (68 votes, average: 1.69 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Jan 06

Too vs. To, 2

2 comments - Post a comment

Theme Week: Tattoo Misspellings

Day 6: To. Part 2.

too tough to die tattoo

Apparently the person who designed this tattoo has a habit of sabotaging his stencils, so if anyone steals his tattoo designs and doesn’t double check them, they end up tattooing things like this on people. Luckily it is easily fixable.

Too Tough to Die is the eighth album by the Ramones, released in 1984.

Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (35 votes, average: 1.77 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

  • Welcome to Contrariwise

    This is a website about literary tattoos. That is, tattoos based on books, poems, lyrics, and many other literary sources.

    My email address is jen@contrariwise.org, so send your comments / suggestions / praise / hate that way. If you want to submit your own tattoo (please do!), see this page.