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        Goo Goo Dolls >> Goo Goo Dolls >> Why 'Iris'?
        
(Message started by: tkc1989 on Jan 9^th, 2005, 5:29am)

Title: Why 'Iris'?
Post by tkc1989 on Jan 9^th, 2005, 5:29am

Last night i watched City of Angels and I loved it. But i'm wondering why the song is called Iris- I thought Meg Ryan's character was gonna be called Iris but she wasn't (this might be a stupid question). And do you think John took some inspiration from the film to write Black Balloon as well- i know it's about a heroin addiction but when he says 'Angels fall without you there' that sorta links with the film.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by juniper on Jan 9^th, 2005, 7:39am

That's a really good question. I always wantet to know why the song "Iris" is called "Iris". So maybe someone can help us?....

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by peanut on Jan 9^th, 2005, 9:05am

What a good question. I must go do research now. I'll let you know if I find anything.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by pOGo on Jan 9^th, 2005, 9:55am

the song is named after the country singer "Iris Dement"
John said once somewhere that it's funny how musicians call their songs with names that dont even have anything to do with the song just to sound deep. so he liked the name Iris and did just that...
nice guy...

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by Sarah on Jan 9^th, 2005, 11:13am

Just a continuation of what pOGo has said, didn't he see an ad in the paper or flyer for her (Iris Dement) to be performing, and he's like "I like that name" kinda thing.

Heh. I think it's pretty funny, especially when people start letting their imaginations wander and end up thinking it's some song about one of John's lost loves named Iris or something. :D

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by RogueUK on Jan 9^th, 2005, 12:17pm

Hmmm...I read in an interview last night that Johnny said he was 'Just trying to be pretentious...I just thought 'Iris' sounded cool' or something...I'll see if I can find the link if you want...

EDITED TO ADD:

Here's the quote, word for word:

Q: There is no actual mention of Iris in the song. Does the song actually have another name that you wrote it by?

John: No. It�s funny. I was trying to be pretentious and arty by calling it that. I figured if Billy Corgan can get away with it, so can I. So I figured what the hell, I�ll tap into the pretentious market. It was just a cool name. I just wanted to call it something cool.

And the link, which someone posted on here a while ago (which is where I found it from)

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/11299/20010921/www.radioundercover.com/googoo.html

That bit I just quoted is on the second page.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by Saz_Goo on Jan 9^th, 2005, 1:49pm

Heh, I think it's cool that John wanted to "sound pretentious"! ;D
I was reading on a message board the other day ( can't remember which, one of those ones which analyses song lyrics) really interesting thoughts on it - like how "Iris" relates to the eye, and therefore to the line "and I don't want the world to see me..." - it was fun looking at people's take on it!!

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by Pon on Jan 9^th, 2005, 6:15pm

I think it's genius to give a title to a song that has nothing to do with the song. Very artistic, however, it's a horrible marketing tactic. It's a good thing that "Iris" was associated with the movie and became a hit, otherwise, it would have been very hard to find the song for those who are unaware of the goo's.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by theworld2seeme on Jan 10^th, 2005, 10:28am

Hi! this is just a guess...but i think it is called iris for a couple of reasons. the iris is the part of the eye that you see out of. and the song is descriping his view of the world and of meg ryans character. So in that respect i think that the title "iris" means you are seeing the world from the speakers eyes.

he's also describing how he doesn't want to be seen ("i don't want the world to see me") or viewed through other's eyes, (or iris') b/c he finds that nobody will understand how he feels about this girl. Again, this depicts a world of viewing others from his point of view. the interesting thing is that the speaker of the song, is viewing others viewing him. So the song is really full of "iris'" from that perspective.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that since Iris is a part of the eye, and the song is about the speakers thoughts about this girl and how he perceives the rest of the world reacting to his feelings, the title is essentially about how the speaker of the song sees the world.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by SassyMay on Jan 10^th, 2005, 6:10pm

Didn't he mention something about why it was called iris the other night on the radio?

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by THE sLaVe GiRl on Jan 10^th, 2005, 8:34pm

he named it "iris" because my cat would have been rather silly with a name like "bulletproof" or "don't beat my ass (with a baseball bat)".

duh! ;)

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by Sarah on Jan 11^th, 2005, 9:57am

on 01/10/05 at 20:34:48, THE sLaVe GiRl wrote:

he named it "iris" because my cat would have been rather silly with a name like "bulletproof" or "don't beat my ass (with a baseball bat)".

Hahah! Love that.

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by beaucoup on Jan 11^th, 2005, 7:42pm

on 01/10/05 at 20:34:48, THE sLaVe GiRl wrote:

he named it "iris" because my cat would have been rather silly with a name like "bulletproof" or "don't beat my ass (with a baseball bat)".

duh! �;)

ha ha :hahaha:

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by Clone on Jan 12^th, 2005, 12:56am

on 01/09/05 at 18:15:16, Pon wrote:

"I just want you to know who I am" is too long for a title ;)

Title: Re: Why 'Iris'?
Post by nmf016 on Jan 12^th, 2005, 7:18pm

If you read the old archives of the WOG mainboard, you will see that the song was originally called "Who I Am". That later became "Iris" due to John reading the newspaper as a bunch of you guys mentioned.