Blog? I have a blog?
After such a long time away from here, I can at least offer you this for now, which has been running, continuous loop like, in my head today. But that's a good thing because it's an excellent song. And someone independent of the band made a very cool video, too.
I was searching for the lyrics and was alarmed that so many seemed to have missed the boat on the words. The vocals have a kind of mouth-full-of-cherry-pits quality, which I love, but it makes discerning the song's meaning tough. I'm fairly confident that I've got the lyrics right, with the exception of the highlighted line, which I'm certain isn't right. But I just can't decode it.
For me, the song seems to be about the band's rise to more commercial success and the loss of clarity, control and joy that has accompanied that journey. Who knows? Just my interpretation.
Anyway, here's what I hear when I listen to this brilliant song:
While we're on the subject
Could we change the subject now?
I was knocking on your ears
Don't believe you were always out
Looking towards the future
We were begging for the past
Well we knew we had the good things
But those never seemed to last
Oh please just last
Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
Well we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
Well nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a damn
Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and I’ll laugh all the way to hell
Saying yes, this is a fine promotion
Oh, and I’ll laugh all the way to hell
Of course everyone goes crazy
Over such and such and such
We made ourselves a pillar
We just used it as a crutch
We were certainly uncertain
At least I'm pretty sure I am
Well we didn't need the water
But we just built that go god damn
Oh, and I know this all myself
I’ll say as much for all the people
Oh, and I know this all myself
We’ve listened all life, single men
The sound of life's sweet bells
Was it ever worth it?
Was there all that much to gain?
Well we knew we'd missed the boat
And we'd already missed the plane
We didn't read the invite
We just danced at our own wake
All our favorites were playing
So we could shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Tiny curtains open and we heard the tiny clap of little hands
A tiny man would tell a little joke
And get a tiny laugh from all the folks
Sitting drifting 'round in bubbles and
Thinking it was us that carried them
When we finally got it figured out
That we had truly missed the boat
Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and we owned all the tools ourselves
But not the skills to make a ship with
Oh, what useless tools are selves
