Ohio

"Rows of lights to illuminate lines Why don't they turn them off and let us see night "

This line from the song holds me spellbound every time it graces my car stereo, which trust me is more often than is probably healthy. I don't know if any of you have ever been to the open farmland of Ohio or perhaps some other desolate, flat, clear skied area of the midwestern USA but to look up and see black, the uninhibited heavens commanding your full attantion, if you haven't then me interpreting the song for you is a moot point. It instills such a sense of being so miniscule, and lets the mind wander away from the illuminated lines of everyday life and the thought boundaries which typically constrain us. It's almost like the metropolitan lights represent the wool being pulled over our eyes, a big festering distraction from the true meaning of things and our place amidst a churning cosmic sea.

Throught the song the ideas of seeing clearly and seeking redemption from cracked a dry hearts, traveling through life awake but napping. In essence, to me the song is about losing meaning in this fast paced American life.

I love this song. And I love Cincinnati ;)

To me the line that sticks out is the same as previously mentioned, "Rows of lights to illuminate lines Why don't they turn them off and let us see night Drove crazed grooming my lies You can't look in on one way eyes"

To me this is much deeper. I feel that it means that we shouldn't shed light or try and figure things out that arn't supposed to be. Sometimes things need to be left how they were intended, Just Live.

I'm upset and I leave the doors open wide Our hearts are used up, cracked and dry Pulled the scabs off of regrets We haven't learned to eat our conscience yet

Rows of lights to illuminate lines Why don't they turn them off and let us see night Drove crazed grooming my lies You can't look in on one way eyes, Ohio

these are two of the greatest lines ever. if you don't find emotional depth within them, then you really are as cracked up, used up, and dry as Issac is saying. but if you can be stirred, touched and felt, then Issac has done his job, and he is freeing you through inspirational and thought provoking lyrics that open you up to the fact that life is more then just a straight shot down the open road. cut the lights once in a while, and just kinda look around you and listen...

you'll find more to life then just what they show you. and if you're brave, and open, you'll embrace the lines left out of the illuminated rows.

Issac sings about understanding that the obvious isn't always the most beautiful. giving back the same note you recieved instead of rewriting what they already told you. seeing the world for flaws and all. undertanding yourself inside and out, good and bad. and seeing the road all around you, just not as a tunnel vision in front of you.

Amazing no one has mentioned the mournful cry oh OHIO itself. Sung all native americanesque and painfully so. This and Might are two of my absolute favourite MM songs.

I knew I'd heard this somewhere before, and found proof! The way "Ohio" is sung in this song, as "O-ha-i-yo" is Japanese for "Good Morning".

ssa.org.ohio-state.edu/ohio_is_not_in_japan.htm

Just adds another cool little bit of up-so-late-it's-early imagery to this song already laden with it.

Ohio has alot more than you think A touchOverrated. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinatti to name of the few diverse large cities.

I feel that this song speaks a lot about broken relationships as he screams "Ohio!" I imagine an (enter name here). "You're wrong, you're wrong..." taunting out of pride. It's hard to see what we're doing in the heat of the moment but hindsight is 20, 20.

"Truly sorry, I see clearly Calmly crashing, I pace faster than anyone Hinges rusting, they swing louder than anything Truly lonely, this place is flatter than it seems"

We hurt the ones we love and we push them away knowingly sometimes even when they're just trying to help us and when the dust settles we find our self even more hurt and this time alone with nobody an emotional wreck.

The next three stanzas I feel are the I'm sorry please come back I take back what I said but we have to swallow our pride and come back through that door that is relationship. As a person there has to be a full investment in one another two hands clapping not just the one. Invest in something more important than game machines. Don't forget about the sky just because the roads lit up. That's just how this song makes me feel and it's one of my favorites.

I'm upset and I leave the doors open wide Our hearts are used up, cracked and dry Pulled the scabs off of regrets We haven't learned to read our conscience yet

Truly sorry, I see clearly Hardy hoping, I spend it all on game machines Calmly crashing, I pace and I figure out again One hand clapping, awake but napping

Rows of lights to illuminate lines Why don't they turn them off and let us see night Drove crazed, grooming my lies You can't look in on one way eyes

I think this song is about having done something wrong to a person you love, then later coming out and telling them what you did. Like cheating and then coming out with it after a heated argument.

"Truly sorry, I see clearly Calmly crashing, I pace faster than anyone Hinges rusting, they swing louder than anything Truly lonely, this place is flatter than it seems"

The first two lines are about coming clean and nervousness, the third one is about the victim being mad and walking away banging the doors, breaking up with you. The last one is feeling like you're completely alone in the world since the person you love is gone.

"I'm upset and I leave the doors open wide Our hearts are used up, cracked and dry Pulled the scabs off of regrets We haven't learned to eat our conscience yet"

You end up confessing the person after an argument, it's a disfunctional relationship where you've been through some bad times but still love each other. The last two lines are about coming clean over whatever you did. Even though you regret it, you also regret telling them about it at the end of the fight.

"Truly sorry, I see clearly Hardly hoping, I spend it all on game machines Calmly crashing, I pace and I figure out again One hand clapping, awake but napping"

I feel like these lines are about depression, feeling numb and feeling worthless, being conflicted with yourself over the mistakes you've made and not being able to justify what you did to yourself.

"Rows of lights to illuminate lines Why don't they turn them off and let us see night Drove crazed, grooming my lies You can't look in on one way eyes"

The first two lines are reflecting while driving in a dark, flat place (Ohio). It seems to me like existential thinking after ruining everything with the person you love, and wanting to feel "free" and one with the universe if that makes sense. The last two are about guilt of carrying your lie for so long. You might've not realized what a huge mistake you were making until it was too late.

This is just my interpretation of it right now. Isaac Brock is my favourite lyricist.

I got really into Modest Mouse when I was taking a roadtrip to Ohio, coincidince, I think not.