I took a walk with an invisible friend
And on that walk, I gave my hand

O, to be a machine
O, to be wanted
To be useful

With this ring that I wear today
My whole world is your property

O, to be a machine
O, to be wanted
To be useful

I took a walk with an invisible friend
And on that walk, I gave my hand


Lyrics submitted by ahab3, edited by notravelnate, YouAmStupid

Evil Bee Lyrics as written by Daniel Frederic Seim Brent Knopf

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Evil Bee song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

26 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    The invisible friend is the savior mentioned in the song before. The dichotomy between the two songs (calling him a traitor vs. friend) reflects the name of the album: Friend and Foe. The title reflects the whole album's message: a struggle with understanding life and understanding god.

    A "machine" is: "any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks". Being a machine is a metaphor for submitting to the will of his savior and act on behalf of him. By being a machine or tool of his savior, he gains meaning ("to be wanted, to be useful")

    irishfreakouton April 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song seems almost meaningless, but I think menomena just has a knack for referencing themselves. When he says that he gave his hand, I think back to the song before this one on the album, "boyscout'n". That song seems to be about blind faith for the most part. He mentions lending his hand to destroy a helpless man. Could be a stretch, but maybe the invisible friend is the supposed "savior" from the song before. Now using the bee metaphor, he feels needed because he is another cog in the machine. It doesn't matter what he's told to do, because he's wanted by the others. Sounds like a cult to me. but who knows.

    LazyKiddo2525on March 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think that

    the "With this ring" line is wrong, I think it has something to do with marriage, "With this ring, be my to thee", that's wrong, but something like that.

    I think this song has to do with the previous song as well, he previously says, "Should my soul survive this fall, then I pray if I pray at all," well he obviously lost his soul. So now he's a machine. And now he's wanted and and useful, exactly what he wanted to be in Boyscout'N. Almost as if maybe when he did that, he became God... "my whole world is your property."

    Lachrymal Cloudon March 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    the lines "oh to be machine, oh to be wanted, to be useful," are so poignant, mostly to me because i don't think menomena mean them sincerely. Throughout the entire song you have these synthetic noises in tight cadences but all this punctuated by those saxophone like back-fires and farts as if 'the machine' is much more fun when its breaking apart, malfunctioning, all told, when it is anything but useful.

    dougerion March 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    All the members in the band are Christians. This song is about having an invisible relationship with Jesus. And accepting him as your Savior and the ruler of your life. Christians usually say that they are married to Christ and he is their bride (hence the ring).

    ilvnasiaon April 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    im not so sure about that. I'm almost positive that two of them, justin harris and danny seim, were raised christian and went to christian high school together, but they're not really into it anymore. I don't know about brent knopf. For evidence, Danny wrote a list for Pitchfork of his favorite cassettes that he was allowed to listen to as a kid, and it's all christian rock, but he's making fun of it the whole time. here--> pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10262-guest-list-menomena-my-favorite-cassettes-i-was-allowed-to-listen-to-age-7-15

    ahab3on April 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    im not so sure about that. I'm almost positive that two of them, justin harris and danny seim, were raised christian and went to christian high school together, but they're not really into it anymore. I don't know about brent knopf. For evidence, Danny wrote a list for Pitchfork of his favorite cassettes that he was allowed to listen to as a kid, and it's all christian rock, but he's making fun of it the whole time. here--> pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10262-guest-list-menomena-my-favorite-cassettes-i-was-allowed-to-listen-to-age-7-15

    ahab3on April 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I have talked to the all 3 of the boys personally and know that they are still Christians like I. There is a type of conservative Christian that some Christians don't like. Like Justin, Brent, and Danny, I make fun of this Christian all the time too(I am a Christian myself). The Christians they make fun of are the ones that are sticklers for the rules, only listen to Christian music, & basically have no fun and are pricks.

    ilvnasiaon April 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Thanks for the clarification. But im kinda iffy at least on this song, because if the "invisible friend" is in fact Jesus, then the "o, to be a machine" part would be seemingly saying that his followers are like machines.

    ahab3on April 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    well this song is probably related to Boyscoutn in some way,because as I stated in my idea of Boyscoutn, it seemed like it had something to do with Judas, and this song might be the after affects and how no one wants him anymore because he betrayed Christ.

    acepilot3on April 17, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.