Flyswatter

I think it's about how people don't care for all the things that bug them. They put the mice in mouse traps, kill off the head lice and squash the spiders. And of course the flyswatter is made to kill flies. It's just about the whole apathy towards them.

This song too me is a lot more about how in life, there are the small things that will weigh you down, and annoy you, but you have to find that release, your "flyswatter". Little field mice " Living under the house Never eating much Tough life for a mouse And if you think you're Gonna be spared You're wrong " This confirms my first point about how small things ( mice ) will always annoy you, and they're basically impossible to avoid.

" Field mice, head lice Spiders in the kitchen Don't think twice 'bout Whatever keeps you itchin' Ice water, flyswatter Gonna get you through The day " The first few lines represent all the annoyances you can have, and how they can come in all different forms, but you have to find a way too ignore them. Then it says, that your ice water, your flyswatter will help you get over those differences. Drinking ice water after a long day to relax, and having a fly swatter to get rid of annoyances, or smack 'em away. "Heat is rolling in like Hell's red rug Stinking like the Breath of Beelzebub And if you think you won't Walk on coals You will" links to my first point, you cant avoid annoyances. Even "That's real good Oh yeah" can be linked to him showing relief at the "end of the day", although its just the end of the song. All of this can also be linked to the youtube video, were a nun goes skateboarding after (presumably) long day. A nun goes skateboarding, a clown stalks girls, a little child plays in the sand, but discovers an annoyance. Or you could take it the other way and its a child toiling and passing the time, and finding relief. either way.

creepy yet cool. eels are so good, more people need to listen to them (especially the quiet emotional stuff from electro-shock blues).

eels are amazing. If you just listen to their sound you might think that they're just a guitar-pop band. But their lyrics are much darker than people would think.

The music for this, especially the beginning, sounds really familiar to me... Was it ever in a soundtrack for a movie?...

this reminds me a lot of the poem "to a mouse" by robert burns- it's got the same premise of a conversation with a field mouse, and both pieces talk about the day-to-day difficulties of life.

sexwithoutfury: i know a couple songs were played in The Anniversary Party.

i love this song, I love the Eels, the music at the strat is used in the desperate housewives advert.

i love this tune,its creepy but so kool. e wrote this about mice that were in his basement

I picture a family having, like, a picnic on their lawn in a 40's-50's time when they realized there are mice coming out of their house or something. Like, the underlying creepiness of things most find so charming. I always interpret this as the empty feeling of summer. Most will probably disagree with this, because I've never known someone to dislike summer in the way I do, but this is just my interpretation. In summer it feels like you should be doing something, the sun doesn't go down before you sleep, everything feels sticky and raw, and you're waiting for something to happen, whether that be a fun barbecue or someone poisoning the lemonade.

This is, by far, my favorite Eels song at the moment. Novocaine for the Soul is awesome too but what I love about the Eels is how so many of their songs have a lullaby/music box innocent sound to them yet have dark lyrics. I agree with Appers66 that the song is about not being bothered by life's annoyances but the video is amazing. There is so much going on, like people not being who they seem...the "nun" turns surfer girl when no one is looking and another "nun" is a skateboarder. The lead singer calls the police about the clown in the surveillance van [who turns out to be literally a clown] while the cop just skips through the woods chasing bubbles and playing with flowers. I see it as symbolic of how in life you're "on your own" with your problems but you can get through the day by facing each annoyance as it comes- using ice water and a flyswatter as means to take back control of your life and rid your life of problems. The field mice living under the house "don't eat much and have a tough life for a mouse" meaning those [who are a minor annoyance to you] are living sad lives trying to live off the scraps in your life. It is also such a pleasure whenever there is modern music where you can actually understand the lyrics just from listening. I find the Eels' music very addictive! On one YouTube video someone commented this song would make a great music box tune and I agree!