I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Are you out of love with me?
Are you longing to be free?
Do I drive you up a tree?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Do I drive you up the wall?
Do you dread every phone call?
Can you not stand me at all?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Though I need you more than air
Is it true you just don't care?
Are you having an affair?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
When we met I thought
Money was everything
So I let you buy the house,
The car, the ring
But I can't take your perpetual whining
And you can't sing
I though if we live apart
We could made a brand-new start
Do you want to break my heart?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
I've enjoyed making you
Miserable for years
Found peace of mind in
Playing on your fears
How I loved to catch your gold
And silver tears, but now my dear
What a dark and dreary life
Are you reaching for a knife?
Could you really kill your wife?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Of, I die, I die, I die!
So it's over, you and I
Was my whole life just a lie?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Are you longing to be free?
Do I drive you up a tree?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Do I drive you up the wall?
Do you dread every phone call?
Can you not stand me at all?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Though I need you more than air
Is it true you just don't care?
Are you having an affair?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
When we met I thought
Money was everything
So I let you buy the house,
The car, the ring
But I can't take your perpetual whining
And you can't sing
I though if we live apart
We could made a brand-new start
Do you want to break my heart?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
I've enjoyed making you
Miserable for years
Found peace of mind in
Playing on your fears
How I loved to catch your gold
And silver tears, but now my dear
What a dark and dreary life
Are you reaching for a knife?
Could you really kill your wife?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Of, I die, I die, I die!
So it's over, you and I
Was my whole life just a lie?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!
Lyrics submitted by Anne Arbour
Yeah! Oh, Yeah! Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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some anon on wikipedia uses this song as synecdochic of the entire meaning/form of 69 Love Songs in general. He or she (and not me) writes:
Another way of understanding 69 Love Songs is through Merritt's praise of an artist (Laurie Anderson) who "write[s] heartbreaking melodies with words that make fun of heartbreaking melodies."[3] Consider "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!" where Stephin and Claudia, playing jilted lovers modeled closely on Sonny & Cher, sing their complaints to one another, overplaying and overstating their grievances such that their words become garish declarations of woe ("what a dark and dreary life / are you reaching for a knife?") to which the other character isn't really capable of responding but must still follow in tone ("yeah, oh yeah"). The lack of a firm distinction between content (what is sung) and form (the way it is sung) implies that this couple lives and dies by virtue of how persuasively they can sing to one another, and illustrates the persistent Magnetic Fields songwriting device of trapping a character within the conventions or formalities of a genre.
this is a song about how love REALLY is. hah. really...what's to interpret? sometimes you just get SICK of your significant other.
I saw them in LA last summer, and the show was pretty disappointing, because they didnt bring their synthisizers. reguardless, this song was the best performance. I love this song,
How does this only have two comments? Everything from the typical Stephin Merritt genius lyric work that is so obtuse yet so relatable to the nice (and rare on 69 Love Songs) shoegaze-y production makes this a song I really cannot get out of my head. Please help.
this song is hysterically funny.
one of my absolute favourites by Magnetic Fields. The vocal melody is just too beautiful and I find myself whistling it all the time. at work, in the kitchen or when walking down the street.
the lyrics are also brilliantly written and the whole duet thing is just awesome!
"Are you reaching for a knife? Could you really kill your wife? Yeah! Oh, yeah! Of, I die, I die, I die! So it's over, you and I Was my whole life just a lie? Yeah! Oh, yeah!"
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genius!!!!
Yeah, that last part is definately the best. I think they love eachother so much it makes them sick. It's sort of a love-hate relationship.
I love this song. It's incredibly mean and cynical, and breaks my heart, and at the same time, funny as hell.
Genius.