| Andrew Bird – Fitz and the Dizzyspells Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Heh, that's kind of gross, but it really does make more sense than any other interpretation. Although Mr. Bird does like his double (and triple) meanings.. | |
| Andrew Bird – Way Out West Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I really like this tune. I wonder whether this album Fingerlings drew its title from this song ("take these fingerlings from my fingers"). To me, it's sort of a nostalgic wish to go back in time to the era when one could head out west to the frontier and leave all your past, troubles, debts, friends, enemies, and shame behind you. It's a rambunctious song, but its driving emotion seems to be shame or guilt fighting with a desire to keep living (hence the hesitation when it comes to jumping from the burning hotel or climbing higher to certain death). The song doesn't really resolve whether the narrator would embrace or reject suicide; all we know is that he'd like to keep living but start all over (out west)--which isn't a realistic option anymore. |
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| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Haha, nice. | |
| Andrew Bird – Souverian Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Haha, that definitely makes sense. But in the context of the song, it still seems to be used as a name ("Souverian the elder" "Souverian was free"). | |
| Andrew Bird – Armchairs Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I was talking to a friend about this song, and she pointed out that if the crooked bow were a bow of the sort tied over the wrapping paper around a gift it would make a cute little pun... time is the crooked bow on the present. (Get it? Present? Tehe...) | |
| Andrew Bird – Not a Robot, But a Ghost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I think there's definitely something to that, although not necessarily in terms of wanting children... just the idea of a body and its physical desires as a clockwork mechanism, and with the gears being worn down by time and use so that you get to the point where you're just going through the motions without really feeling anything, or knowing why you're doing it. It could refer to sexuality, or just the state of being in a romantic relationship. Either way, it fits with the overall theme of the breakup song. | |
| Andrew Bird – Effigy Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| You're making sense, but you're talking about Anonanimal! ;) | |
| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Hehe, I wasn't mocking you, Bug2. I know what you mean about not being able to delete or edit posts. I'm going to stick with "habor sots" in my head, when I listen to the song, but I'll concede that the official lyrics bemusingly read "hobis-hots." ...Which just makes me think of hobbits (hot hobbits, or maybe even hobbit sots?)... |
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| Andrew Bird – The Privateers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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That was probably because somebody heard and recorded the song (either this one or The Confession) live and did not know the song's actual title. I'm saying they're essentially the same song. |
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| Andrew Bird – Not a Robot, But a Ghost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I think of that too! Although I only thought of the Enigma. | |
| Andrew Bird – The Privateers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I don't think that there is a song officially called "I Can See Your House From Here," although I wouldn't be surprised if that had been the working title of either "The Confession" or "The Privateers." | |
| Andrew Bird – I Can See Your House From Here Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Good call. | |
| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Could be typos... lacrimae sounds suspiciously close to macrame. | |
| Andrew Bird – Armchairs Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think y'all are too quick to dismiss the idea of the crooked bow referring to a bow tie. As with many of Mr. Bird's lyrics, it draws strength from having multiple interpretations at once. Especially given the lyrical context of the first "crooked bow" reference--an awkward pause and a fatal flaw--a crooked bow tie fits perfectly. A crooked bow tie carries the connotation of an embarrassing mistake, as well as the idea of being haggardly and disheveled, both connotations which fit in nicely with the temporal reflective nature of the song, surveying the wreckage (or gigantic crater) of one's life from the weariness of old age (when armchairs call to you). A crooked bow--as in the device for launching an arrow--sort of works, but "crooked" is not the best adjective for the meaning that's being read into it. "Crooked" is not the same as "bent." Crooked implies imperfection and uneven zig-zags, maybe even age, whereas a bent bow implies tension and potentiality. Possibly a crooked bow would be one that doesn't shoot straight. A crooked arrow would make sense, but have yet another meaning. I like the idea of a crooked violin bow, showing the wear and tear of age. But in conclusion I don't think it's impossible that Andrew Bird intentionally crafted the lyrics to have concurrent interpretations. |
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| Andrew Bird – Not a Robot, But a Ghost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Thanks! | |
| Andrew Bird – Action/Adventure Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I can't get this song out of my head. It's beautifully innocent and seems to be straining quietly toward adventure in its own doomed, lonely way. And that's just how it sounds without giving thought to the lyrics (after which it becomes a bit less innocent, but no less beautiful). To anyone wondering at the line "c n b scene," it's a play on the name of the television network CNBC. It's nearly homonymic to the phrase "see and be seen," and delightfully so. |
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| Andrew Bird – Not a Robot, But a Ghost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Anybody got a clue as to the actual line preceding "you can call / encrypted numbers / on bathroom stalls"? All I could hear was "How's my view and" and I'm almost certain that's not what's he saying. | |
| Andrew Bird – Souverian Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Souverian is a first name (and is used as such in the song). But your etymology there may explain why he picked it for this song. | |
| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's not "harbor sorts," it's "harbor sots" -- a sot being a drunk, of course, as graphicpulse noted. And Bug2, why would Mr. Bird use a New England Down East Maine accent? I thought he was a Chicagoan. |
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| Andrew Bird – Master Sigh Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Thanks for taking the time to do this, but the lyrics for this song are already posted under "The Privateers" | |
| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Hehe, yeah, he does say uh-huh. | |
| Andrew Bird – Nomenclature Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Just a note, Bird references the "See 'N Say" children's toy (misspelled in the above lyrics as "sea and say"), the one on which you pull a lever and a the device tells you "this is a cat" or "listen to the cow" depending upon which picture is indicated by the arrow. Asking the See 'N Say to bring a different nomenclature is a symbolic rejection of the labels and categories to which we are limited by culture, language, instruction, bias, etcetera. It's a call to look at things anew, to eliminate Wittgenstein's colored lens through which we see and understand the world or at least become aware of it. | |
| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I admit that it works either way, but when I crank up the volume and listen carefully, I'm pretty certain that it's "ports." But maybe my copy of the song is inferior, so I defer to the majority. ;) | |
| Andrew Bird – The Privateers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Thanks for pointing that out, patm718! If anyone's interested in comparing the two songs, the lyrics to The Confession are available on songmeanings.net, but under the band "Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire." It seems like the most major alteration is the removal of lyrics directly attacking commercialization, although the lyrics retain a note of defiance toward or rejection of materialism. |
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| Andrew Bird – Fiery Crash Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It kind of sounds like a pitch from a life insurance salesman, or the pre-flight words of a somewhat crazed pilot to his passengers. But yes, the song seems to be giving advice along the lines of "prepare for the worst," and "comprehend your own fragile mortality." Sort of a carpe diem and caveat emptor rolled into one. |
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| Andrew Bird – Skin Is, My Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"in bolder letters than the capital I" That's a reference to the Sesame Street song ("We All Live In a Capital I") upon which "I" and "Imitosis" are, at least to some extent, based (or rather inspired). Considering the egocentric connotations of a capital I (and the bleak, cold selfishness of the worldview in "I" and "Imitosis"), something being bolder than the capital I implies that it is some calling or quality than mere selfishness. It meshes beautifully into this love song (and reconciles or perhaps overpowers the themes of "Imitosis"). |
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| Andrew Bird – I Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Check out youtube for Sesame Street's "We All Live In a Capital I" to see the inspiration for this song. When Sesame Street declined to allow Mr. Bird use of the lyrics, he changed it up to "we're all basically alone" and developed the haunting "Imitosis." | |
| Andrew Bird – Spare-Ohs Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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When examined in the context of This Is Not A Song About A Train, the story about the chickens getting killed, and Andrew Bird's own words as related by akindabird above, at least two layers of meaning become apparent. The first is the literal: there are dead things burning up and getting in our hair. The second is on a more abstract macroscopic scale: the cycle of life is obvious, ignored, but no less mysterious and meaningful. Reading the song as an environmentalist manifesto or song about extinction is a bit of a stretch, except insofar as the meaningful cycle of life invoked by the ashes of the chickens implies the interconnectedness of all life (and death) on Earth, and the song's meaning can therefore encompass such topics indirectly. Blades of Grass, and all that. ;) |
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| Andrew Bird – Imitosis Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Huh. I always heard it as "Poor Professor Pension," rather than Pynchon, but Pynchon does make sense, from what I gather in the comments here. For me, "Pension" carried with it a tone of poverty, aimlessness, a disconnect from society (if you're on a pension you no longer need to contribute to society to get paid), and the end of one's life/closeness of death, which I thought fit in well with the theme of the song. I haven't read Pynchon. |
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| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Whoops, make that "a lot," not "all night." I really like the background vocalizations that haunt the background of this song. |
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| Andrew Bird – Fitz and the Dizzyspells Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Has a name, but the name goes unspoken... Flare into the whirr of a snack machine... I do think Mooncutter's right about "something gets in" but I'm not sure if it's "nausea" or "magic" in the next line. And it sounds like "cast your own" to me near the end, where you've got "cause you're wrong" |
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| Andrew Bird – Tenuousness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Yeah, when I listen closely, I do think that he's saying "hang around in ports all night" (not quotes). | |
| Andrew Bird – Masterswarm Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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With a more macroscopic interpretation, the song's subject could be America, the land of immigrants. Particularly "come by sea / swarm like smoke in the dawn." Naturally, there is nothing anti-immigrant to this interpretation; the reference to the swarm is inclusive and in the past-tense (*we* were the swarm) perhaps offering a reproach to those who would discriminate against immigrants although they themselves are the descendants of immigrants. Furthermore, the swarm turns out to not be parasitic (as I noted above), but developmental: the final product of these larval swarms is a man "who speaks with perfect diction" and "acts with more conviction"... in other words, the swarm eventually improves upon the host. So if the song is about immigration, the swarm represents the people who flock to America's harbors (I can see the Statue of Liberty welcoming them with the opening words: "come what may") and ultimately improve upon her being. I also want to point out the wordplay in the line "in vestments of translucent alabaster." Yes, the skin ("vestments") of larvae is like translucent alabaster. But the line can also be read as "investments of translucent alabaster," which ties in nicely to the idea of the swarm developing into something better than the host. |
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| Andrew Bird – Souverian Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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So who is Souverian? A google search turned up a farmer named Souverian P. Frigon who was born in 1850 in Canada and immigrated to Iriquois County, Illinois (Andrew Bird's home state). Might just be a coincidence, but this Souverian being a farmer fits in with the pastoral images of parsnips, thistles, thrushes, and grasses. Perhaps Andrew Bird is spinning a story around a real but mostly unknown figure? |
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| Andrew Bird – I Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This is a really good, hardcore distillation of Imitosis. | |
| Andrew Bird – Masterswarm Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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At first I thought there was a parasitic undertone to this entire song, but after closer examination I don't think that's the case. Radiolarians are not parasitic at all (they muck up the ocean floor). It's worth noting that while the word "midge" today refers to small parasitic flies, up until the 1500s the word referred to cloth-eating moth larvae. Although fleas are mentioned, they are "fetal," and flea larvae do not drink blood. Rather than a song being about leeching and parasitism, the underlying message seems to be one of potential for change. It's about youth, change, and uncertainty. The singer is changing into something stronger (someone who "speaks with perfect diction"), whether he likes it or not. "This is sure to misspell disaster" - Delightful wordplay. Certainly, if something "spells disaster" it's going to be bad, but what if something misspells disaster? It's dubiously ominous, and only adds to the song's sense of uncertainty regarding the future. |
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| Andrew Bird – Lull Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I thought this song was a tribute to Jacques Cousteau. | |
| Andrew Bird – Sick of Elephants Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| haha, no worries! In that case, I'm gonna balance it out. :p | |
| Andrew Bird – How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I agree with Asdfaeou's assessment. It's also worth noting that Andrew Bird is playing off the old children's rhyme: Rubin, Rubin, I've been thinkin' What on earth have you been drinkin' Looks like water, tastes like wine Oh my gosh, it's turpentine (Different variations of the rhyme exist, of course) |
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| Andrew Bird – I Can See Your House From Here Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song is actually "The Privateers," and these posted lyrics have a lot of mistakes. The actual lyrics are posted under the correct title. | |
| Andrew Bird – The Privateers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is probably too specific to be the only possible meaning of the song, but the lyrics make me think of Stede Bonnet, the gentleman pirate who palled around with Blackbeard and whose criminal career was little more than the series of failures. He left a good place in society (not to mention his home and wife) in order to pursue the adventurous life of a pirate. He and Blackbeard were obtained pardons together, but while Bonnet was waiting for a letter of marquee to become a legal privateer against Spanish shihpping, Blackbeard took off with his ship (which for some reason prompted Bonnet to return to a life of piracy instead of getting the letter of marquee). Similar to Bonnet, the singer rejects a comfortable life ("don't sell me anything," and "I don't want your life insurance"), expresses a desire to be alive and exciting, and seems to fear being forgotten ("speak of me in the present tense"), powerless ("or rather, fistless"), and left behind (the way Blackbeard, a real "profiteer," left Bonnet behind). As for the confession, Bonnet's own boatswain, Ignatius Pell, somewhat reluctantly testified against him. Bonnet was put to death (despite begging for mercy and his promise to have his own arms and legs cut off), dying with neither glory nor dignity. The song comes off as a rejection of material security in favor of some other life, possibly a life of adventure and comradery. But it also seems to encompass a sort of sadness associated with the end or failure of some glorious endeavor (both in the line about the leaves having fallen and in the multiple references to an ominous, pending confession). There is also a sense of betrayal in the lines "I can see you're just a little privateer/profiteer as your confession draws near." Pretty and sad. |
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| Andrew Bird – Sick of Elephants Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Also, I'm honored that you chose to join the site just to give a rebuttal to my post. ;) | |
| Andrew Bird – Sick of Elephants Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Chimcham: "I will absolutely guarantee you this song had nothing to do with the 2008 election" I agree. Although I didn't realize it was written during the 2004 election (and the first entry doesn't give a date for the election in the text of the post, though I should have noticed the date it was posted), I was in fact providing a counter-example to those who I thought were interpreting the song in the context of the 2008 election. (Me: "This is the line that really messes with the 2008 scenario" and "you might want to think twice before permanently tying it to the 2008 presidential election") Although I'm embarrassed for missing the posting dates in the first several posts, I feel in a way justified to discover that the song continues to stand on its own when removed from its specific temporal context (and does not in fact have to do with the 2008 elections). If you read my post as claiming that the song *was* about the 2008 election, then I'm afraid we've had a gross misunderstanding. Like I said before (and for which I apparently received a negative rating), it's a good song; I hate to see its interpretation overly laden with partisanship...especially considering the vitriol with which some persons discuss current politics. :) |
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| Andrew Bird – Sick of Elephants Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Haha, I'm a conservative, and I really enjoy Andrew Bird. People really shouldn't be so combative about your politics (really, this site is for discussing song meanings, not for political squabbling and name-calling). And this is certainly a song against Republicans (Mr. Bird being an Illinoisan should tip you off to his liberal leanings). But good song should be able to stand on its own outside the context of transient politics. I think this song does, but since you've brought up the context of this most recent election, let's put the notion on its head and see if the song can be interpreted the other way: "You were right There was never reason to worry Money made your eyesight all blurry" Barack Obama broke records for fundraising in the 2008 election. In contrast, McCain (a) kept his promise to limit himself to public funds, (b) fought in the senate (against his own party) to push for campaign finance reform (namely McCain-Feingold), and (c) was a vocal opponent of "pork-barrel" projects and other money-grubbing schemes. If money is being brought up in regards to the 2008 presidential election, it can only be a direct reference to Barack Obama, not John McCain. "Making lists of pacifists Recalcitrant poses" This isn't about actual pacifists (in politics these days, there are none... even Barack Obam is stuffing his cabinet full of hawks). But in 2008 (at least prior to the surge), the popular move for any politician was to distance him or herself from the Bush Administration by adopting "recalcitrant poses"--that is defiance and disagreement with the overwhelmingly unpopular president. If you're making a list of politicians who publically converted to pacifism as the war in Iraq became increasingly unpopular, or of politicians who were recalcitrant or defiant of the Bush administration, well, it's going to a very inclusive list (it would exclude McCain and Lieberman, but even most Republican politicians have "thrown Bush under the bus"). The idea of it being a reference to a "witch hunt" for pacifists defies all logic and reality. "Can't you see how dangerous The one you chose is" A large number of Republicans were singing this tune when McCain clinched the nomination; he was too moderate to win... a Republican who supports gay rights, opposes torture, recognizes global warming? Blasphemy. On the other hand, these lines could just as easily refer to Barack Obama himself. Isn't there some danger in supporting a man whose reliability on any given issue has been consistently called into question? As examples, his promise to take public financing, his affirmation that he would sit down unconditionally with the leaders of Iran and North Korea, his support for a windfall profits tax, his promise to immediately withdraw from Iraq... It becomes increasingly clear that Mr. Obama is not a man with any concrete beliefs, but who is, in fact, a sycophant, seeking only after votes without any real desire to stick to his campaign-trail promises. The danger with such a candidate is that, once in office, he won't do what he said he'd do. "Which brings us back to Might makes right" Corrupt Chicago politics. "Making haste to spite your face to cut off your noses Convince yourself and others that these Fish smell like roses" This could easily refer to Barack Obama's professional (or otherwise) associations in Chicago, who were revealed as increasingly distasteful... jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, Tony Rezko. What was Obama's "groundbreaking post-racial" speech regarding Reverend Wright if not an attempt to make that fish smell like a rose? Of course, the lines could also refer to the Republican distaste for their own too-moderate candidate. "Squint your eyes and see Elephants, sycophants, elephants" The elephant, of course, is the symbol of the Republican party. That one needs to squint to see them implies that they are not really there (or whatever things are there really don't look like elephants). This could be about John McCain, who many Republicans thought was not conservative enough (metaphorically, you'd have to squint to see him as an elephant), or it could be about Joe Lieberman (definitely not a Republican... but if you squint your eyes...). Or it could just be a line referring to a paranoid sense of dehumanizing us-vs-them and villification (especially as you watch your state vote one way or another and begin to wonder how many secret elephants are in the room). A sycophant is one who acts his own self interest by flattering those with influence (in this case, American voters)--a cynical person might conclude that all politicians are sycophants, and a cynic who's been keeping up with the news would conclude that Mr. Obama is no exception. "Squint your ears and hear red-faced rants Pleated pants Sycophants That's what you are" Red-faced rants, eh? Certainly not John McCain or Barack Obama. Keith Olbermann? Jeremiah Wright? Fox News pundits? Why not all of the above? (I bet they all wear pleated pants.) "Can't you see how dangerous When you're too content to make a fuss" This is the line that really messes with the 2008 scenario. Everyone was "making a fuss" about Bush, and Republicans were even fussing about McCain. Only Barack Obama's supporters were too content to make a fuss over any of his shortcomings. ------------- All that said, let me reiterate that it almost certainly is meant to be a little jab at conservatives and Republicans. However, you might want to think twice before permanently tying it to the 2008 presidential election, as the song then opens itself up to some interesting and contradictory interpretations. It's a good song; I hate to see its interpretation overly laden with partisanship. ------------ Finally, the proper title of the song is "Sic of Elephants," not "Sick of Elephants." Sic is Latin for "thus," and in English is used to point out existing mistakes in a quoted piece of text. It also makes the title more visibly similar to Sycophant (which has no 'K'). Andrew Bird is good at puns. |
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| Mirah – Murphy Bed Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The first stanza introduces to a situation in which one partner in the relationship is gone for extended periods of time, while the other is at home and "distracting herself" (by singing this song). The chorus invokes a kinky sex scene, but is softened by the phrase "Or let's just fall asleep instead," which implies that while sex would be great, really the singer is just missing the partner on the road, and would be just as satisfied to fall asleep next to her. Possibly (and this ties into the verse after the first iteration of the chorus) the singer is showing some hesitation for fear of coming off too strongly; she doesn't want to intimidate the partner, and isn't sure how much to say or suggest for fear of offending. "This one's for you / That one's for the other / We all have to learn to share with one another / Do you really want to know? / Or should I shut my face about it when you get home?" This verse tells us more about the relationship... namely, that it's not monogamous. We hear the singer's uncertainty about whether she should talk to the partner about her relationships with other people. There's a sort of quiet desperation to it. Really, there's a sort of quiet desperation to the entire song, which can be summed up as: "I miss you; come home!" |
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| Mirah – Mt. St. Helens Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's definitely a relationship piece, but I'm not certain that the "special death" is necessarily an orgasm (after all, the French term translates as "little death," not special). Something's gone wrong with the relationship and now all that's left is the "special death" -- a metaphorical death, or the death of the relationship. If you are really interested in Mirah's use of the term "special death" you ought to check out her song by that name (and on the same album--Advisory Committee). In my opinion, the "special death" is like being dead to the person you once loved, and/or having that person be sort of dead to you. The entire album built of interconnecting themes such as this. Three years later, Mirah gives us the counter to these songs with the album "C'mon Miracle" in which she has songs such as "Don't Die In Me" and "You've Gone Away Enough." Also: I understood the ending lyrics to be (with my emphasis added): You were hotter to me than *the sun* *that burned* me up the day we went to Mount St. Helens, and if this special death you gave to me is the prize I get to take home *solemnly* then suffer with the thought that I could never be your friend, I could never come back home again. (but it could be "silently" not "solemnly" now that I consider it) |
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| Mirah – Cold Cold Water Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This is one of the most epic Mirah songs I've ever heard (Mt. Saint Helens is pretty epic as well). Simply amazing. | |
| Andrew Bird – Banking on a Myth Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It doesn't need to be about anyone specific, but I think this song can be read as a critique of politicians (or possibly lobbyists). Whether George Bush or Barack Obama, politicians cash in on emotional reactions (they bank on myths) when facts and figures aren't enough to sway voters (and they rarely are). The first half of the song is just establishing a character, someone politically powerful, a big spender, spouting rhetoric about how everything is going bad but he can help you out. You just have to set aside your morals and help him out too. "fact it's just the thing / he thinks we're needing / it's a lukewarm liquid diet they're force feeding" The idea that politicians think they know what is best for everyone is scarcely a new one. Robert Heinlein once said that there is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for something he doesn't want "for his own good," but isn't that exactly what politicians and the government in general do? Force feed us the "lukewarm liquid diets" that they think we're needing? "deals in commodities of the abstract sort / buys them in bulk but then he sells it short" Politicians try to use emotions such as fear (of terrorists etcetera), anger (at the status quo), hope (for something better), and love (of country and each other; patriotism), to influence voters and bolster supporters. Because this is done on a "bulk" scale--nationwide--the intentional manipulation and mudslinging cheapens these emotions (selling them short). "and when his master plan is unfurled / there stands a handsome bid / on the weather systems, of the world" All this is just fighting for the dubious control of something mysteriously powerful and notoriously immune to human control. Like the economy, the factors influencing the weather are multitudinous, and can't just be pinned down to one human source. But people are quick to equate economic prosperity or recession with the performance of a president, ignoring other factors. On a similar but decidedly different note, bidding for control of the world's weather systems does sound like the political drive toward controlling global warming. --------------- Also, it should be "child labor," not "child laber." |
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| Mirah And Spectratone International – Love Song of the Fly Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Of course, the meaning of this song is explicit in the song's title. Like all the songs on the album "Share This Place," "Love Song of the Fly" is from the perspective of a bug (well, technically not a bug in this case, but an insect). But if you set aside the title--the only title on the album that explicitly mentions the type of creature the narrator inhabits--the song gets much more interesting. What we have here is essentially a lustful obsession. "Even just the scent of what you've left behind..." It's very reminiscent of Chrétien de Troyes’ "Lancelot (The Knight of the Cart)," in which Lancelot goes gaga over a glove dropped by the kidnapped queen. It's an unhealthy obsession. And if you take into consideration the trap and subsequent lines about being despised and criticized, the whole song seems almost to apply to the perpetrators caught on "To Catch A Predator." So, are we supposed to feel disgusted with the fly for its unhealthy obsession? Or sympathetic with the pedophiles for their unrequited love? That's probably a stretch, but it bears consideration. This song humanizes the fly and coaxes us into sympathy, making us at least somewhat sorry for it. Yet if the narrator were human, wouldn't we find it repulsive? And the cool irony is that we *do* find flies repulsive. Following this logic full circle puts us with a song about how flies are gross, but not in the way you might assume. A really great song. |
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| Mirah – La Familia Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Does she actually say "good friend"? I just hear "friend"... doesn't drastically change the meaning, I guess. I too doubt that this is about incest. It's more about the difficult intersection of friendship and sexuality. "It's not forever we can fool around in the dark" is a double entendre, referring not only to literal, sexual fooling around but to wasting time without plans, fooling around instead of buckling down and getting serious about one thing or another. The people in the song need to decide to go one way or the other--friendship or sex. |
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