Catatonia – Dead From the Waist Down

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The sun is shining
We should be making hay
But we're dead from the waist down
Like in Californ-i-a
Victory is empty
There are lessons in defeat
But we're dead from the waist down
We are sleeping on our feet
We stole the songs from birds in trees
Bought us time on easy street
Now our paths, they never meet
We chose to court and flatter greed
Ego-disposability
I caught a glimpse and it's not me

Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Or else you're done for
When we're D from the W down

There's no contracts binding
No bad scene beyond repair
But when you're dead from the waist down
You're too far gone to even care
We stole the songs from birds in trees
Bought us time on easy street
Now our paths, they never meet
We chose to court and flatter greed
Ego-disposability
I caught a glimpse and it's not me

Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Or else we're done for
When you're D from the W down
Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Make hay not war
Or else we're done for
When you're D from the W down
When you're D from the W down
D from the W down
D from the W down

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Lyrics submitted by Mainstreet

Track duration: 04:03

"Dead from the Waist Down" as written by Roberts/matthews/jones/richards/powell

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Dead From the Waist Down song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:To me this song is about selling your soul, and how focusing on success and material things at the extent of your emotional life ends up killing that part of you.
    Flag aislingtonon April 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The chorus is so moving....
    Flag Jcm-93on December 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Hmmm... IMHO this song is about sexual, and also emotional, abstinence. About people who, perhaps after a broken relationship or a bad experience, refrain themselves from the good and bad things love can bring, and choose to live in a state of blissful apathy.

    "There's no contracts binding,
    No bad scene beyond repair,
    But when you're dead from the waist down,
    You're too far gone to even care.

    We stole the songs from birds in trees,
    Bought us time on easy street,
    Now our paths, they never meet,
    We chose to court and flatter greed, ego disposability,
    I caught a glimpse and it's not me"

    I think those lines prove it... Btw, don't mix politics into the bag, I'm not saying i'm seeing pro-life issues in this song!. In my oppinion, she's singing about the 'bah-I-don't-give-a-damn-about-sex-n-stuff' kind of abstinence rather than about the 'god-says-I-must-remain-pure-until-marriage' one, if you know what I mean...
    Flag 14zerozeroon January 25, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'd never thought of male impotence... but that'd make sense
    Flag Sirius1on April 13, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Cerys Matthews (the singer/writer) has said in several interviews that this song is about male impotence but I've never really been able to work out what the lyrics mean!
    Flag sweet.catatoniaon March 20, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I really wish I knew what this song meant, that first translation dusn't really click and the second one is prob a lot closer, but not spot on, I have no idea!
    Flag Horsey_Roseon May 05, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:yes i thought it was about war and the post-war world where we're all only concerned with our own welfare "flatter greed" and "too far gone to even care" etc
    Flag festijunkon September 28, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:an interesting translation of the lyrics, I never really thought about it like that before.
    Flag nutty dolphinon June 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:There is no harm in casual sex between consenting adults. It's natural, like hay.

    (We stole the songs from birds in trees)
    Our past sexual experiences influence our current sexual experiences.
    Flag Mainstreeton June 09, 2002   Link

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