Lyrics for She Ionizes and Atomizes as interpreted by numb

She Ionizes and Atomizes Lyrics
She ionizes and atomizes
Then turns to sunlight
He realizes and itemizes
Pulls harder than gravity
She ionizes and atomizes
Then turns to sunlight
Flourescent lightbulbs will make
An absense of dark, but
The light just ain't there still and she said
"I'm feeling empty
The real lights can make you heavy but
Never ever really empty
Flourescent lights will always equal empty"

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sounds_familiar06
06-04-2009

Rated 0 
i love this song...the rhythm and everything is perfect.

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dojobug
04-17-2009

Rated 0 
Oh man. Every time I hear a Modest Mouse album with friends, doesn't really matter which album, I say to them, "Oh, this is my favorite song." Three songs later, I say it again. Sometimes the next song. MM is my favorite band EVAR. I got a tattoo of a hot air balloon with an anchor instead of a carriage. :D

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NoOutlet
04-14-2009

Rated 0 
I like peteck727's interpretation the best. But this comment is a story related to the lyrics.

At the time of this story, I was under the impression that the lyric was "She ionizes and atomizes then turns IT to sunlight"

I had a best friend who didn't introduce me to Modest Mouse, but he had all the albums, so I would say he immersed me in them. Sometime later, he was dating a friend of mine who was also super into Modest Mouse(and got to see them at a gas station after a concert we attended- lucky $%#%) http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=64217300&albumID=554271&imageID=966018
Anyway, one cold winter night all three of us were on my friends back porch which faced a street. She was sitting down on a bench and my friend noticed and pointed out to me that she was sitting where she was because she thought the fluorescent street light hitting the bench would warm her up. He then explained that sunlight would warm her, but not fluorescent light. Then I pointed out that they had been playing out the lyrics of this song:
She was ionizing and atomizing the fluorescent light(the IT in my misheard lyrics) and turning it into sunlight. He was realizing what she was doing and itemizing the different forms of light.
I suppose I was also realizing and itemizing the situation.

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megluvsbend13
02-07-2009

Rated 0 
I simply think its about how the sunlight has an effect on your mood. And like in winter when the days are shorter and you have to put the lights on earlier, its not the same. When you see the sunlight your body produces melatonin which makes you feel happy. But the "fake" flourescent lights just wont do it quite the same. Melatonin is what regulates your bodys biological rhythms. In general, when its dark outside and its not even close to bedtime you usually feel tired, or a little gloomy. Because you can turn on as many lights as you want but youre still going to feel empty.

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jpa23245
12-23-2008

Rated 0 
Reading these replies, I realized that there are not any people who are chemists or physicists. I know a bit about ionic and covalent bonds from college biology..

An ionic bond is when two atoms, rather than sharing one or more electrons, one completely donates an electron to another resulting in one strongly positively charged ion, and one negatively charged ion. This creates a strong bond between the two atoms or now, ions. It explains why salt crystals are so hard to break apart.

"She ionizes and atomizes" Makes me think that the couple forms, and she leaves him.
"then turns to sunlight" could either mean that Brock is either realizing she's "the one" as soon as she leaves. Or that she turns to her own sunlight which is another guy, or just a lifestyle away from Isaac. I think it is maybe the latter. The rest is based on how you see the first part I guess.

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peteck727
11-19-2008

Rated 0 
This is a song about a relationship. The guy in the song is in love with the girl and expresses this to her strongly. The girl however is not in love with the guy and feels empty inside. For a line by line analysis look below. This song is very well put together and metaphorical. Isaac Brook is truely amazing.

"She ionizes and atomizes
Then turns to sunlight"
--In this song sunlight is representing true love

"He realizes and itemizes
Pulls harder than gravity"
--The guy in the song realizes that he is in love with the girl and expresses this to her in a very strong (harder than gravity) way.


"Flourescent lightbulbs will make
An absense of dark, but
The light just ain't there still"
--A relationship can make you feel good inside (absense of dark), but if love (sunlight) is not there it's just fake (flourescent light).

"I'm feeling empty
The real lights can make you heavy but
Never ever really empty
Flourescent lights will always equal empty"
--The girl feels empty inside because she obviously is not in love with the guy. If she was truely in love (sunlight) she would feel fullfilled (heavy) no matter what. However she is not really in love with the guy (flourescent light) and will therefore always feel unfullfilled in the relationship (empty)

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HenBoy87
04-10-2008

Rated 0 
I think it's about cheetos. That's just what I got out of it.

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jib3810
02-07-2008

Rated 0 
I'll tell you whats awesome about this song...the female background vocal. They deff need to bring her back for some songs.

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Lionboy
02-03-2008

Rated 0 
I think you guys are totally looking way too deep on this one.

Isaac Brock is a total environmentalist. Just look at "March Into The Sea." This song is about the Sun.

"She Ionises and Atomises...." I mean, how exactly do you suppose that is supposed to be a metaphor for a girl?

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1 Reply
poopsmcgee567
12-04-2007

Rated 0 
when he talks about her "ionizing and atomizing" i think he's saying how it's like she's with him one moment and then kind not really with him the next. she's solid sometimes but others she's more like a projection. she does not feel as strongly towards him as he does towards her. she is his sunlight but gradually she is disappearing and being replaced by less pure or artificial lights. this makes him feel empty inside. this is exactly how i feel right now but then i listened to Space Travel Is Boring and feel a little better.

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Farenyth
11-02-2007

Rated 0 
The significance I gather from the song is that it is a love song, but in a more general nature.

She, or her love, is the sunlight, and all the other pleasures are the florescent light bulbs. Knowing Issac's past, I can see what his florescent light bulbs may have been, but I think the idea is that only love, or maybe even "her" love, can fill you with that feeling of fullness.

General or specific, I think it's fair enough to say the song is about love.

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thegirlanachronism
08-19-2007

Rated 0 
for some reason i never realized how amazing modest mouse is until this past week. this song proves it, i've been missing out by not listening to more of them sooner.

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Mr. Penis Llama
05-30-2007

Rated 0 
Well, I don't think this song's the best that MM came out with (it's pretty goddamn awful), but I do like the lyrics and such.

I've always associated the song with death. They use fluorescent light bulbs in hospitals, don't they? The drums in the song are reminiscent of a slow, throbbing heart to me.

Ionizing and atomizing is sort of like, the girl's soul is dead, or her body is decomposing and breaking down, and when Nicole Johnson whispers things like, "I am feeling empty...Fluorescent lights will always equal empty", she's comparing the cold light coming from a fluorescent light bulb (they don't produce heat, do they?) to death.

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Entropy21
05-22-2007

Rated +1 
At 1:57, I know for a fact, at the beginning she says, "Your rapid lights will always..." and I cant hear the rest. This song...it's so creepy. Like Lounge. Same feel. All MM music is a feeling. Isaac understands more than alot of people do. He feels.

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listening
04-29-2007

Rated 0 
I think this song is about light in general, not really that deep in my opinion. I think people who write songs laugh at us when we try to turn it into something more. I'd laugh.

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smellyhippie1
01-02-2007

Rated 0 
this song is protesting flourescent light bulbs

fight the power

oh and for the most part the girl is just singing what isaac is singing

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Diskettes
12-12-2006

Rated 0 
Yes I did notice the girl's voice, but its really hard to understand what she's saying.

I think she says: "Flourescent lights will always equal empty".
Listen for it around the 1:57 mark.

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willlliw
06-13-2006

Rated 0 
the ending to this song is amazing. did anyone notice that before the bridge there is a girl's voice in the background speaking really softly.

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halobreak
06-08-2006

Rated 0 
so.. this song hits home for me. im pretty sure i love modest mouse.

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sam samson
02-08-2006

Rated 0 
clearly enter and disposable are on the money. "he realizes" she found his stash "and itemizes" what remains. she couldn't help herself, "pulls harder than gravity."

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sirgarycoleman
12-31-2005

Rated 0 
For a while there I thought he said "Shit ionizes and atomizes" in the first line... and I kinda liked it better that way. :P

I wonder if that was intentional?

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violenza
08-23-2005

Rated 0 
this song is one of the most beautiful ones i think. the guitars sound like they're dying and fizzling like unsung wicked witches under those horrid fluourescents. ahh it's hard to interpret this into words :) it speaks for itself

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broken_shoelaces
08-20-2005

Rated 0 
"She ionizes and atomizes
Then turns to sunlight"

his girl has a change of feelings.. and decides to leave.. sun=beauty

"He realizes and itemizes
Pulls harder than gravity"

he realizes that he has fucked up big time.. he gets his priorities and shit straight.. he knows that she was the best thing that he had.. so he tries and tries and tries.. pulling harder than gravity.. but gravity does not affect sunlight..


"She ionizes and atomizes
Then turns to sunlight"

her feelings remain the same..

"Flourescent lightbulbs will make
An absense of dark, but
The light just aint there still"

he tells himself that he is over her .. he finds another girl.. as a replacement.. just like light bulbs are like a sunlight substitute .. they get they job done.. but they aren't the same .. and he knows it .. he still loves her


"and she says 'I'm feeling empty,
The real lights can make you heavy but
Never ever really empty
Flourescent lights will always equal empty."

his new girl [lightbulb] knows that he still loves her [sunlight] .. he sees that his love for her makes him feel like shit all the time.. makes him hate himself .. but knows that she is the one .. he'd never feel "empty" with her .. but as long as it isn't her that he's with .. he will always feel empty without her.. lightbulbs can never replace the natural beauty of sunlight..

the strange thing is.. i used to listen to this song after my girlfriend Sherry broke up with me.. i helped me cope.. because she meant alot to me.. but i had never known what it meant until now.. and i realize that i went through the EXACT SAME SHIT .. with the whole replacement girl and still feeling empty.. weird shit

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Plornt
07-04-2005

Rated 0 
Its about someone being raped by an iron shopping cart ap the ass.

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disposablesecret
07-04-2005

Rated 0 
not to sound completely jaded, but i think enter's got the right idea.
fake, real, lightbulbls.
despite the implied relationship i think the drug is a predominent (though very subtle) theme. the girls words are quoted. she feels empty. there's nothing like not eating for three days to make you feel empty. and not many things make you have a lightbulb preferance than 'melting the bleeding sunlight' inside one.
the different forms of light are different drugs or different states of mind induced by substances(ionizing). drugs change who you are by how much your bloodstream is saturated. the changes are moment to moment and completely severe.

ionizes: "To convert or be converted totally or partially into ions."
that would be taking the drug, or the act of melting down or burning said substance into steam or smoke.

atomizing is when everything breaks down or apart--coming down.

realizing and then itemizing (an extremely thurough list of specific details) implies his mind is being encompassed by this (the reality of realization=gravity or escapism halted by accepted reality of situation). sounds like speed. plus the alure of addictive drug is greater than the pull of gravity.

flourescent lightbulbs equaling empty might give empty a dual use in the song--you can't use flourescent bulbs for paraphenalia, so they'd remind the girl she doesn't have any drugs which would remind her that her bloodstream is empty and so is her heart. because there's a point where you stop knowing who you are without being able to see it on a drug test.

my strongest reasoning for non-love theme--there is no actual mention of love or affection for each other. the metaphors are not exactly romantic notions or particularly heartbreaking. the focus of the song isn't even particularly focused on the girl, but more specifically the different light sources and their effect on her as a person. she changes right in front of him with every hit of particles penetrating her veins, lungs, or nose.

this song doesn't even sound sad, it sounds observational to me.

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