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Once was a magical place
Over time it was lost
Price increased the cost
Now the fortune of the kingdom
Is locked up in its dungeon vaults
The castle floor lies in traps
With coiled wires set back
Decoyed by old cheese Now the drawbridge has been lifted
As the millions
They drop to their knees
They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried
In their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes
The cold wind blows as it snows
On those who fight to get in
On heads that are small
Disillusioned as they enter
They're unaware what's
Behind castle walls
But now it's written in stone
The king has been overthrown
By jesterly fools
And the power of the people
Shall come to believe they do rule
They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried
In their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes
Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn
Have yet to spring open
Have they lost their heads
Or are they all blind mice
We've heard all their stories
One too many times
Hypnotized by fireflies
That glow in the dark
Midgets that disguise themselves
As tiny little dwarfs
The parade that's electrical
It serves no real purpose
Just takes up a lot of juice
Just to impress us
Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn
Have yet to spring open
Over time it was lost
Price increased the cost
Now the fortune of the kingdom
Is locked up in its dungeon vaults
The castle floor lies in traps
With coiled wires set back
Decoyed by old cheese Now the drawbridge has been lifted
As the millions
They drop to their knees
They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried
In their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes
The cold wind blows as it snows
On those who fight to get in
On heads that are small
Disillusioned as they enter
They're unaware what's
Behind castle walls
But now it's written in stone
The king has been overthrown
By jesterly fools
And the power of the people
Shall come to believe they do rule
They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried
In their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes
Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn
Have yet to spring open
Have they lost their heads
Or are they all blind mice
We've heard all their stories
One too many times
Hypnotized by fireflies
That glow in the dark
Midgets that disguise themselves
As tiny little dwarfs
The parade that's electrical
It serves no real purpose
Just takes up a lot of juice
Just to impress us
Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn
Have yet to spring open
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This is what I've found out what the song means, from here - en.allexperts.com/q/Doubt-538/…
Well if you were looking for a hidden meaning in a song, this wasn't the best choice. It's kind of straight forward. I have lived in Anaheim for over 10 years and currently do and many people in this area (including No Doubt in this song) consider Disneyland to be a monster organization. Disney calls themself "The Magic Kingdom" hence why this song is called "Tragic Kingdom". It's kind of showing the unseen side of Disneyland.
"Once was a magical place
Over time it was lost" - this means that Disneyland when it started was a cool place, but over the years it lost it's magic.
"Price increased the cost
Now the fortune of the kingdom
Is locked up in its dungeon vaults" - this means that the prices of tickets increased over the years to an incredible amount ($40 a ticket to each Disneyland park which there are 2 of)....and now Disney is hording their money and not spending it to improve things for people who visit.
"They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried
In their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes" - The king is Mickey Mouse in this. Mickey's "life" including his dreams like in Fantasia are buried in our minds because most people have saw these movies. Mickey is referred to be cold hearted as well.
"disillusioned as they enter
They're unaware what's
Behind castle walls" - this refers to the people who aren't aware of Disneylands dark side.
"Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn
Have yet to spring open" - the cornfields of popcorn refers to it being a touristy type of place
"Have they lost their heads
Or are they just all blind mice" - this refers to the tourists of Disneyland who don't see what's going on
"We've heard all their stories
One too many times" - poeple in the local area of Disneyland have all heard the horror stories of Disneyland
"Hypnotized by fireflies
that glow in the dark" - this is refering to the sparkling lights all around
"Midgets that disguise themselves
As tiny little dwarfs" - this is refering to the people who dress up as the 7 Dwarfs
"The parade that's electrical
It serves no real purpose
Just takes up a lot of juice
Just to impress us" - and finally this refers to the Electtrical Light Parade of Disneyland.
Being a reseident of Anaheim for so long, people in the area become resentful of Disneyland since it's always trying to buy the whole city and taking over small local mom and popl businesses. It's not the cool place that tourists see, but it's a money hungry corporation that the local residents see.
Hope that helps a little.
Daniel M.
It's quite poweful stuff !!
and Eric Stefani (the writer) of the song did say (some where on his FaceBook) something a long the lines of "that horrible song I wrote about Disneyland". LOL :P
Haha yes! I love that.
Also I like the Star Wars theme saxophone at the end.
"The castle floor lies in traps
With coiled wires set back
Decoyed by old cheese"
cheese, traps = mouse. Mickey Mouse. the Mouse that started it all.
i know the feeling, i live in fullerton, which is right next to anaheim. >.
It could also describe DarKastle at Busch Gardens Europe as well (as stated by the_journalist)