SongMeanings | Lyrics | Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand

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Primitive Radio Gods
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth Wi...
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Lyrics for Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth Wi... as interpreted by antispork

Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth Wi... Lyrics

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Jan lays down and wrestles in her sleep
Moonlight spills on comic books and superstars in magazines
An old friend calls and tells us where to meet
Her plane takes off from Baltimore and touches down on Bourbon Street

We sit outside and argue all night long
About a God we've never seen, but never fails to side with me
Sunday comes and all the papers say
Ma Teresa's joined the mob and happy with her full time job

Am I alive or thoughts that drift away?
Does summer come for everyone?
Can humans do what prophets say?
And if I die before I learn to speak
Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?

A life is time, they teach you growing up
The seconds ticking killed us all
A million years before the fall
You ride the waves and don't ask where they go
You swim like lions through the crest
And bathe yourself in zebra flesh

I've been downhearted, baby
Ever since the day we met

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pragmaticpoetry
04-26-2002

Rated 0

I would really appreciate it if someone could offer their opinions on this song. I have hesitant pieces of the puzzle, but..

1 Reply

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onafriday
04-30-2002

Rated +1

i believe this song is about 4 different people that are tied together in the end, in that they are all beginning to feel alone and seperated from something. In the first verse, they are feeling alone because they never reached the stardom or fame they so desired. In the second the person is beginning to feel disillusioned with god and religion. In the third the person feels like they have been wasting their life, and they're wishing they had done more with their life. In the fourth the person is out of control and they've "gotten off the beaten path", so to speak and now they feel like they need to do something because thats what everyone else is doing. And all the while B.B. King's sample of "how blue can you get" (the down-hearted part) is more or less saying that they're all lost now because they known what to do all along, but they haven't done done it.

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fyrefox
05-09-2002

Rated 0

Uh...personally I think the last line is "exceed the flesh" but I could be wrong. Well, if anyone has ever been on Bourbon street, they'd know that it is lined with strip joints(wall to wall...very disturbing). So maybe (like onafriday said) its about someone who wanted stardom and excitement but (as metaphorically suggested) only got as far as a strip club or prostitution. Then, they find out that God is phony (as suggested by the whole Mother Teresa part). So after that, they try to figure out what happens next: will they find happiness or truth? All the while, they regret their lives so far. Then they have a whole transcendent moment where they decide to follow fate and shed their old lives...almost like a rebirth. And that rebirth is emphasized by the wave-sounds in the background that drown out the "I've been downhearted" part.

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pizon
05-23-2002

Rated 0

I don't have idea about this song.
but I love it, makes me....

fulllllll.....

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miserlou
06-07-2002

Rated 0

i really love onafriday's outlook on it, brilliant.

and i have always loved this song, since it came out. and the older i get, the more it actually means and depresses me!

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lindyswingster
06-18-2002

Rated 0

Well, the line is about zebra flesh...according to the lyrics in the liner notes in the album.

At any rate, this song has always had a very soothing quality to me...like it was saying to accept and just go with life, along its twists and turns and curve balls, that life goes on...but that might just be me. But this is one of my favorite songs though, even if the rest of the album is awful...:)

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JakedOnGreenBeers
08-05-2002

Rated 0

This is one of those rare songs that causes a true physical reaction in me. Soooo beautiful and soothing.

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slinkstersars
03-16-2003

Rated 0

very nice, thats all i can say~

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the grey fool
03-31-2003

Rated 0

this song is the essence of what music is. hell, it's what truth and beauty are too.

forget what ricky fitts said in american beauty. yeah the paper bag dancing on that just-perfect day is really cool, but so is chris o'connors offering to the gods with the amazing aura of his standing outside a broken phone booth.... the music is first class but the lyrics take it to the preeminent level of recording feats.

despite o'connors apparent religious distaste, the lines "we sit outside and argue all night long/about a God we've never seen/but never fails to side with me" touches on a profound level that many never grasp. not only so-called religious fanatics, but also stubborn agnostics and atheists. it's a poignant commentary on religious disagreements as well as pride. who of us really considers in the heat of the discussion that there's a possibility that we just might be wrong? maybe God isn't always allied with our views.

the following two verses are filled with thoughtfulness. "am i alive or thoughts that drift away?" and "can money pay for all the days i lived awake but half asleep?" it always leaves me speechless...

the key theme of the song, in my humble opinion is "you ride the waves and don't ask where they go". all of us think that we call the shots in our lives, but it's astounding how much is beyond our reach. often we meet some of the most intriguing people of our lives simply by "chance". it's nothing of our own accord, it just happens while we ride the waves. and we don't ask where they go, because we don't want to see the tragedies waiting for us down the line. ultimately the last harbor we reach is death. "the seconds ticking killed us all a million years before the fall".

pretty much where do all of these thoughts leave us? standing outside a broken phone booth, money in hand, but there's way to explain it all and it doesn't matter, because the phone's out of order anyway.

chris o'connor created a classic with this one and that's final.

2 Replies

gaua
01-25-2009

Rated 0

You make an excellent point about the God discussion also applying to atheists and agnostics. To take your other points further, I think that this song might be more concerned with individuals taking the time to think as opposed to a discussion about "fate."

"We ride the waves and don't ask where we go" could mean that people just act without much thought as to the consequences of their actions. This song hints on some existential philosophy when it questions as to if humans are just their thoughts. "Does Summer come for everyone" also hints towards existentialism with a question of human perception. When he questions human experiences and human perceptions, he also wonders if our inability to think (or speak) will be forgivable with physical goods (money).

The author gives us a mixed approval of individual perception. On one hand, he questions if currency could replace thought. We're only "half asleep" (or half-awake) if we don't think. He also hints that we are prone to mindless violence (lion-like behavior and swimming through zebra flesh).

On the other hand, if we are thinking, then we do run a risk of isolating ourselves with our own flawed perceptions. He cites those with the argument of god.

Well, that's my stab at it...

indiepistol
05-06-2009

Rated 0

Though I agree with much of your analysis, it is a bit offputting that someone who DOES seem to know what he is talking about lumps athiests and agnostics into the same category. The conclusion you drew about the religion-related lines in this song is actually that of an agnostic, if you examine the definition: "ag·nos·tic (g-nstk) One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God."

Though the definition does not truly do agnosticism justice, because it is a FACT, not an opinion, that proof for or against Creationship cannot be given because there is no empirical evidence for either side. Agnostics would, therefore, be agreeing with you on the idea that perhaps everyone in the circle of tense, defensive belief argumentation is incorrect.

Aside from that, relatively solid analysis.

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U2
04-15-2003

Rated 0

Okay. The person "the grey fool" is my inspiration for now joining the site. To see that people on this particular site have SOME intellegence when it comes to music! Thank God! Personally my views maining are on (surprise-surprise) U2... but this song strikes a chord in my head as well as the illustrious Brian Eno and Paul Hewson. This song isn't about 4 different people but more rather the entire world's struggle with dissapointment and loss. Basically, I can't really reword what the grey fool has said since that would be really dumb of me and disrespecting all the time and effort he has put into creating the light for those in doubt to what this song means. All in all, it's just another brick in the wall, right? So, I would like to applaud him/her for proving me wrong. That there are SOME smart people on the net, as opposed to those who juts pretend to be smart and come off as jackasses. Great response to these lyrics and keep it up kiddo!

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zipped6648
06-18-2003

Rated +1

Awesome song. I love it. Just a good, easy-flowing song. Thanks

b

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greennlonely
10-20-2004

Rated 0

This is a great site :) I never thought about the meaning of this song till I started reading here today. It's interesting to know how others interpret songs.

Someone said, "personally I think the last line is 'exceed the flesh'..."

I disagree. I think it's right the way it is, because of the previous 2 lines.

you ride the waves and don't ask where they go
you swim like lions through the crest
and bathe yourself in zebra flesh

What I think he's saying is, you're on this up-and-down ride. In the good times, you're like a lion, king of the jungle, able to take on anything. But then when you crash, you're defenseless. Zebras don't really have any natural defenses, so they're pretty easy targets.

So, when you're up you're at your prime, but when you're down it's the worst place to be. But there's no way of knowing whether the waves will take you up or bring you down. You don't know if the circumstances will make you a lion or zebra. You just kind of live with it.

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DarkApathy
11-12-2004

Rated 0

the grey fool gave a very good interpretation to what this song means.

what i saw in it was being sorta sad about life. I think he refers to being downhearted baby ever since the day we met as a way of saying, ever since he met certain aspects of life, he's ended up depressed over it. that friends are always going away, nostalgia sinks in, we think we're in control of our lives, but really we have no idea how much we dont, questions of God, etc.

I think the last 2 verses are very interesting, in that they give away what the meaning of this song more specifically. The third verse has 4 questions that he asks due to his uncertainty in life. Whether or not he's made the right choices, or if it was all worth it.

the last verse sounds like a criticism. you ride the waves and dont ask where they go. sounds like he's making an observation of people that just go along with the flow. you swim like lions through the crest and bathe yourself in zebra flesh. This sounds like people go through life going along with things. Acting like lions in life bathing themselves in zebra flesh, which is on the prey of others. They go though the crest of life with ease with their over indulgence and spotlight, all at the expense of others. Something like that more or less.

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Sandman3987
12-15-2004

Rated 0

great song i agree, flows like none other but what does the title have to do with the meaning of the song??

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kthx
12-20-2004

Rated 0

I think the title is just saying you can't control your destiny. You can be prepared but you can't change what life will throw at you. You can have a pocketful of change but that doesn't mean the phonebooth works.

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maria04
01-04-2005

Rated 0

this song always reminds me of dark times in my past, which is odd considering it was out in the mid 90s and i was in middle school. haha. but whenever i hear it i get a haunting, dark feeling. and i'm listening to it alot lately.

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Smurk92
02-05-2005

Rated 0

These are the best posts I've ever read on this site. So many different interpretations of the song. Neither one or the other necessarily the correct one; the lyrics mean what you feel they mean. And I agree with the grey fool -- this song is beauty in its purest form. Now that I have analyzed the lyrics, its earned its place as one of the greatest pieces of writing I've ever read. I mean... Jeez. How can a song like this be so underappreciated??

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orangetomorrow
02-09-2005

Rated 0

I know this from somewhere. There is a memory association, very specific. abandoned city street, crumpled paper blows by, camera angle slightly yawed.

In either case, this song is in a style very near lou reed, except i like it. and i enjoy lou.

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stoolhardy
02-24-2005

Rated 0

After reading these posts, I do get the title of the song and how it ties in to the content of the verses. You could have the change to make a phone call, but that doesn't mean the phone works. So we could be prepare for things in life, but no matter how prepared we think we are and how much time we might spend being prepared, we are not. This theme is similar to the tiger/zebra analogy at the last 3 lines of the song and the title of the song. I really don't quite understand why he used the Big-Ben-style gongs or the ocean waves, other than it sounds "atmospheric." Maybe the gongs are trying to say that as time goes on, our spirits are shaped by the world and things outside of our control, as for the ocean waves, I don't know. This is a good song, but if someone's first hit song has this much sampling in it, keyboard drums and style imitation (Lou Reed), in addition to being a one-man band, I wouldn't expect the rest of the songs on the album to be any good :-)

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unclegummybear
03-04-2005

Rated 0

I think that although that this song has more than one storyline, how they all tie together isn't the point; the point is that I find this song inherently depressing, " I've been downhearted baby, ever since the day we met" summerizes the general saddness in a simple, depressing way..

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Sheepmaster3000
07-12-2005

Rated 0

God, it is SO nice to see that there are some people out there who appreciate music, not to mention this site. This is what this site is meant to be, and you guys have no idea how much I love the way this discussion is going. I just had to say that

I think this song is a reflection. On life, on religion, on the world. It's beautifully written both lyrically and musically. IIt has a haunting effect that I just love. It's one of my favorites.

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delial
07-20-2005

Rated 0

i like to listen to this song riding in the car on long trips, or late at night when i can't sleep. it's one of those 'reflection' tunes.

"am i alive, or thoughts that drift away?"

yeah this song is basically a lot of unanswered questions we all ask from time to time and get no answer to. the piano makes me want to hop a plane to anywhere but where i am... i feel that way a lot lately.

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brooks
09-29-2005

Rated 0

Has anyone seen the music video? In it he sings the first three verses. But the last one alittle girl dreesed in white sings it to him in his ear. Im not sure if that has any significance but it seems like see is an angel and she is answering his questions from the earlier verse or saying stuff to confert him.

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Foundation4life
12-12-2005

Rated 0

I think it is fair to say that you either Love this song, or Hate it. I personally love it, definetly reminds me of that summer (96)

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orthonormal
12-13-2005

Rated 0

Far be it from me to think I understand it as a whole, but I noticed that the song is a bit religion-haunted; there were a few lines that stood out to me.

Of course, there's the line on arguing about God.
Then the Mother Teresa reference.
Then, "can humans do what prophets say?"
The next line is very close to the standard, "if I should die before I wake" (note too that the following line talks about waking and sleeping)
And finally, "a million years before the Fall".

I'm not saying the song is all about Christianity. It seems that the artist is trying to figure out the meaning of life, and how he ought to live it, and his thoughts on religion keep factoring into that.

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