In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Transient jet lag
Ecto mimed bison
This is the haunt of roulette dares
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor
To all that enter here
Open wrist talk back again
In the wounds of its skin
They'll pinprick the witness
In ritual contrition
The am trinity
Fell upon asphyxia-derailed
In the rattles of
Made its way through the tracks
Of a snail slouching whisper
A half mass comute
Through umbilical blisters
Spector will lurk
Radar has gathered
Midnight nooses from boxcar cadavers
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-aay
It's because
This is
Cranial bleeding
Leaches train the living
Cursed are they who speak its name
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor
To all that enter here
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-yeah
It's because
This is
Ratteling the laughter
Hinges splintering inside
Bludgeoned to a saddle
Rang the cloister bell inside
Inside
Inside
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-yeah
It's because
This is
Ecto mimed bison
This is the haunt of roulette dares
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor
To all that enter here
Open wrist talk back again
In the wounds of its skin
They'll pinprick the witness
In ritual contrition
The am trinity
Fell upon asphyxia-derailed
In the rattles of
Made its way through the tracks
Of a snail slouching whisper
A half mass comute
Through umbilical blisters
Spector will lurk
Radar has gathered
Midnight nooses from boxcar cadavers
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-aay
It's because
This is
Cranial bleeding
Leaches train the living
Cursed are they who speak its name
Ruse of metacarpi
Caveat emptor
To all that enter here
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-yeah
It's because
This is
Ratteling the laughter
Hinges splintering inside
Bludgeoned to a saddle
Rang the cloister bell inside
Inside
Inside
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
No-oh-yeah
It's because
This is
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I feel like this song is about a druggies path to the "after-world."
The first few versus are about the drug dealer selling him the narcotic...
Transient jet lag ecto mimed bison - dazed and out of body he finds a portrayed man (dealer) This is the haunt of roulette dares - This is his frequent challenge of gambling with the narcotic Ruse of metacarpi - slight of hand (the dealer gives him the stuff) Caveat emptor... to all that enter here - Buyer beware...to all that inject
Then taking the narcotic...
Open wrist talks back again - he's killing himself but not literally slicing his wrists In the wounded of its skin - it's going to be his fault They'll pinprick the witness - he shoots up In ritual contrition - in ceremonial remorse cause he's addicted
The a.m. trinity fell upon asphyxia-derailed - The morning god finds the druggie asphyxiated In the rattles of... - In the confusion Made its way through the tracks - went through his veins (cont in next verse) Of a snail slouching whisper - slowly and quietly A half mast commute through umbilical blisters - a somber voyage through his dependency which injures Spectre will lurk - The spirit will see Radar has gathered - Awareness has come Midnight nooses from boxcar cadavers - Dark death
Then death itself...
Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed - The mind has left the body and joining is on hold Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed
It's because this is... Cranial bleeding - his mind is dying (soul) Leeches train the living - evil conquers the living Cursed are they who speak its name - don't tell Ruse of metacarpi - slight of hand Caveat emptor to all that enter here - buyer beware to all that come
Funeral???..
Rattling the laughter - confusing happiness Hinges splintering inside - trapped by wooden corners Bludgeoned to a saddle - forced to one place Rang the cloister bell inside - ring the quiet bell within inside - within inside - within
Maybe, maybe not at all. Great song either way
I think BlackTippedWings has got it. "Midnight neuces from boxcar cadavears" I think "neuces" might be "nooses". And that might be talking about a stethescope on a doctor, and the boxcar could be the ambulance. I could be way off, but that's just my interpretation.
"Made its way through the tracks Of a snail slouching whisper A half mass comute through umbilical blisters "
It it is in fact talking about his ride in the ambulance, "Tracks" could be roads, "snail" could be the pace that he percieves, because morphine slows things down, and "commute" could be the ride to the hospital.
@HurrayForSchool where the hell you guys get this BS interpretations from. People who think there are some objective meaning to cedric's lyrics have completely missed the essence of mars volta.
i think "exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed" might be talking about how he tried to commit suicide and now is in a comma (hs body is kind of just like a shell with no conciousness-- hence exoskeletal. junction at the railroad delayed is since hes not dead yet(suicide has failed) might be kind of like judgement after death has been delayed
@jonderr Eh no. That's the loosest most vague ass interpretation I've ever heard. Why must people like you exist, to put some objective solid meaning into an obviously subjective artistic lyricist, who clearly stated that there is no one meaning or any meaning to his lyrics as much as he just likes to make word games and twist the english language. the lyrics are based around a story yes but they don't just mean that one thing. it's art with words, his instrument as a musician, his colors are meanings and words. don't put the birds of thought in the cages of words, and if you do, don't put the cage in an even bigger cage of your opinion.
i keep saying : this and Eriatarka are the most fucking amazing songs i ever heard in my entire life..
trust me , i heard a lot of songs from diferent bands..
@RedSpikedWalls trust what, your opinion? the opposite of what the volta would want you to be, OPEN MINDED.
at the end of the chorus, when the guitar comes in after "it's because, this is..." that part is perfect...amazing...this song in general, if only Mars Volta was this focused all the time.
this song is sooooo much better since they re-did it, the first one was good, and this one is better, didnt think they could top it
this song is so explosive
"ruse of metacarpi / caveat emptor to all that enter here" is referring to suicide decision, the movement of the hand (metacarpal is the bone in your fingers) and caveat emptor is latin for buyer beware. basically, beware about suicide.
the fuckin BEST song on de-loused....the whole rail-road and tracks thing seems to be the part of the story where he shoots up morphine
I love how the solo with the reverb he does sound like going through a tunnel. I love the whole cinematic approach they have on every song. It really accents the story.
@skemodan more like the stories accent mars volta's art. every album is completely different sounding and about a different thing completely. not always a story but sometimes like frances the mute and deloused, but all their other shit is just their art. man