Lyrics for Expo '86 as interpreted by heartattack

Expo '86 Lyrics
Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse

But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued

I am waiting for something to go wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve

Sometimes it seems that I don't have the skills to recollect
The twists and turns of plots that took us from lovers to friends
I'm thinking I should take that volume back up off the shelf
And crack it's weary spine and read to help remind myself

But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued

I am waiting for something to wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
I am waiting for another repeat
Another diet fed by crippling defeat
And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene
As if you held in your hand the smoking gun
And on the floor lay the one you said you loved

And it's strange
They are basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore

Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse

The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse

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Forbidden Fruit
04-11-2004

Rated 0 
this song is so beautiful, i cant believe no one has commented on it yet.
"i am waiting for you to flee the scene as if you held in your hand the smoking gun and on the floor lay the one you said you loved."
that says the whole song right there, to me.
<3.

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taylor8285
04-17-2004

Rated 0 
i am waiting for something to go wrong.
i am waiting for familiar resolve.
I love that part!!!

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fish eat steel
04-29-2004

Rated 0 
this song is simply about life's struggles.

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solitarystar
04-30-2004

Rated 0 
To me, this is about a relationship that becomes a cycle.. the pair run into a problem and fight and break up, but always know they'll keep coming back to each other. The guy is tired of going of the pain and sees it's all turning apathetic with the amount of work they have to put into it ("..by the time that I have figured what it's worth, the squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse").

And the "Sometimes it seems that I don't have the skills to recollect" verse really gets me. I feel like I could have written this song...

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AmericanSuperHeros
05-10-2004

Rated 0 
I don't get "the squeeking of our skin against the steel" other than that this is my favorite off Transatlanticism the best part is "and it's strange...

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blacktigermusic.com
05-19-2004

Rated 0 
"the squeeking of our skin against the steel" is metaphoric to "them" goin up and down a slide... They climb to the top only to slip and slide back down to the bottom.

I never really got this song at all. I just heared the greatness of the beats, bass, and fumbling guitar. It was when I was actually going through these feelings that I finally found out what this song was about, and began to relate. The song is of a relationship, of course, where the woman has just gotten out of a serious relationship (maybe she was dumped, or maybe something unforseen happened?) She is torn between two hearts, and has found a void to fill. They met one night, fell in love that week only for her to still have those feelings for the other. She's obviously honest, as they turn from lovers to friends, and he's worried of losing his place in line. I think Ben Gibbard puts a personal note as he states "and it's strange they are basically the same so i don't ask names anymore" as he's on the road all the time and doesn't know whats really goin on.

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mneme
10-04-2004

Rated 0 
You're watching someone fall for all the wrong people, over and over again--"& it's strange, they're all basically the same--so I don't ask names, anymore..." Meanwhile, all you want is your turn in that line.

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WarpWhistlee
11-05-2004

Rated 0 
It's about a person who has been crushed time and time again when his affections have been placed in people that either don't return them or scorn them. It's about somebody who has been let down by love his entire life, but now there is this perfect person that has somehow miraculously chosen him and him alone to be with, If one has been dissapointed one's entire life, you can't help but think that this great thing won't last and you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop or to wake up from the dream.

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thisbackpressure
11-18-2004

Rated 0 
anyone now what the title of the song has to do with anything

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deviladdictions
11-18-2004

Rated 0 
"waiting for something to go wrong" like so many times I watch my best friend go out with other guys, which somehow makes me jealous and I am wishing she'd break it off and come back to me...

this could be another part of the cycle

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coliadis
11-22-2004

Rated 0 
this song says everything about myself that i have failed to put in words.

in the first part, he refers to a never ending cycle of going up and down and slide, each time hurting more that the next but keeps on going regardless.

Such is his (and my own) tendency with relationships. He's afraid that he'll miss out on something, so instead of taking a break from the pain and calling it quits, he just keeps on getting back in line, one bad relationship after another.

in the second part, he refers to the individual relationship as a whole, recognizing his failure to see when the relationship started to fall apart and what in fact went wrong.

the next part is the heart of the song. he's waiting for the ball to drop, waiting for the rug to be ripped beneath his feet. He knows that it will happen, as it has every other time before, it's just a matter of when. "I am waiting for you to flea the scene as if you held in your hand the smoking gun and on the floor lay the one you said you loved."

And he doesn't ask names any more. Because no matter who it is, it all ends the same way.

It's interesting and so contradicting to think that someone who jumps from one relationship to another would such insecurities about them. It seems so illogical to keep getting involved when you expect, the worst to happen. But just as the song portrays, even after you've been hurt and lie damaged and broken on the floor, you jump back up and climb the slide again.

The order and cyclical way he wrong this song is brilliant. It starts with the slide, a peppy, head bopping melody, and slowly delves into the guts of the relationship. The music gets a little harder, a little more painful. And, despite the pain and damage, in the end he immediately circles back to the light melody from the beginning.

a beautiful, insightful song that describes me and my own relationship tendencies better than I could describe them myself.

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GhostInThePhoto
12-19-2004

Rated 0 
to me, this song is just about song writing, looking for things to write about. the squeeking part could be playing the guitar. that's just how i interpreted it. that's what it will always mean to me, even if i'm way off.

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Gama
12-23-2004

Rated 0 
The song seems fairly obvious but I wonder what the title has to do with it.

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DarkArchon
12-24-2004

Rated 0 
Great song, one of my favorite from Death Cab

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SMcCann7
01-02-2005

Rated 0 
Great song, too bad I feel exactly like this right now. Everything's a cycle and we just get stuck in it over and over...

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zeros and ones
01-10-2005

Rated 0 
I don't think this song is about relationships. To me, I think the song is about cutting, "Sometimes I think this cycle never ends" meaning that he is addicted to cutting himself. "we slide from top to bottom then we turn and climb again" Hes probably saying hes trying to get away from his problems but he keeps going back. "and it seems by the time that i have figured what it's worth the squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse" Cutting himself. "but if i move my place in line i'll lose.
and i have waited, the anticipation's got me glued" meaning that hes addicted to cutting. "I am waiting for something to go wrong" so he can have a reason to cut himself. "and i am waiting for that sense of relief
i am waiting for you to flee the scene" I'm guessing he enjoys cutting and it makes him feel better.

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ohouigheighi
01-13-2005

Rated 0 
Cutting? Really? Wow. I think I am going to go with "Relationship"

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Alter-Ego
01-18-2005

Rated 0 
"I am waiting for something to go wrong". That line sums up my entire life.

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EatAtJoes121
01-19-2005

Rated 0 
I don't think he is talking about the ups and downs of a single relationship or the break up and make ups with one person. I just think that any relationship he has keeps ending up going through the same problems and ending the same way.

and it's strange
they are basically the same
so i don't ask names anymore.

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mike7
01-30-2005

Rated 0 
this songs awesome......it explains my life pretty well.

"we slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again"

lifes full of ups and downs....losing and regaining.....thats how i interpreted it

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JRCJYC
01-31-2005

Rated 0 
I think its just about a single relationship with a girl
that keeps cheating on him, but he keeps taking her back because he doesnt want to lose her and she needs her back-up when things go wrong she always goes to him.

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Snake_12
02-14-2005

Rated 0 
Expo'86 was a worlds fair held in Vancouver, BC. I was 2 years old when I was there and don't remember it. But anyways seeing how Seattle is as close as it is to Vancouver they're is a chance that Ben Gibbard or anyone else in Death Cab could of attended. Chances are the title comes from a roller coaster or some other sort of carnival ride found at the P.N.E in Vancouver....hence the cycle.

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OhArienette
02-26-2005

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a relationship that has it's ups and downs too predictably. While it's going so well, there's a mistake waiting to happen. Once their at their top, they quickly fall and start over again.

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NQArbuckle
03-27-2005

Rated 0 
could also be the Expo they have every year in Toronto. I always thought 'the squeaking of the steel' was talking about a ride; maybe a ferris wheel or a carousel or something that goes around and around; and that he was using that ride as a metaphor

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NQArbuckle
03-27-2005

Rated 0 
I meant to also say, since he's using the ride as a metaphor for a relationship, perhaps "the squeaking of the steel has gotten worse"; represents that feeling or fear or paranoia or discomfort that you get when you start to question the state of the relationship.

i'm oh, so emo... i go through that feeling all the time in relationships.

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