Spiders are singing in the salty breeze
Spiders are filling out tax returns
Spinning out webs of deductions and melodies
On a private beach in Michigan

Why can't they wish their kisses good
Why do they miss when their kisses should
Fly like winging birds fighting for the keys
On a private beach in Michigan

This recent rash of kidsmoke
All these telescopic poems
It's good to be alone

Why can't they say what they want
Why can't they just say what they mean
Come clean, listen and talk
Hello private callers, IDs blocked

The sun will rise, we'll climb into cars
The future has a valley and a shortcut around
Who will wear the crown of drowning award
Hold a private light on a Michigan shore

You fool me with a kiss of kidsmoke
From a microscopic home
It's good to be alone

I'll be in my bed
You can be the stone
That raises from the dead
And carries us all home

There's no blood on my hands
I just do as I am told


Lyrics submitted by eastcidskl

Spiders (Kidsmoke) Lyrics as written by Jeff Tweedy

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Spiders (Kidsmoke) song meanings
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34 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    I'd say this sounds less like Devo and more like Stereolab, but that's just me.

    thermo4on October 08, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    i think this song is about chaotic harmony. what is the function of a spider? they exist and allow us not to be over run with insects. they are unpleasant to look at but serve a valuable function. much of our society exists in this world. we could not function without economists, business men, lawyers, etc. they are a neccesary evil. this concept even exists within the guitar being played. the notes sound chaotic and are certainly played wildly but they form a pattern. my ideas anyway. loads more to this song no doubt.

    milkpluson January 09, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i didnt like this song at first, i didnt hear the melody in it. but every time i hear it now, it gets better. i think i was listening too hard to it before. the song is so rock and roll, so rebelous and different than anything else.

    wilcokidon November 15, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I actually think some of this song is a response to school shootings. This explains the "recent rash of kidsmoke." The second verse seems an attempt at coaxing a teenager to talk about their issues, and offers a sort of weird hope with "the sun will rise, we'll climb into cars/The future has a valley and a shortcut around." The last part about the stone rising reminds me of the easter story, as does a lot of the record. But I think the most telling part of the entire song is "there's no blood on my hands, I just do as I'm told." This was the most common defense of ordinary Germans turned into Nazis, and I think Tweedy is commenting on American dastardly complacency in response to such issues, particularly why American children are so violent. "It's not my problem, there's no blood on my hands," etc.

    abrooks148on September 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is an awesome concept song. It's all about the building up of all those noises and tensed up guitar grinds into a glorious explosion. Brilliant, I love this song and go crazy when I listen to it.

    Canadian Guyon December 02, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    oh man...i have a strange story behind me discovering this song. so i heard this awesome long song on kvsc (a college radio station in MN) and i was like awesome, but they have such long sets and i was never in my car when i heard the dj say who it was. i just loved this song from the first time i heard it, incompletely of course. i won a ghost is born from another radio station that is less college... but anyway i didn't listen to it v. well... only the song #s that my sister told me were worth it.
    about two months after i got the cd i heard spiders on kvsc again and this time i DID hear it announced. i was like, 'no way!' i've been in love w/ this song for months and i finally find out that i have the cd. i'm such a moron. anyway. this song makes me v. focused for some reason or another. sorry about the stupid story. just shows how stupid i've been.

    U2takemehigheron January 24, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think the lines

    "This recent rash of kidsmoke All these telescopic poems It's good to be alone"

    May be a bit of a jab at the quality (or lack of) in music today.

    imajaron February 18, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    sounds like devo...

    in fact our you sure Mark Mothersburg didn't do the synth?

    benjabeanon September 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    our=are

    benjabeanon September 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is a lot like Muzzle of Bees, the next song on the album, in structure. It dilly-dallies for a few minutes, then lets loose.

    I have a really short attention span for songs, but for some reason I have no problem waiting for this song to build up.

    Heh, WeedMan, you're such a stereotype...

    pro-voiceon December 16, 2005   Link

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