Your gun went off.
Well you shot off your mouth and look where it got you.
My mouth runs on too.

Shouts from both sides,
"Well we've got the land but they've got the view!"
Well now here's the clue.

Life it rents us.
And yeah I hope it put plenty on you.
Well I hope mine did too.

As life gets longer, awful feels softer.
Well it feels pretty soft to me.
And if it takes shit to make bliss,
Then I feel pretty blissfully.

Your gun went off.
Well you shot off your mouth and look where it got you.
My mouth runs on too.

Shouts from both sides,
"Well we've got the land but they've got the view!"
Well now here's the clue.

We are fixed right where we stand.

Life it rents us.
And yeah I hope it put plenty on you.
Well I hope mine did too.

We are fixed right where we are.

As life gets longer, awful feels softer.
Well if feels pretty soft to me.
And if it takes shit to make bliss,
Well I feel pretty blissfully.

For every invention made how much time did we save?
We're not much farther than we were in the cave.

As life gets longer, awful feels softer,
And it feels pretty soft to me.
And if it takes shit to make bliss,
Well I feel pretty blissfully.

If life's not beautiful without the pain,
Well I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again.
Well as life gets longer, awful feels softer.
And it feels pretty soft to me.

For every good deed done there is a crime committed.
We are fixed.
For every step ahead we could have just been seated.
We are fixed.

As life gets longer, awful feels softer.
Well it feels pretty soft to me.
And if it takes shit to make bliss,
Well I feel pretty blissfully.

We are fixed.
We are fixed.
We are fixed right where we stand.



Lyrics submitted by Grim713

Track duration: 04:10

"The View" as written by Isaac Brock, Eric Judy, Dann Gallucci

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


The View song meanings
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74 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"If life's not beautiful without the pain, I'd just rather never even see beauty again" is the part that hits hard.

    It is the 'Drink life to the lees' idea. (Tennyson)
    "The depth of our joy is in direct proportion to what we've suffered". -Robert McKee

    I am a Peace Corps volunteer and, honestly, it's pretty shitty but it is wonderful. That's what I wanted it to be though. The only way I can see beauty in the world is if I experience the ugliness too.

    Likewise, I only like the second half of the song. I listen to all of it though for the full experience.
    Flag FeelAThouton February 07, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i always thought it was about a guy who's had enough of all the crap that's happened to him. he's mocking phrases like "life's not beautiful without the pain"
    so if pain is beauty he'd "rather never ever even see beauty again"
    Flag StElmoon October 30, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think the lines "And if it takes shit to make bliss, then i feel pretty blissfully." is his clever little way of saying that if it takes what society tells you is "good" and "success" to feel happy then he is happy to society's standards, but he is not truly happy with the shit
    Flag AtlanticAmon August 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song to me, pretty much is about the content of being numb. the line that really draws this out is "If life's not beautiful without the pain, Well, I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again" why bother feeling good if u also have to feel bad too
    Flag silas412294on July 17, 2010   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:I have a feeling that:"If life's not beautiful without the pain,
    Well I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again." refers to all the haters. Modest Mouse was getting shit for signing with a big record label back then. I think it refers to all the backlash from their fans. I also think he is saying that if they knew they were going to hit it big and their fans would hate them, they wouldnt do it again. Just a thought.
    Flag cincinnatikidon January 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"If life's not beautiful without the pain,
    Well I'd just rather never ever even see beauty again."

    It sounds like a response to the mainstream thought that people wouldn't know happiness without pain. He says that if that's true he'd give up any perception of happiness so that he wouldn't have to perceive pain again. When it says "If it takes shit to make bliss, well I feel pretty blissfully," it comes off as sarcasm. The focus of the song is on something negative he is dealing with, and perhaps he finds humor in the fact that this problem he is dealing with is what the mainstream says allows him to understand happiness.

    Maybe he questions that people have to know pain to know happiness.
    I certainly question it.
    Flag agopervirtuson December 17, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The line that hits me is "If life's not beautiful without the pain, I'd just rather never even see beauty again." paraphrased of course. That sums up the whole song for me, life can be shitty sometimes and at this point he doesn't even see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's beautiful and sad, but i love this song, along with the album.
    Flag RattleandHumu2on November 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"we've got the land but they've got the view"
    Aside from the obvious "grass is always greener" theme, you could see it as "the land" is the world and life.. "the view" is seeing the "land" for the crappy place it is.. and he's saying he'd rather be in bliss, living in the "land" instead of focusing on constantly improving the "land" so that the view is more pleasant because for every time something gets better something gets worse and in the end we're right where we started, we're fixed in place. no deeper in the cave, no closer to the light
    Flagged j4kebon July 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Brock is discussing the balance of life, and how just because we made our material world more inhabitable (referring the inventions part of the song), it wasn't necessary.
    Flag Hellbugon February 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song has got me through alot of difficult times... it is definitely helpful when I am in pain.

    My favorite line is "If it takes shit to make bliss, then I feel pretty blissfully." I've been through alot of shit (and i really mean ALOT), and I've always been told that I need to go through hardships in order to attain true happiness one day. Of course, if this is true, one day, I am going to be REALLY FUCKING HAPPY. I feel like he's sort of talking about that theory here... and also his skepticism of it.
    Flag jodyjodyon January 16, 2009   Link

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