Lyrics for Belt as interpreted by trinket

Belt Lyrics
I wouldn't sell my belt to industry
So they carded me
And they carted me off.
Naked with that belt around my waist
It was my father's once
I still see his face
They carted me off.
But I managed to escape the good gendarme
And I fled through field and farm stripped of natural charm
Naked but that belt I wear so well
Past the pyramids
And the liberty bell
Hey this is something I have to do for myself
I have to for myself.
I ignored the sheep and shepherds on my way
What could their small words say
When they say them that way
Bathed in sweat and feathered as a crow
I laid a beating on the sleet and snow
With my frostbitten toes.
I remained unrecognized in my home town
Beneath my monstrous gown
Of feather and down
But I gathered up and army made of those
Who aimed to shame them
From their repose
We took up weapons
And took off our clothes
So what say you
And all your friends
Meet all of my friends
In the alley with knives
What say you
And all your friends
Step up to my friends
In the alley tonight

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LowLevelOwl054
10-15-2004

Rated 0 
An amazing song, by an even more amazing band. Say Anything Is A Real Boy is, honestly, the best album I've heard in the last two years of my life, rivaled only by The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Commatorium.

I'm none to sure what this song is about, but (and keep in mind, I've watched Fight Club three or four times this week) it seems to be an almost anti-capitalist song. I imagine a man, refusing to abide by the system, forced out of society with nothing but that which they can't take away from him- his belt, perhaps a metaphor for the experiences and influences in his life, and all the things he's learned. An outcast from society, he wanders the land alone. In time, he finds that he is not alone. He raises an army. He fights back, ending in a rousing challenge, perhaps to everyone listening. "What say you/ and all your friends/step up to my friends/ in the alley tonight"

I don't know, I could be wrong, but either way it's a great song. The above is just this reporters opinion.

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floz2323
10-19-2004

Rated 0 
I agree with that, except that isn't capitalism, it would jsut be modern society. I do agree with you though, that "the industry" (music industry) and society was at first unaccepting of him when he had nothing but his belt (maybe a tool which would symbolize his lryics) to offer.

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TheEnemyWithin88
11-21-2004

Rated 0 
I love the acoustic version, especially when he freaks out at the end.

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budeckster
01-02-2005

Rated 0 
I love this song especially the end. I think this song is just about rebellion, since he kinda says that at the beginning of the song the whole intro. I love Say Anything, you really can't appreciate them until you see them live, they're amazing. At the end of this song, when I saw them, John Nolan and Jesse Lacey and John's girlfriend came on stage to sing. It was awesome.

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purplethunder
01-24-2005

Rated 0 
I don't quite understand what's happening. The references to feathers and down may symbolize freedom. he's naked because he has no shame/nothing to hide. he and his friends are fighting the norms and steroetypes. Something like that sounds right.

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purplethunder
01-24-2005

Rated 0 
I don't quite understand what's happening. The references to feathers and down may symbolize freedom. he's naked because he has no shame/nothing to hide. he and his friends are fighting the norms and steroetypes. Something like that sounds right.

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mfflbtn
05-21-2005

Rated 0 
okay well i read that labels have been trying to sign max bemis (lead singer of say anything) since he was in 8th grade. to me, his refusing to sell his "belt" to industry is him refusing to sell out and do the type of music that they wanted him to do. instead he took the long rode and made his own band and recorded his own album the way that he wanted to. he recorded almost all of "is a real boy" by himself except for the drum tracks. so i guess the weapons and friends part is about him and his band showing the industry that he can make it on their own. thats what i take at least.

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gustavo_
06-20-2005

Rated +1 
Naked but that belt I wear so well

Best phrase ever!

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rock_scissors
11-04-2005

Rated 0 
the last part is like west side story.

So what say you
And all your friends
Meet all of my friends
In the alley with knives

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rock_scissors
11-04-2005

Rated 0 
the last part is like west side story.

So what say you
And all your friends
Meet all of my friends
In the alley with knives

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RustyJ
11-05-2005

Rated 0 
I think the feather thing might be an allusion to how they used to tar and feather people who didn't pay their taxes. So like, by him being feathered it represents that he is suffering for standing up in what he beleives in, but he's stronger than that. Something to that extent

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speeder1989
01-22-2006

Rated 0 
I agree with budecster and mfflbtn

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leeko518
01-25-2006

Rated 0 
I agree with everyone, especially the first post.

If you look at the album as a whole though, he really runs away from his problems with the industry in this song, and then by the album, comes and attacks the industry with "Admit it!!!"

Oh also, they only say "In the alley with knives" in the acoustic version. Otherwise its "in the alley tonight" every time.

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chia like
02-06-2006

Rated 0 
it's about the music industry. the belt is creativity.

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makeshift
03-01-2006

Rated 0 
Actually, this song could be about werewolves. There is old German folklore where someone had the ability to turn into a werewolf just by putting it on.

"Werewolf legends are well known. According to them, many people possessed the power to transform themselves into wolves by putting on a wolf belt. They would then roam about at night attacking their enemies or their enemies' cattle."

Um, there's a story about a kid who takes his dad's belt and puts it on, which could be the reason for "Naked with that belt around my waist
It was my father's once".

The story is:
"Formerly there were people who could turn themselves into wolves by putting on a certain belt. A man in the vicinity of Steina had such a belt, and once he went away without locking it up, as was his custom. His young son came upon it and buckled the thing about himself. Instantly he became a werewolf. He had the appearance of a stack of pea straw and lumbered away heavily like a bear.
When the people in the room saw what had happened they ran quickly and brought back the father. He arrived barely in time and undid the strap before the boy could do any damage. Afterward the boy said that as soon as he put the belt on, he become so terribly hungry that he would have torn anything apart that might have gotten in his way. "

So, I guess that's where the "monstrous gown" comes from.

The last part, where he talks about the alley, could be alluding to West Side Story, because apparently they wanted to allude to musicals in all their songs on "...Is a Real Boy". That one is a little bit of a longshot.

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blueofthesky
03-17-2006

Rated 0 
Werewolf? Really?

Well, then, why would it clearly say he ran past the sheep and shepards. If he was so hungry he would have torn anything apart that might have gotten in his way, I'm sure he wouldn't have run past some food. Plus, he refers to their words, and a werewolf I'm not sure would care at all.

It's about what everyone else said it was about, I think.

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Lamantle
05-10-2006

Rated 0 
I like all of your interpretations and I agree with most of them

Maybe the belt not only represents his creativity/his music, but also his integrity. Maybe that's why it's a song of rebellion - he's not conforming for the music industry. I also was thinking about the function of a belt - it's used to hold up someone's pants - maybe his integrity/music/creativity has the function of supporting/keeping up not only his ideals and beliefs (about music) but also the ideals and beliefs of fans and other music lovers that don't want their bands to conform (his "friends" that will fight with him)

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chia like
06-12-2006

Rated 0 
Max actually said "the belt is creativity."

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The Amazing Jim
06-25-2006

Rated 0 
As always, however, it's partially tongue in cheek. One of the things that distinguishes Max Bemis is that he can say something and at once fully mean it and mock himself for saying it.

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kissedonfilm
07-22-2006

Rated 0 
I actually like that the werewolf allusion came to mind with youmakeshift, though i'm pretty sure that's incorrect, he could have been using someo f that as metaphors, because max is very anti-capitalist. haha so i'm pretty sure it's about not selling out to the people who'd make him popular to all of the little mtv viewers, which also leads me to the song "little girls" that basically proves that point :)

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lineinthesand
08-14-2006

Rated 0 
I think people here are missing the biblical imagery.

he is comparing his own rebellion of the music industry to Jesus' "faction" of followers that rebelled against Judaism

"And they carted me off.
Naked with that belt around my waist" - Jesus' arrest

"It was my father's once
I still see his face" -obvious allusion to Jesus/God the Father relationship

"I remained unrecognized in my home town"
Matt 13:57 "Then Jesus told them, 'A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.'" NLV

Max is saying that his "army" is aiming to take on the "industry" just like Jesus and his disciples took on religion

I heard it right away, with the shepherds and the near quote from Matthew, I can't believe no one else said anything.

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makeshift
08-15-2006

Rated 0 
Hey, line in the sand, with that logic, you can associate any occurence in history to the bible. Bambi? Oh, that was talking about Jesus, too. Because, you know, something died in it, and so did Jesus, so, clearly, Bambi's Mom is Jesus, and Bambi must be all the Christians in the world. We're so innocent, right???? And we're animated, too.

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Wafflepants
08-16-2006

Rated 0 
lineinthesand your idea makes no sense. know why?

MAX IS JEWISH!

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funstuff
08-31-2006

Rated 0 
jesus was jewish, just thought you should know.

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rocksolidgurl
09-22-2006

Rated 0 
So, the line should be: "Who aim to SHAKE them, from their repose." Not SHAME.

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