Lyrics for Staring At The Sun as interpreted by insulatedsoul

Staring At The Sun Lyrics
cross the street from your storefront cemetery
hear me hailing from inside and realize

i am the conscience clear
in pain or ecstasy
and we were all weaned my dear
upon the same fatigue

staring at the sun
oh my own voice cannot save me now
standing in the sea
it's just one more breath
and then down i go

your mouth is open wide
the lover is inside
and all the tumults done
collided with the sign
you're staring at the sun
you're standing in the sea
your body's over me

note the trees because
the dirt is temporary
more to mine than fact face
name and monetary

be what you will
and then thrown down your life
oh it's a damned fine game
and we can play all night

beat the skins and let the
loose lips kiss you clean
quietly pour out like light
like light, like answering the sun

you're staring at the sun
you're standing in the sea
your mouth is open wide
you're trying hard to breathe
the water's at your neck
there's lightning in your teeth
your body's over me

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 67 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
trapezium
06-16-2004

Rated 0 
such a sexy song...

Log in to reply
sweetadeline
06-22-2004

Rated 0 
amen to that

Log in to reply
decemberist
10-01-2004

Rated 0 
the song is about dying - the moment when your soul leaves your body

Log in to reply
1 Reply
ShrWhyte
10-11-2004

Rated +1 
Except that it's filled potentially pretentious metaphors for sex.

Log in to reply
a town like paris
10-20-2004

Rated 0 
It's about sex.

Log in to reply
decemberist
10-28-2004

Rated 0 
the band has stated that the song is about the experience of dying. although it does contain a healthy dose of sex.

Log in to reply
lpu 0110110
11-07-2004

Rated -1 
so why does it seem like it's about sex when really it's about death?...

the moment of death and the moment of orgasm. theyre much more similar than you would think...maybe thats even the deeper point of the song.

Log in to reply
warmroad
11-08-2004

Rated 0 
Isn't there a group that beleives that the moment a man climaxes with a woman, the moment of clarity is his vision of god? Like, it's the closest he can get to god without dying...

"i am the conscience clear
in pain or ecstacy "

I'm seeing God, whether it be having sex or dying...

Log in to reply
raindog_mx
11-19-2004

Rated 0 
creation and destruction are but sides of the same coin.

this band amazes me, they overflow with original creativity. damn and they don't need a "wall of sound". great stuff.

Log in to reply
golgo
11-25-2004

Rated 0 
It has overtones of sex similiar to the idea of the La Petite Morte. Other examples of said idea can be found in lots of Donne's sonnets and his contemporaries. It was a popular idea upto the end of the Victorian era.

Log in to reply
uglycellardoor
12-22-2004

Rated 0 
i agree, the relationship between sex and death was once a much more commonplace connection. for another example, during the elizabethan era a common euphemism for achieving orgasm was "dying" (used frequently by shakespeare). i love tv on the radio, their lyrics are unfailingly smart and this is a painfully beautiful song about the intricate relationship between living and dying.

Log in to reply
lz2108
12-26-2004

Rated 0 
wow. these are all really interesting insights guys! regardless of whatever the meaning of this song is, it totally captivates me whenever i listen to it. it's not JUST the lyrics but the way they blend their voices and the percussions (electronic beats?) in the background~ it's all surreal and speaking to the subconscious. i wanna look into the band... however, i did hear their latest album was a disappointment :-\.

Log in to reply
lz2108
12-26-2004

Rated 0 
also, its downplaying material possessions and an individual's facade in societey: "more to mine than fact face
name and monetary "
+ it's like, everything is everything else: standing in the sun, staring at the sea (typically, the words "standing" and "staring" should be interchanged in most cases), but at the same time "your body's over me."

Log in to reply
sprucebranch
01-15-2005

Rated 0 
Here's my guess on this song.
A lady was driving in front of a store and hit a sign, and now her lover is giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR.

Now, whether the wreck happened on an actual beach or not, I don't know... the author might be making a reference to the fact that since she's not breathing (in fact, suffocating), it's like drowning. I don't know...half the song is from the point of view of the victim, and part from her lover.

But here's a breakdown.
cross the street from your storefront cemetary: He approaches her body
hear me hailing from inside and realize I am the conscience clear in pain or ecstacy: he's calling her to "come back from the light," so to speak. And telling her he's trustworthy
we were all weaned my dear upon the same fatigue:
we all get tired of living once we grow up

staring at the sun: she's on her back as he gives CPR
standing in the sea: either it's a literal beach, and he's just above the surf, or the "water" is a suffocation death (since she's not breathing).
your mouth is open wide: that's cause she's unconscious, and it's the position you put someone in to give mouth-to-mouth
the lover is inside: the victim is his lover
and all the tumult's done: the car wreck is over (or, he just pulled her out of the surf, which is also a "tumult")
collided with the sign, you're standing in the sea: her feet are still being lapped by the water (literal or no)
the woman's part is the victim speaking: oh, my own voice cannot save me now (underwater, you can't talk), one more breath and then I go down (she's suffocating)

note the trees because the dirt is temporary: they're between the high tide line and the current level of the surf; trees don't grow below the high-tide line.

more to mine than fact, face, name and monetary: ambulances and stuff want your insurance info and vital stats, but he's saying that his lover ("mine") is more than just a bunch of facts.
be what you will and then throw down your life: either it's a suicide, or he's saying she's giving up the fight to stay alive
oh, it's a damned fine game, and we can play all night: sounds like he's saying if she does give up, he's going to keep giving CPR until she stops "playing around."

beat the skins: CPR
let the loose lips kiss you clean: mouth-to-mouth, and either it's a reference to the fact that you have to make sure the airway's unblocked (a "clean" airway) when you do mouth-to-mouth, or it's a reference to a non-sexual (i.e.: "clean") kiss
quietly pour out like light: leaving your body?
lightning in your teeth: not sure: a crash cart, and they're "shocking" her? or she has braces? or he has that metallic taste in his mouth from a lot of adrenaline (or drugs)? Not sure.

Log in to reply
genosucks
02-16-2005

Rated 0 
personally i think this song is definitly about autoerotic asphyxiation. the song is obviously about sex and a loss of breath of some sort. here check this

cross the street from your storefront cemetary: what do you do in a cemetary? bury a bone? i think so.

i am the conscience clear: the near death experience is a whole new level of consiousness

in pain or ecstacy: pain for pleasure?

one more breath and then down i go: the strangulation during sex often leads to passing out.

your mouth is open wide the lover is inside: very self explanitory.

oh it's a damned fine game and we can play all night: although what they are doing is painfull they don't want to stop.

your mouth is open wide
you're trying hard to breathe
the water's at your neck : she has taken it too far and is now suffering the consequences of her dangerous love.

there's lightning in your teeth
your body's over me: she has now passed out and is on top of her still conscious lover.

i dunno if all thats right. i was just listening to that song and had this werid idea. btw i know this whole thing sounded creepy but it could work.

Log in to reply
RollingRyan
02-20-2005

Rated 0 
Anyone seen the rolling movie "BANG"? This song is in it... goes perfect with it. Great song and video.

Log in to reply
1 Reply
precipitate
02-21-2005

Rated 0 
"quietly pour out like light, like answering the sun"

that is beautiful.

Log in to reply
allman
03-12-2005

Rated 0 
this song is absolute perfection

Log in to reply
runamuk
03-27-2005

Rated 0 
Despite the typical "death" connotations of the word "cemetary" and the obvious connections to death in the phrases "dirt is temporary" and "throw down your life", I believe it is these phrases that are metaphorical (not the phrases relating to the sex). The song is sexual and the death that is discussed here is a death of the mind and of the artificial concept of "self" that's created in daily life. There is a bit of a struggle in letting this person go (drowning), but it is finally achieved.

The nature imagery doubly conveys that this sexually released person is closer to the way a person is naturally predisposed to be.

There is, as with most good music, much ambiguity. It is possible to see this song as about cheating (or leaving someone who one should have stayed with) if the lyric "your lover is inside" is read to refer to someone other than the rest of the song (e.g. "your body's over me").

The strangest lyric in the song is "collided with the sign"; about this one I won't even hazard a guess.

Log in to reply
The_Variable
09-05-2005

Rated 0 
I want that crooning played at my funeral....

Log in to reply
strokesman
12-21-2005

Rated 0 
this song is bloody amazing, to me its about losing someone that is held dear to you on a psiritual level.

'more to mine than fact face name and monetary'

Log in to reply
Aston127
01-17-2006

Rated 0 
totally agree with sprucebranch..

best song _ever_

Log in to reply
Wilsong
02-16-2006

Rated 0 
anyone ever think that it's just about what it says. i just get an idea of me and my girlfriend sitting watching the sun rise...take it for what it is.

Log in to reply
Wilsong
02-16-2006

Rated 0 
anyone ever think that it's just about what it says. i just get an idea of me and my girlfriend sitting watching the sun rise...take it for what it is.

Log in to reply
NeoDeist
02-26-2006

Rated 0 
How can you know that death is similar to an orgasm if you havent died yet?

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here