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Alexander, our older brother
Set out for a great adventure
He tore our images out of his pictures
He scratched our names out of all his letters
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
Come on Alex, you can do it
Come on Alex, there's nothing to it
If you want something, don't ask for nothing
If you want nothing, don't ask for something
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It's for your own good
It's for the neighborhood
Our older brother bit by a vampire
For a year we caught his tears in a cup
And now we're going to make him drink it
Come on Alex, don't die or dry up
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It's for your own good
It's for the neighborhood
When daddy comes home you always start a fight
So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights
The police disco lights
Now the neighbors can dance
Look at them dance
Set out for a great adventure
He tore our images out of his pictures
He scratched our names out of all his letters
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
Come on Alex, you can do it
Come on Alex, there's nothing to it
If you want something, don't ask for nothing
If you want nothing, don't ask for something
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It's for your own good
It's for the neighborhood
Our older brother bit by a vampire
For a year we caught his tears in a cup
And now we're going to make him drink it
Come on Alex, don't die or dry up
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It's for your own good
It's for the neighborhood
When daddy comes home you always start a fight
So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights
The police disco lights
Now the neighbors can dance
Look at them dance
Lyrics submitted by drinkmilk
Track duration: 03:32
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I will begin my analysis as I believe the events occur chronologically within the song, as the song doesn't specify the order of events in the lyrics.
Our older brother bit by a vampire
For a year we caught his tears in a cup
And now we're going to make him drink it
Come on Alex, don't die or dry up
I interpret "bit by a vampire" as a reference to depression, or in my case, bipolar (which actually seems to fit just as well) For a year, the family supported Alex and 'caught his tears in a cup'. That time is over now, and he has overstayed his welcome, so to speak, so they are going to make him drink his tears...suicide often comes to the mind of those who suffer from such disorders, and now his family commands him "don't die" or essentially "just dry up (your tears)" and do something about it.
When daddy comes home you always start a fight
So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights
The police disco lights
Now the neighbors can dance
Alex has struggles with his father, as I do...specifics aren't so important, but personally my dad struggles with his son being bipolar and doesn't quite understand the way I feel often, and can be quite insensitive, leading us to have relatively frequent fights.
Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It's for your own good
It's for the neighborhood
As I am sure many of you have read, Laika was the first biological being to be sent into space, a dog that was for all intents and purposes innocent, but sent out into space to die for the good of mankind nonetheless. Similarly those who are struck with some type of mood disorder such as depression or bipolar didn't particularly do anything wrong to deserve it, it just happens. Sticking around just ends up hurting all of the people around you that you care about, though, and it would be 'for your own good' to stop hurting the people you care about, as that just hurts yourself even more every time you do. Of course it would be 'for the neighborhood', as those people that you care for wouldn't have to suffer at your expense anymore. After my attempted suicide, my mother was hit by a depression, and I often think it would help if I wasn't around to make her feel like that anymore.
Come on Alex, you can do it
Come on Alex, there's nothing to it
If you want something, don't ask for nothing
If you want nothing, don't ask for something
I basically interpret this as just "make up your mind, if you want help then ask for it and get better (as a younger sibling might think--they generally don't understand the generally incurable nature of mood disorders) if you don't then, don't ask for it -- just leave"
Alexander, our older brother
Set out for a great adventure
He tore our images out of his pictures
He scratched our names out of all his letters
After all of the things that have happened in his life, Alex finally left his family, and tried to forget about them (tearing out images, scratching out names) -- those reminders that they are still there somewhere is painful. It is easier to just try to forget.
tl;dr:
I believe Alex became depressed in some way, and his family suffers as a result of it, so he left them for his own good (not wanting them to suffer), as well as for their own good (not suffering).
He was an older brother, who "set out for a great adventure", leaving behind his family and younger sister.
If, from what I've read of the previous opinions, it is true that the dog Laika did not come back, this also fits because Chris died on his journey in Alaska, and did not make it home.
Laika was the first living being ever sent into space, a dog that died withtin 4 hours of the blastoff. Basically, the first meaningless sacrifice for the 'good' of the humans technology advancement. A meaningless sacrifice.
I think when Win sings, "Our mother should have just named you Laika," he's saying that Alexander was useless from the start, like Laika, who was taken off the streets and then shot into space with not even a grasp for survival.
First verse: the family sends Alexander off because he's always getting into trouble. He in turn, cuts off all contact.
Second verse: He gets into trouble and could possibly be about to die. The family realizes that they might have had some part in it.
final verse: The first part is how he would get into trouble with the police and the neighbors would talk about it. In the last part, the police have shown up to tell the family of his death and now the neighbors really have something to talk about.
Just the way I see it anyways.
This theory makes sense to me because of the information I've collected about the life of McCandless. For those who don't know his story; following his college graduation, Christopher McCandless - for lack of a better word - ran away from home, cutting off all contact with his family and whatever life it was he had before. He changed his name to Alexander, or "Alex," and went on a great journey, only to have it end fatally.
Now, there's a lot more to the story, which I find quite interesting. You should look into it if you're interested, but more about how this story relates to Arcade Fire's song.
As for "our mother should have just named you Laika," I find that that also relates to the story of McCandless. His father worked for NASA, and his mother with some relatable field. His father helped develop technology that put NASA ahead of Russia's space endeavors. Laika was the name of the dog the Russian's sent into space. There you have it, another link that could further proove that this song is indeed about Mr. Alexander Supertramp.
The song may not be about this incredible man, however there are things there that definitely do not rule out that possibility.
"When daddy comes home you always start a fight
So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights"
This is referring to the fights he had with his parents, and perhaps the narrator is his younger sister.
"Alexander, our older brother" - In my case it would be: "Chelsea, our older sister"
She did get in a lot of trouble like running away from home, tearing up things around the house, and eventually bit a child in my neighborhood. Because of that we had to put her down and it was probably best for her and the neighborhood or the family that was affected by the situation. But at that time I was like 5 or 6 and my dad told me he took her to the "farm" so she could run around in an open field or whatever. I bought into it knowing that I would never see her again. What I heard from here is that Laika is a dog that was sent out into space that would never return.
"Come on Alex, you can do it
Come on Alex, there's nothing to it" - I remember, at least I have been told, that my dog Chelsea was very difficult to train.
After repeatedly listening to this song I found the connection. So, now I'm thinking, "yeah I guess we should have named her Laika". Now this song has a deeper meaning to me.
To me, the song is about some kids in a family who watch the older brother going away from the neighborhood forever. They love him and respect him, they don't actually understand what he does, but they trust him. They know there has to be a reason for the great adventure he decided to begin, they know he's going away for his own good and for the neighborhood.
In fact, they want him to go even if this means tearing apart pictures and letters of the family; they don't blame him for it.
They think their mom should have named him Laika (like the Russian dog) because he's seen like a great explorer of the unknown: leaving home requires bravery, he could even not survive, like the dog.
Though, from what I can gather:
It's about a troubled boy (older brother, alex) who leaves/is kicked out of home (set out for an adventure). I'd lean towards kicking him out. For the past year, it seems his antics have been causing trouble (police lights, fights with his dad). His family have been somewhat supportive of him, trying to help him (catching his tears) but it seems that they've drawn the line, and decided that he should leave.
The whole "come on alex - if you want something, don't ask for nothing" bit - I think - refers to how his family were supportive of him, trying to help him get his life back on track.
If anything, his family have completely reversed, and by kicking him out they've forced him to drink those tears they've been catching. The whole 'don't die or dry up' sounds very twisted and sorrowful, as though they want to make him suffer as much as possible (sounds very bitter from the family - not loving at all - thrown out like he meant nothing to them (a stray)).
Anyway, he seems to have scratched all pictures/names in an attempt to emptionally separate himself from his family (he probably feels betrayed, and deeply hurt).
The Laika bit - which we know is the Russian space dog - also leads me to think he was forced out of home. Firstly, the whole "it's for your own good" bit is probably said just to make the family feel better about their choice (you know, when you say - it was for his own good... it needed to happen); whereas, "it's for the neighbourhood" bit it far more truthful - they through him out because the neighbourhood wanted it (whether this refers to just his family, or complaining neighbours, I don't know). Compare this with Laika: they Russians said what was happening was humane and safe; and perhaps, in some perverse way, good for the dog (your own good); but we all know it was done for the good of humans, and the poor dog suffered so we knew how to deal with space travel (the neighbourhood's good).
Also, Laika was taken up off the street, cared for and looked after, and then cruely sent into space to be burnt to death. Even before she died, one of the scientists took her into his home for his children to play with (showing great care); but in the end, she was - with no emotion - sent to her death. Sound's very much like the cruelty spoken of in the song.
That's my take on the song. Although, it's posssible the song is about the dog, and Arcade Fire tried to attach human qualities to the story - just to make it hit closer to home. This way, they just use the story of alex to paint Laika's tale in words that have far more power over us.