Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
We must talk on every telephone
Get eaten off the web
We must rip out all the epilogues
From the books that we have read
And to the face of every criminal
Strapped firmly to a chair
We must stare, we must stare, we must stare
We must take all of the medicine
Too expensive now to sell
Set fire to the preacher
Who is promising us hell
And in the ear of every anarchist
That sleeps but doesn't dream
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing
While my mother waters plants
My father loads his gun
He says death will give us back to god
Just like the setting sun
Its return to the lonesome ocean
And then they splashed into the deep blue sea
It was a wonderful splash
We must blend into the choir
Sing a static with the whole
We must memorize nine numbers
And deny we have a soul
And in this endless race for property
And privilege to be one
We must run, we must run, we must run
We must hang up in the belfry
Where the bats and moonlight laugh
We must stare into a crystal ball
And only see the past
And into the caverns of tomorrow
With just our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
And then we'll get down there
Way down to the very bottom of everything
And then we'll see it, we'll see it, we'll see it
Oh my mornings coming back
The whole world's waking up
This city bus is swimming past
I'm happy just because
I found out that I am really no one
Get eaten off the web
We must rip out all the epilogues
From the books that we have read
And to the face of every criminal
Strapped firmly to a chair
We must stare, we must stare, we must stare
We must take all of the medicine
Too expensive now to sell
Set fire to the preacher
Who is promising us hell
And in the ear of every anarchist
That sleeps but doesn't dream
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing
While my mother waters plants
My father loads his gun
He says death will give us back to god
Just like the setting sun
Its return to the lonesome ocean
And then they splashed into the deep blue sea
It was a wonderful splash
We must blend into the choir
Sing a static with the whole
We must memorize nine numbers
And deny we have a soul
And in this endless race for property
And privilege to be one
We must run, we must run, we must run
We must hang up in the belfry
Where the bats and moonlight laugh
We must stare into a crystal ball
And only see the past
And into the caverns of tomorrow
With just our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
And then we'll get down there
Way down to the very bottom of everything
And then we'll see it, we'll see it, we'll see it
Oh my mornings coming back
The whole world's waking up
This city bus is swimming past
I'm happy just because
I found out that I am really no one
Lyrics submitted by Hunter, edited by sarahbelum
Track duration: 04:34
"At the Bottom of Everything" as written by Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
"We must take all of the medicine too expensive now to sell,
Set fire to the preacher who is promising us Hell!
And in the ear of every anarchist who sleeps but doesn't dream,
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing!"
What he, to me, is speaking about at this part is religion (or more specifically, religious beliefs). When he refers to the "Preacher," he's speaking of those who become to vehement with their religious beliefs, and want to impose them on everyone they meet. Metaphorically, he's telling those who do this to back off, and let others have their beliefs as they have their own.
Then, he moves automatically to the "Anarchist," which, to me, symbolizes atheists and atheism. "Who sleeps but doesn't dream," is in reference to Oblivion, the state of eternal unconsciousness. Thus, the line is symbolic of an atheist pondering Oblivion. However, by "singing," he tells the atheist to wake up, and enjoy life as it comes to him.
This line is very fascinating in the context of the beginning, which, well, is symbolic of life. We are all ultimately on a plane, headed towards our demise; death is inevitable, there's nothing we can do to stop it, and, calling back to the original parallel, there's no way we can get off the plane while it's in motion. However, those who worry should not, as it's best to just enjoy life while we still have it, and not to dwell on the petty details of what lies at the end. This is recurrent through the entire song, up through the middle to the very end...
"And then they splashed into the deep blue sea! It was a wonderful splash!"
Death has come, but in the end, who cares? "I'm happy just because: I've found out that I'm really no one!"
Therefore, I love this song. I'd love to do a full analysis of every line, but I fear it would monopolize the page. Bright Eyes is truly a lyrical master. It is, in a way, art.
youtube.com/…
youtube.com/…
(FIRST STANZA)
This includes things that people get too caught up in. It describes how we must distance ourselves from people who have made mistakes and treat them inhumanly rather than accepting them, despite their mistakes.
(SECOND STANZA)
I think this stanza is poking fun at society as a whole. It points out how we change for other's benefit rather than our own. The preacher may not even be an actual preacher, just a figure to use as an example.
(THIRD STANZA)
When you first hear this stanza, you picture his father sitting in the house loading a gun and his mother in the garden watching plants, right? I think both of these are symbolic for life and death: the watering plants are life, the gun is death.
(FOURTH STANZA)
I believe that this reassures that death isn't a terrible thing because it is bound to happen eventually and it isn't nessecary to fear what happens to everyone at some point.
(FIFTH STANZA)
This is all about conformity. We blend into the choir, meaning that we all strive to be the same or "normal". We sing the words but don't know the message. We try to hide who we really are by pretending to be something that we're not, and hide behind this mask that is a big lie. We fear and run from ourselves.
(SIXTH STANZA)
We tend to look back on previous mistakes intead of looking to the future for new oppurtunities and ways to redeem oursef.
(SEVENTH STANZA)
We'll get to the bottom of everything (I think he means death), we'll see 'it', whether it's the true meaning of life or the realization of all the mistakes that society makes on an every day basis.
(EIGHTH STANZA)
Personally, this is my favorite stanza. He realizes that people's heads grow large, thinking they are the greatest thing to walk the planet, but when you stand back and look at the big picture, you're insignificant compared to the previous generations and the generations to come.
Also he refers to anarchism, sleeping anarchist who can't dream, as a possible alternative to current social structure. Without getting into critical analysis of anarchism, there are direct connotations with reference to religions here, Anarchism as total freedom, without class distinctions and reward and punishment, without order or rules, seems in direct contrast to most religions which have at least basic moral guidance, and western law with rigorous and exhaustive behavioural manipulation and guidance measures. As far as a total summation of the songs meaning, if you have ever written a dozen songs or so, you probably know that every line can have its own, or no true meaning at all it may just rhyme and kind of fit, and relative to a search for meaning in life. There is no single correct answer. There is no meaning but also an infinite number of meanings at the same time, we are nobody, nothing, yet connected to everything and immensely important as our actions have lasting and far reaching consequences. This song also touches on that one aspect of many faiths, that of contradiction. The dichotomy of the loving life giving and nurturing mother and the steadfast and brutal father ready to kill. And the clash between idealistic and punishable freewill, and Gods control over destiny, and Gods plan. And finally...this rant has gone too long!!!! the cyclical nature of life, the sun setting and rising and inevitability of death, as sure as the sun will set.
I really liek the lyrics in this song, and i really do think the intro is a narrative vehicle for them. The body of the song appears to be about the conformity of life, and the freedom of death, the natural scheme of this "death will give us back to god, just liek the setting sun is returned to the lonesome ocean) etc.
The reason i'm pushing the dream idea is the beginning and end of the song. "oOh my morning's coming back, the whole world's waking up, all the city buses swimming past, i'm happpy just because, i've realised i'm really no-one", seems to suggest that he's woken up from the dream, his morning has returned, and possibly the implication that the buses are swimming (i think it says that) is suggestive of him separating his dream from reality. Of course, it seems that the dream had provided him with some kind of peace and happiness. He felt the catharsis of imminent death, and his dream left him happy that his existence is merely nothing.
I think this song is amazing, and this is just an interpretation of it, so feel free to disagree! :D