Lyrics for A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the ... as interpreted by bootu

A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the ... Lyrics
Overprescribed
Under the mister
We had survived to
Turn on the History Channel
And ask our esteemed panel
Why are we alive?
And here's how they replied
You're what happens when two substances collide
And by all accounts you really should have died

Stretched out on a tarmac
Six miles south of North Platte
He can't stand to look back
Sixteen tons of hazmat
It's what goes undelivered
Undelivered

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
Of the what, of the head to the left
So exercise yourselves to your bereft
'Cause it's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left of the, of the, to the

Splayed out on a bath mat
Six miles north of South Platte
He just wants his life back
What's in that paper nap sack
It's what goes undelivered
Undelivered

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
A nervous tic motion of the head
Head to the left
It's a nervous tic motion of the, of the, to the
Left

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the, of the, of the head of the head to the

Over imbibedUnder the mister
Barely alive we cover the blisters in flannel
Though the words we speak are banal
Now one of them's a lie
Now one of them's a lie
You're what happens when two substances collide
And by all accounts you really should have died

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Art Shostak
03-14-2005

Rated 0 
I just can't get over the well executed transition between a well mannered, mellow track - to an all out, catchy pop tune. "And by all accounts you really should have died" serves as the queue, and is followed by a suspenseful silence, turning into beautiful listening and finally, the tune that remains in your head for days after.

Brilliant.

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Art Shostak
03-14-2005

Rated 0 
listening = whistling.

I should really dedicate some time to proof reading. =/

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seago
03-15-2005

Rated 0 
I think it's "...words we speak are banal, not one of them's a lie". This entire album is flat out amazing. Seems like a lot of spiritual thought behind these songs. After a couple months of listening, I'm still not sure what to make of this song. I've got several ideas though...

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Biscuits
07-02-2005

Rated 0 
It's so funny how really catchy this whole album is, especially this song. God, almost gets to a point where you can't listen to it anymore in fear of having it stuck in your head forever. Haha, great song though.

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cyanidebreathmint
08-24-2005

Rated 0 
yeah, seago's right. the lyrics are wrong. any way, this song is pure genius, and its even better live, if thats even possible

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freezegelman
02-22-2006

Rated 0 
His whistling = my happiness

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checkCHECKK IT
04-12-2006

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a meth/coke addict.

it's pretty obvious (to me at least)

"It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left"
that enough just screams "coke/meth"
because when people are on coke and/or meth
they twitch
!!!

and then...
"Splayed out on a bath mat
Six miles north of South Platte
He just wants his life back
What's in that paper nap sack"
and also
"You're what happens when two substances collide
And by all accounts you really should have died."

basically...

it starts from the end where this guy is like,
"why didn't i die from all those drugsss?"
then, it starts in the beginning
of his mystical journey
when he's traveling
on a plane in North Platte
leaving whatever troubles he has.
(and he has drug with him on the plane
kind of like a maria full of grace thing).
Then, he gets really into the drugs
and is spralled out in a bathroom,
and he feels remorse for doing
all that meth.
and like, so the end is just basicaly
saying how he's drunk
and high
and why didn't he die
when those two substances collided.

theend

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slinkstersars
04-23-2006

Rated 0 
:)

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BuckWilder
05-24-2006

Rated +2 
Wow, I'm really not liking the theme that's starting to develop in this thread. The lyrics about being "what happens when two substances collide, and by all accounts you really should've died" doesn't sound to me at all to be about substance abuse. It talks earlier of asking a panel of experts on the history channel. You literally ARE what happens when two substances collide, egg and sperm. By all accounts you should've died because a million things can happen before a baby is born. The mother or the father could be infertile. The sperm or the egg could be defective. The sperm that created you could've not made it to the egg before another one did, resulting in death. It is talking, I think, about how there's a million amazing occurrences that occur that bring you into being. It's almost an expression of fate because the sheer number of possibilities that could've happened in that moment, and somehow you come out of it. The rest of the song could easily be about substance abuse, but the fact remains that this seems to be what this section is about, and it's a strong message. The rest of the song seems to be talking about those who abuse substances, or at very least don't see a point in life. Maybe as was said before, after surviving addiction they see this excerpt on the history channel and it's a lifechanging moment.

I think this song has a strong message about fate tucked deep down into the lyrics, and it basically is jumping out at you to say that the odds were against you even coming into existence. So maybe instead of thinking about what it's all good for or what you are doing here, you should actually do something with your time.

But I've been wrong before =P

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1 Reply
Odessa1
07-06-2006

Rated +1 
I spent some time analyzing this song. While my assumption of its meaning is depressing , I think it may be accurate. It is about how fragile life is and how quickly it can end. It seem to be taken from the point of view of someone at a cemetery as sprinklers go on.
Let me break down how I see it.
Numbed by too many anti-depressants he is at a lovers funeral getting soaked by the sprinkler or rain but not caring. He just wants to know why he is alive when his love isn't. He thinks of a show he saw on tv about the birth of man. Unlike religion the scientist (experts) explain the creation of life as a pure luck mix of elements. They continue on to the millions of sperm who die off trying to find an egg. There are so many ways not to make it.
The next verse is a car accident. The lover's body is laying on the road. The scene is so devastating he can't look at it. The Hazardous Materials are the blood and broken glass, etc. at the scene. His love will never go home again or be with him again. The lover is what goes undelivered.
He was in the passengers seat. He may have been to drunk or high to drive. That may be why he lived. Now he has to let go of all his sorrow and guilt. He won't let himself just grieve. He is desperate to move on and no longer be haunted by that last moment. He gets himself numb with way to many anti-depressants.
Imbibed refers absorbing too much. I'm guessing in his case it's a combo of alcohol, pills, and the water from the mister soaking his skin. The blisters could be physical or could be referring to sharp criticism of himself or both. To an extreme him might have injured himself in an attempt to feel. People are saying things to him like," She was a good person. We'll miss her." And the one he can''t deal with now," It's not your fault." He think it is his fault, he is the one who should have died. He thinks that what the people are secretly saying.

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markreveley
09-01-2006

Rated 0 
"Though the words we speak are banal"

I originally thought that the words we speak are 'Venom', but I hope I was wrong. The irony of including an exotic word to describe how we lack any originality in language is just another example of Andrew Bird's hidden genius with words.

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honorc74
10-01-2006

Rated 0 
boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

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mareh
10-26-2006

Rated 0 
fucking amazing

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j.enslow
01-21-2007

Rated 0 
he has such flair for drama in song, and this is a great example.

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mdkruse2
01-22-2007

Rated 0 
I've been obsessed with these lyrics for a little bit now and have been reading others opinions on here. It makes sense that "youre what happens when two substances collide" refers to a sperm and an egg... it follows the theme of the album sort of, but it also makes sense that the song is about a drug addiction. A former mob affiliate named Henry Hill currently lives in North Platte as a cook, and I say former mob affiliate because he testified against another mobster and put him in jail. "Though th words we speak are banal/not one of thems a lie" might be his testimony. He also had a drug problem.

This doesnt really work with the rest of the song though, im not even sure if "North Platte" even means anything because the third verse uses "six miles north of South Platte" and it doesnt even seem like south platte even exists.

I can see the whole sperm and egg theory and the song revolving around several people. One who watches the history channel with a panel of experts explaining the hard journey of the sperm to the egg, and explaining to whoever is watching that they should have died before they two substances collided.

The second and third verses could about two different people. One is most likely a truck driver which explains the "streched out on the tarmac" as an 18 wheeler carrying 16 tons of hazmat. OR, he could be running from something or someone, the 16 tons of hazmat could be a metaphor for a lot of problems of some sort. This would tie with the next verse as he is trying to forget his problems with drugs, and he is in the bathroom with a sack full of coke or pills or something, wishing he had his life back before all the problems led him to run away. He could also be the one who was watching the history channel and reflecting on his life. Maybe he thought it was a waste after all, on all accounts he really should have died before he came to be.

Of course theres the line "over imbibed under the mister/barely alive we cover the blisters in flannel" suggests maybe the subject was burnt. The word imbibed could mean to soak up a liquid or to consume a liquid. Perhaps soaking up the water from the mister. I don't know what the flannel is for. "The words we speak are banal/not one of thems a lie" could be from the panel of experts again. They do speak without "freshness or originalty", but most of the time they speak the truth, i mean, they are the experts for a reason.

Another interesting point is that in the opening and closing verse, andrew bird uses the word "we" instead of "I", but in the second and third verses he tells a story of a specific person. I better stop thinking too much about it, or i'm not going to enjoy the song anymore

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peopledontdance
03-04-2007

Rated 0 
i like to think that when they ask "why are we alive," it's like the people know that they've screwed up their life somehow and are asking for a deeper meaning as to why they exist, sort of what their purpose on earth may be, and they never get the answer they're looking for, simply the textbook version of the sperm and egg. but i'm probably way off.

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RTBRAND1
03-13-2007

Rated 0 
I can't believe i just wrote an entire thing out and when i went to click send, I got an error:

Let me try to sum it up all the same:

The "nervous tic motions" are essentially double takes. We doubletake when we see something new and interesting.

The people who sing this song are talking about how they've become "overperscribed", perhaps too dependant on either medicinal pills or illegal substances, but I strongly doubt this is a song about drugs. Perhaps they're merely referring to being overperscribed on the more mundane and boring parts of life.

The scientist are speaking not only of human conception (I find it hard to believe sperm and eggs are "substances" in anyway), but rather of humanities birth from the primordial goop.

ANYTHING could have caused us to not exist. But through fate alone, simple cells combined and grew to substances, and substances collided and here we are, existing today, but mentally, if not physically wasting away.

I think this song is a call for more "nervous tic motions" or more people causing others to doubletake by being unique and "waking up"!

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blueofthesky
03-16-2007

Rated 0 
The miracle of life?

All we really need to understand to be happy?

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hamonryan
03-26-2007

Rated 0 
this song, to me, seems to be somewhat satirical. yes, we ARE "what happens when two substances collide" (sperm/egg) and "by all accounts [we] really shouldve died" HOWEVER thats not really the meaning of life.

the world is advancing in terms of science and we can now more accurately describe the science of life, but that doesnt really help us understand the meaning of life.

ive taken to believing 'overprescribed' and the 'nervous tic' are pertaining to adderal (mentioned at other points on the album) adderal contributes to modern societies shift towards goal-driven and scientific-minded culture. leading us to say the reason we're alive is too substances colliding. which is true but, in my opinion, a bleak way to look at our existence.

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artslut
04-17-2007

Rated 0 
"The miracle of life?

All we really need to understand to be happy?"

Um, is this comment supposed to be ironical? Or simply a comment ignoring the rules of grammar entirely?

Just curious.

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tru_shard
04-19-2007

Rated 0 
I didnt read all of the comments so what i say may have been covered somewhat, previously. I think by "nervous tic motion of the head to the left" bird means that we felt or sensed something supernatural or beyond our grasp that just influenced the moment so we turn our heads like we might catch what we thought was something in the corner of our eye(no im not crazy haha). This feeling we get that there might be "something else" makes us look for a purpose in our lives or realize that we are akin to pennies on the train track (ben kweller) and that something is controlling our fate and there's nothing we can do about it. I'm not sure about the stanzas with the characters or how they relate...ill keep trying to figure it out

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Quisquilloso
04-20-2007

Rated 0 
I always thought this was about the fragile miracle of life, as suggested by many above, and that the events are linked by theme (eg, collision, chance) but not by narrative. I think of the "nervous tic" as a (metaphorical) nervous looking-over-the-shoulder for death creeping up. I've always wondered if "undelivered" has spiritual connotations intended. Like most of his songs about the fragility of good things, I don't see them as depressing so much as poignant.

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JasonBunting
04-20-2007

Rated +1 
For more accurate Andrew Bird lyrics and community commentary, etc. go check out:
www.AndrewBird.org

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withedgedtools
04-21-2007

Rated 0 
Though most other elements point to my conclusion the one that first got me and still sticks out the most is this; "What's in that paper nap sack?"

Mortality. Insignifigance. Depression. Suicide.

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artslut
04-22-2007

Rated 0 
of the what

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