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Karen, I'm not taking sides
I don't think I'll ever do that again
I'll end up winning and I won't know why
I'm really trying to shine here, I'm really trying
You're changing clothes and closing windows on me all the time
Well, whatever you do, listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Karen, we should call your father, maybe it's just a phase
He'll know the trick to get a wayward soul to change his ways
It's a common fetish for a doting man
to ballerina on the coffee table cock in hand
Well, whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Without warm water in my head
All I see is black and white and red
I feel mechanical and thin
Hear me play my violin again
I'm living in the target's shoes
All I see is black and white and blue.
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
Karen, put me in a chair, fuck me and make me a drink
I've lost direction, and I'm past my peak
I'm telling you this isn't me
No, this isn't me
Karen, believe me, you just haven't seen my good side yet
Well, whatever you do
Listen. you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Without warm water in my head
All I see is black and white and red
I feel mechanical and thin
Hear me play my violin again
I'm living in the target's shoes
All I see is black and white and blue
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
I must be me, I'm in my head
Black birds are circling my bed
I must be me, I must be me
Black feathers are falling on my feet
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
Protect the title
I don't think I'll ever do that again
I'll end up winning and I won't know why
I'm really trying to shine here, I'm really trying
You're changing clothes and closing windows on me all the time
Well, whatever you do, listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Karen, we should call your father, maybe it's just a phase
He'll know the trick to get a wayward soul to change his ways
It's a common fetish for a doting man
to ballerina on the coffee table cock in hand
Well, whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Without warm water in my head
All I see is black and white and red
I feel mechanical and thin
Hear me play my violin again
I'm living in the target's shoes
All I see is black and white and blue.
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
Karen, put me in a chair, fuck me and make me a drink
I've lost direction, and I'm past my peak
I'm telling you this isn't me
No, this isn't me
Karen, believe me, you just haven't seen my good side yet
Well, whatever you do
Listen. you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone into America
Whatever you do
Listen, you better wait for me
No, I wouldn't go out alone
Without warm water in my head
All I see is black and white and red
I feel mechanical and thin
Hear me play my violin again
I'm living in the target's shoes
All I see is black and white and blue
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
I must be me, I'm in my head
Black birds are circling my bed
I must be me, I must be me
Black feathers are falling on my feet
Idle, idle, idle, idle, protect the nest
Protect the title
Protect the title
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There’s two things I want to say. The first is: no matter how many times I listen to the song, I simply can’t hear “I’d lie to lie to lie…”, and I tried to as hard as I could. The second is: idle rhymes with title.
Think about it.
I thought about it, then I listened to the song and tried to hear “I’d lie to lie to…” REALLY hard, and no matter how many times I listen to it, I keep hearing “idle”.
“Idle” rhymes with “title”. Think about it.
to ballerina on the coffee table cock in hand"
The first few times I listened to this album these lines passed me by, then when I listened a bit closer I was like...did I just hear that! haha...I love the national for those moments, they have the whole package, music, atmosphere, emotion, crazy lyrical flourishes, great characters...
can't wrap my head around this verse though!
"I'll end up winning and I won't know why" - I think this idea of the emptiness of public recognition repeats itself throughout the song.
I think this part of the monologue completely encapsulates a moment of self realization.
You can tell that the lead singer is pleading for his lover's company, while trying to deny the draw toward the outrageous. There's a pull back and forth; he can play the rock star, have his liaisons and act like a drunken oaf, but he's also actively denying his child-like behaviour and looking for ways to change it in order to grow into a suitable partner.
Part of him kind of feels like all of his whining and lamenting over the subject is pointless; the third verse is sort of a giving up on the issue, where he's sick of arguing over who and what he is and just wants to numb his mind of it all.
I'd say the final portion is significant, where he's full on accepting the fact that this is who he is, a rambunctious alcoholic who's depressed and tired of following the picket fence agenda.
"Idle...protect the nest, protect the title." He isn't going anywhere by pretending to be a family man, but he cares about his lover and sees that his actions hurt her.
I think a lot of us want something more out of the fairytales we've been fed, and this song is a perfect representation of that feeling.
3ammagazine.com/buzzwordsblog/2006/06/…