Hey Timothy
I wish for clairvoyance
I wanna see my wife and kids
And how I will live and how I will die
(Son you should!)

It's out of fright
It's self-absorption
I wanna learn from my mistakes
Before they can scare me away from the drugs
(Son you should!)

I picture a man who misses his father
He never learned to cook for himself
And spends all his time on his waistline
(Son you should invest!)

I picture a man who lives in the past
He keeps a book of photographs
Of his younger self, clairvoyant self
(Son you should invest!)



Lyrics submitted by khron


Many Lives -> 49 MP song meanings
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16 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Has anybody realised that the ending of this song is the ending of the Presto (final movement) of J.S. Bach's sonata in G minor for Solo Violin? just something that might add to someone's interpretation. Personally this song scares me as the poetry it contains almost pertains to me already at the age of 20 when i'm 5,000 miles away from home for most of the year and I find myself time and time again missing the life I once led and wanting to live in that past because of the ease and joy in living it afforded me.
    Flag jdwalshon May 04, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Could someone please explain what "49 MP" means? I'm guessing it's probably a video game or D&D reference. I'm not sure what video game it would be from, and I've never played D&D, so I don't know. Maybe it's a reference to something else entirely.
    Flag within_houyhnhnmon April 29, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Pilot Error,

    You are absolutely right...brain fart on my end.
    Flag staalkinon September 29, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Sorry to nitpick staalkin; although I agree with your reference to Timothy Leary, he was not the creator of LSD (that would be Albert Hoffman). He did advocate its use spiritually and theraputically though.

    God, talent just pours out of Owen Pallett, doesn't it?
    Flag Pilot Erroron September 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:First off, Timothy is definitely in reference to Timothy Leary, the creator of LSD.

    Just at face-value, this song is about a man, who in his youth used LSD as an excuse to try and get a glimpse of his future, but keeps going and keeps going and eventually he is now older and has nothing but the pictures of himself in his youth to look at, taunting his supposed "clairvoyance".
    Flag staalkinon September 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I caught the dungeons and dragons reference on the album....


    but this song is about so much more than dungeons and dragons....

    owen pallett, you are amazing
    Flag guerillacelliston July 02, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great, cheers. Sounds plausible.
    Flag sam99fosteron April 29, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Timothy refers to Tim, the most fundemental wizard type in Dungeons & Dragons (I think, not an expert; I think they have something to do with claire-voyance the school of magic this song is written about). It was the first song written for the labum so he started it with a literal reference.
    Flag Claire-voyanceon April 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:who is "Timothy"?
    Flag sam99fosteron February 12, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This is a song about someone looking forward to the future, and finding out that their future self obsesses over the past. Basically, live for the moment. Simple and to the point, but I think Owen Pallett does it well.
    Flag GentlemanSkeletonon January 04, 2008   Link

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