In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I want to live alone in the desert
I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Michael Jackson in Disneyland
Don't have to share it with nobody else
Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand
And lead me through the World of Self
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Don't want to wake up with no one beside me
Don't want to take up with nobody new
Don't want nobody coming by without calling first
Don't want nothing to do with you
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows
Lying down in the dark to dream
I don't want to see their faces
I don't want to hear them scream
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Michael Jackson in Disneyland
Don't have to share it with nobody else
Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand
And lead me through the World of Self
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Don't want to wake up with no one beside me
Don't want to take up with nobody new
Don't want nobody coming by without calling first
Don't want nothing to do with you
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows
Lying down in the dark to dream
I don't want to see their faces
I don't want to hear them scream
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I wanna thank Warren for this song. I dont know that my thanks will count for much now, but oh well. Thanks Warren, sometimes I also feel like that. People are such a pain in the ass.
I don't think this is at all like the previous poster said, nor is it a "People are pains in the ass, go away." I'd say the song is about being unable to cope with life, so you lock yourself away and bury yourself in fantasy (Michael Jackson), or art, Georgia O'Keeffe.
If it was written for a girlfriend, for example, why would you put tinfoil over the windows, or live in the desert? Without some sort of Neuroses, it's very easy to live by yourself in civilization, without completely isolating yourself in the manner of schizoids, avoidants, and addicts.
With how troubled Mr. Zevon supposedly was, it's very simple to see how this song could be about addiction, self-loathing, and inability to cope.
I love this song. When I'm felling lonely I listen to this song and it immediately makes me fell better. It takes me away to a nice peaceful place in the country where I can relax and forget about my worries while listening to Warren.
I love this song, because New York is so like that. it is a cultural hub, a place where one can find anything to do and anyone to do it with. Yet every time i pay the 6 bucks for the train ride into the city, i always come out hating people. imagine living there! i'd go into hibernation too.
@scumbagstyle I get what’s you’re saying - been there - That’s about You, though, not “them”. You’ll<br /> Probably understand what I’m saying at some point, the way I understand what you said…<br /> <br /> And I do NOT intend this as a “screw u” post, you can’t realize it’s “you” till you stumble across the proper perspective and distance - you won’t find it by looking for it. <br /> <br /> And it’s not your FAULT you leave hating the people of NYC, but you’re going into the city LOOKING FOR SOMETHING, amirite?!? <br /> <br /> Just sayin’…
Great sounding song instrumentally too. The harmonica sounds like Neil Young. Pete Yorn's cover version has a good sound to it also.
The song's meaning is self-explanatory. The demand for a hermit-like existence. Educational also - the UK had a policy of "Splendid isolation" last century. Georgia O'Keefe was an artist. Thanks "wikipedia". The harmonica is similar to Neil Young's on his acoustic version of "Keep on rockin' in the free world". Does anyone have the harmonica tabs? Guitar is easy being Em C G D chords.
chisb1, I respectully disagree: The whole song, to me, sounds like he's speaking to the woman he misses, telling her that he doesn't miss her (but obviously does).
He says he wants to be all alone and away from everyone, but he's speaking to someone ("Don't want nothing to do with you") - why would he talk to someone, if he didn't want to be around them?
In fact, that whole verse sounds to me as if he'd just broken up with someone and is trying to convince himself that he doesn't need anyone.
And the Disneyland verse...Who goes to Disneyland by themselves (besides MJ, of course)? I think he's trying to learn how to be alone (like MJ, in that verse).
This was originally written by the late, brilliant Warren Zevon of "Werewolves of London" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money" fame. It's about that feeling of wanting to be left alone. I believe Zevon went through a depression at one point in his life, and actually holed up in his room for a long time, eventually writing this about the experience. We've all felt that way at some point in our lives...just wanting to "lie down in the dark to dream".
To me this song is very much about a woman. At first it wasn't, but after listening to it many times it eventually clicked. To me it is as though he is attempting to tell himself that he wants to be by himself, but if he really wanted to be alone he wouldn't have to repeat it to himself over and over again in different ways. He wishes that he could enjoy solidarity, but he's a social animal and needs companionship. Furthermore the "Don't want nothing to do with you" shows that there is "you" making him want to hide from the world. <br /> <br /> "I want to live alone in the desert" is my favorite opening line to any song.
@bauble exactly. He's been dumped and the song is satire. Not sure why the downvotes.
Michael Jackson in Disneyland Don't have to share it with nobody else Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand And lead me through the World of Self
One of my favorite lines in any song ever.
I thought I had commented on this before. The mood completely changes here
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows Lying down in the dark to dream I don't want to see their faces I don't want to hear them scream
I'm not sure what it means but it's how Warren would end this song.
I think it's a sarcastic piece very similar to Simon and Garfunkel ' s "I am a Rock". A song that shows how lonely it could be be by one's self and that we all really do need people in our lives to be happy.