Animal Collective – Did You See the Words

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Have you seen them?
The words cut open
Your poor intestines
Can't deny
When the inky periods drip from your mailbox and
Blood flies, dip and glide, reach down inside
Grab inside
There's something living in these lines

And when your newest kisser is peeking
You dress yourself up tonight
Get all tangled up in arms and legs, it's cramped up and
Someone grabs a hold, do you go oh oh oh!?
Should you go home?
There's something starting, don't know why

And in a house so cozy
Few words are spoken
Let's take our shoes off and unwind
When there's minuets off in the background drowning out
Eyes off, ears off, test the kiss goodnight
A kiss goodnight
Dont keep my loving on my mind

Because its messy, yes, this mess is mine
Though mine is messy, yours is maybe nine

Look we've had similar stitches
Look we have similar frowns
Do the elderly couples still
Kiss and hug and
Grab their big wrinkly skin, so tough, wrinkly wrink, wrink wrinkly rough?

Did you see the words you know
Give me rabies, hand me babies at the hospital
Violent ends with friends that go
I kissed a few in sticky shoes our cartoon show is broken

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Lyrics submitted by mattm2114, edited by UncleHuggedMeFunny

Track duration: 05:15


Did You See the Words song meanings
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45 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think the song is about 2 people meeting at a bar or club and going home and having sex. The woman gets pregnant and they're obviously not to happy "its messy, yes, this mess is mine" "we have similar frowns" and they're asking each other if they can stay together and get married for the welfare of the child. "Do the elderly couples still Kiss and hug and Grab their big wrinkly skin, so tough, wrinkly wrink, wrink wrinkly rough" (kinda like the movie Knocked Up). But they have the baby so they both must cut off their friends to take care of the child "Violent ends with friends that go" I think the ending was repeated twice to represent them having more children but on purpose. Possibly the end of this song with the "Oh oh oh" and the piano might symbolizes the couple growing old with each other and their accidental family.
    Flag spain301on April 21, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:feels is a bisexual love album. listen to dave's voice in the live versions of this, he's got this voice that really demonstrates the meaning of this song. He talks about "never wanting one type of fruit" in flesh canoe, and the first verse of this song is him saying how he doesn't like vaginas. It looks like the flesh is cut open (like a flesh canoe) and it bleeds and smells and whatever. He goes out, past his current girlfriend, and ends up getting grabbed by some dude and doesn't know what to do but just goes with it, goes back to the dudes cozy house, and takes it like allen ginsberg from a saintly motorcyclist. He can relate to the life and issues of this gay dude and it's weird, and the whole thing is costing him friendships because when you're a happy go lucky penguin all spiritual and on acid and shit, you live in a cartoon world but no one actually starts goin' at each other's pooters in a cartoon world.
    Flag burdeedboyon July 26, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I never had the slightest idea what Animal Collective meant in any of their lyrics, but I love them and I love the song. So beautiful and gives me such a nostalgic memory and smile.
    Flag Elusineon February 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:No matter what it means, it really is a feel god song, especially when he says "a kiss goodnight"
    Flag thendon February 21, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Also... I want to paint a picture based around these lyrics. Such good imagery here. Really, most AC songs could inspire awesome visual art (ODDSAC, for example ;))
    Flag thismessismineon March 28, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Though I have a million things to say about what this song may mean, others pretty much summed them up. Such a wonderful song, and I also would like to point out that it's where my username came from :) Anyway, I just wanted to post that I was just reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut and read the phrase "babies full of rabies" in it. It instantly reminded me of this song... it's probably unrelated, but I was excited nonetheless. Peace.
    Flag thismessismineon March 28, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion:All songsdon't have to tell real life stories, & they don't have to be cryptic. They can just be telling feelings and making you fell them too. This song makes me wanna smile like a mad fool, that's for sure !
    Flag martinlorinon January 04, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:and this is why they are one of my favorite bands. sonically, I feel so attached and yet sometimes I think the daunting task of deciphering the meaning of their songs is such a rewarding experience.

    Props to "yesitsme". I really appreciated their words about this song.

    Ah, if I could only spend ten minutes talking to Avey and Noah (obviously geo and deakin would be cool too, but you catch my drift)
    Flag bottlerocket88on November 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Notice how at the beginning of the song you can distinctivley hear a child's and a woman's laughter. This may also add to the whole I got you pregnant and now we might start a new life thing. I think it's a beautiful song and I'm totally obsessed with it xD
    Flag musicangel122on June 13, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:i finally, finally get the genuine meaning of. its a song about falling in love and going through every phase from the initial realization to the moment before making real love for the first time. and then they have a very serious argument down the line in their relationship but it doesn't matter because they love each other so much. the ending is so triumphant and goes to show that a baby came out of it (possibly makeup sex haha). such a beautiful, beautiful song that is in a nutshell, the entire timeline of the beginning stages of a pure relationship.
    Flag AndrewVSon May 21, 2010   Link

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