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marvin walked into a helpless land and wondered lightly am I happy, is this happy
following the footsteps left by man he stepped to reprimand the mystic, who's sadistic
took a step into the elevator who said guess i'll see you later, don't you worry
fifteen flights that lasted nights and days that spent without a cent for creatures, with their beat shirts
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
next the stranded senate of the white brick house with flowers asked some questions for their story
all feeling now he took his bow and left the stage of time with no answers to no questions
lonely paperbacks that wanted just a taste of feeling to implode them before living
tiptoed to the wooden sign that said now take your place in line for happy, this is lovely
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
CHORUS
one secondary smile
to go that extra mile
to make me feel today
to make it go away
the chemistry is gone
taken for a ride
far away from you
no longer left inside
the actor with his world renowned was thinking 'bout his last real day of silence, was it over
or is it just we all think that our answer isn't real it's just a picture of a letter
bumble mumble make the rounds no matter what you'll seem profound it's useless just to worry
something normal happens somewhere far away in clouds so please just stop thinking this is happy
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
CHORUS x 2
there's no secrets in the door
just a moment doing chores
and there's something
and there's something
and there's something
and there's something next to nothing
and there's something
and there's something
but you're gone
following the footsteps left by man he stepped to reprimand the mystic, who's sadistic
took a step into the elevator who said guess i'll see you later, don't you worry
fifteen flights that lasted nights and days that spent without a cent for creatures, with their beat shirts
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
next the stranded senate of the white brick house with flowers asked some questions for their story
all feeling now he took his bow and left the stage of time with no answers to no questions
lonely paperbacks that wanted just a taste of feeling to implode them before living
tiptoed to the wooden sign that said now take your place in line for happy, this is lovely
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
CHORUS
one secondary smile
to go that extra mile
to make me feel today
to make it go away
the chemistry is gone
taken for a ride
far away from you
no longer left inside
the actor with his world renowned was thinking 'bout his last real day of silence, was it over
or is it just we all think that our answer isn't real it's just a picture of a letter
bumble mumble make the rounds no matter what you'll seem profound it's useless just to worry
something normal happens somewhere far away in clouds so please just stop thinking this is happy
listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill
CHORUS x 2
there's no secrets in the door
just a moment doing chores
and there's something
and there's something
and there's something
and there's something next to nothing
and there's something
and there's something
but you're gone
Lyrics submitted by MXMissles
Track duration: 04:44
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This line is totally about writing (song writing, poetry, what have you) and it's awesome.
ANYWHO
You guys are all severely misunderstanding this song. Super severely. This song is refering to a place called "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum" I'm assuming everyone knows Tally Hall's album and can see the relation. Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It's an arcade.
marvin3m.com/…
Following the footsteps left by man he stepped to reprimand the mystic, who's sadistic
took a step into the elevator who said guess i'll see you later, don't you worry
fifteen flights that lasted nights and days that spent without a cent for creatures, with their beat shirts"
The 'helpless land' is Earth. He, like every other person, wonders about happiness in the context of 'Is this really all there is?' 'Following the footsteps left by man,' (doing what other people have been doing since the awn of time), he blames 'the mystic' (God) for not receiving the happiness he believes he deserves or was promised, thinking maybe it doesn't exist at all and it is just a false promise told by a sadistic power. I think the elevator symbolizes the passing of time in his life in which he doesn't o anything or accomplish anything, only ages; heading to his estinations (death) without actually going anywhere, so to speak. "I'll see you later," then, applies to the many that will come after hi whol will have the same mindset, who will also waste their life wondering why they aren't happy and believing they can do nothing about it. In the case of the "creatures with beat shirts," I believe the following definition of "beat would be the most helpful:
Beat -- adj. of or belonging to a group of young persons, esp. of the 1950s, rebelling against conventional attitudes, dress, speech, etc., largely as an expression of social disillusionment.
"listening to
painted whispered light
on top forgotten hill"
This piece, I believe, is meant mostly to be descriptive of something beautiful so as to represent the simple everyday beauty that people take for granted rather than finding happiness in them.
"Next the stranded senate of the white brick house with flowers asked some questions for their story
all feeling now he took his bow and left the stage of time with no answers to no questions
lonely paperbacks that wanted just a taste of feeling to implode them before living
tiptoed to the wooden sign that said now take your place in line for happy, this is lovely"
When he dies, he dies without ever having learned anything. The people he leaves behind are the 'stranded senate' looking to live vicariously through his memories in order to enhance their own life-stories. Waiting for him in the after-life, he meets the souls that have yet to be born, otherwise known as the 'lonely paperbacks.' They wait excitedly to begin living, wanting "just a taste of feeling" to know what living is like before they start it on their own. They are happy, and excited for the happiness they are promised when they begin their lives. "This is lovely."
"one secondary smile
to go that extra mile
to make me feel today
to make it go away
the chemistry is gone
taken for a ride
far away from you
no longer left inside"
Overall, this song is about disillusionment with life. A faked joy keeps us going. We pretend to be happy, to know hapiness, in order to ignore the fact that we're not. The chemistry, the spark, in our love-affair with life is gone, and we feel tricked ('taken for a ride').
"The actor with his world renowned was thinking 'bout his last real day of silence, was it over
or is it just we all think that our answer isn't real it's just a picture of a letter
bumble mumble make the rounds no matter what you'll seem profound it's useless just to worry
something normal happens somewhere far away in clouds so please just stop thinking this is happy"
I'm not sure about this verse. I think it has something to do with going through the motions in our lives without living; for example, talking without speaking or saying anything important.
"There's no secrets in the door
just a moment doing chores"
In the end, there is no mystical secret to life and happiness, just living it.
"And there's something
and there's something
and there's something
and there's something next to nothing
and there's something
and there's something
but you're gone"
We get so close to finding a reason to be happy, we can almost touch it ('there's something!'), but, in the end, most of us don't see the joys of life before it's over and we're 'gone.'
Everyone's looking at this from small perspectives (marriage, etc...) not seeing the big picture. People who think this song is gibberish have really lost touch... I think this is a song any human being can relate to.
I was getting on today to say the exact same thing.
I'm glad someone thinks the same thing.
Marvin walked into a helpless land and wondered lightly "Am I happy, is this happy?"
In the H2G2 series, Marvin the Paranoid Android is famous for being completely depressed. He's never felt a single inkling of happiness in his digital life.
Following the footsteps left by man he stepped to reprimand the mystic, who's sadistic
Not exactly sure how this relates, to tell the truth. It may refer to Zaphod Beeblebrox the First, who was just transported to the planet that houses the Hitchhiker's Guide's main building by his late great grandfather, Zaphod the Fourth.
Took a step into the elevator who said "Guess I'll see you later, don't you worry."
When Marvin and Zaphod go inside of the H2G2 building, they take an elevator, who doesn't want to go up to the floor that a man named Zarniwoop is at.
Fifteen flights that lasted nights and days that spent without a cent for creatures, with their beat shirts.
The floor that Zarniwoop is on is the fifteenth floor.
I'm not sure how the rest of the song relates, but the first bit is definitely a nod towards Douglas Adams.
Then it turns into The Polyphonic Spree
"listening to painted whispered light on top forgotten hill"
i'm not sure what that means.
i think the next stanza is talking about his and his wife's family asking questions ("how was your honeymoon? are you going to have kids someday? how are you both?"), as if they were interrogating them for a newspaper expose.
"lonely paperbacks that wanted just a taste of feeling to implode them before living
tiptoed to the wooden sign that said now take your place in line for happy, this is lovely"
Marvin used to like reading a lot, and he had always enjoyed reading various paperbacks. But now, his wife wants to spend time with him all the time. his books that he used to love so much (and symbolically, everything else he used to love) will have to take their place in line, waiting to make him happy. marvin reassured himself that he is happy. "this is lovely."
"one secondary smile
to go that extra mile
to make me feel today
to make it go away
the chemistry is gone
taken for a ride
far away from you
no longer left inside"
if Marvin sees his wife's smile, it reminds him of the good ol' days. it gets him throught the lonely days. it makes the bad stuff go away. however, it doesn't change the fact that he misses all the things he used to love. the chemistry he had with his wife back when she was his girlfriend? it's gone. Now, he's on a business trip far away from his wife, no longer trapped inside with her.
time passes, and it's time for marvin to return home. he's had to act as if his wife and him still had that chemistry they always had before. he thinks about his last real day of silence. was it over? maybe he just was thinking too much. his answer's not important; its not real.
he knows he just has to go with the rhythm and be normal. as long as you go with how things are supposed to be, everything you do will seem profound to your wife who waits for you at home. he decides that he needs to stop thinking about his situation so much. he is happy. he is happy! ...right?
he returns home to find that the door to his bedroom is locked. "honey? you there?" he asks. he hears some strange, but familiar sounds. sounds that he last heard like that on his honeymoon night...
"honey! what are you doing in there?! what are you hiding?!"
his wife gasps and some noises are heard. "n-nothing, dear! there's no secrets in here! i was just ... doing chores! i don't want you to see... to see the room before it's ready! i'm making it special for your return from your business trip!"
after quite the commotion, Marvin gets into the room to find his wife with messed up hair and and a quickly put-together bed.
"honey..."
"marvin, it'd not what you think! i was doing chores! there's nothing here! nothing!"
marvin thinks. there's got to be something. he knows what happened.
there's something wrong here.... something... something...
"nothing? there's something!" Marvin points angrily at a strange white goo on the ground...
silence.
marvin decides. he's not happy.
"you're gone, wife."
haha, it's a pretty complicated story. but that's what i think of when i hear this song. xD