Lyrics for (Antichrist Television Blues) as interpreted by thiagozero

(Antichrist Television Blues) Lyrics
Don't want to work in a building downtown
No, I don't want to work in a building downtown
I don't know what I'm going to do
Because the planes keep crashing always two by two
Don't want to work in a building downtown
No, I don't want to see it when the planes hit the ground

Don't want to work in a building downtown
Don't want to work in a building downtown
Parking the cars in the underground
The voices when they scream, well, they make no sound
Want to see the cities rust
And the troublemakers riding on the back of the bus

Dear God, I'm a good Christian man
I'm your boy, I know you understand
That you got to work hard and you got to get paid
The girl's thirteen, but she don't act her age
She can sing like a bird in cage
Oh Lord, if you could see her when she's up on that stage

You know that I'm a God-fearing man
You know that I'm a God-fearing man
I just got to know if it's part of your plan
To see my darling stand by your right hand
I know that you'll do what's right, Lord
For they are the lanterns and you are the light

Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near
But my heart is far away
Tell me what to say
I'll be your mouthpiece

Into the light of a bridge that burns
As I drive through the city with the money that I earn
To the dark of a starless sky
I won't stare into nothing and I'm asking you why
Lord, let me make her a star
So the world can see who you really are

Little girl, you're old enough to understand
You'll always be a stranger in a strange, strange land
Men are going to come while you're fast asleep
So you better just stay close and hold onto me
If mama's mockingbird don't sing well,
Then daddy won't buy her no diamond ring

Dear God, would you send me a child?
Oh God, would you send me a child?
Because I want to put it up on the TV screen
So the world can see what your true word means
Lord, won't you send me a sign?
Because I just got to know if I'm wasting my time

Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near
But my heart is far away
But now the war is won
How come nothing tastes good?

Oh you're such a sensitive child
You know you're such a sensitive child
I know you're tired, but it's all right
I just needed you to sing for me tonight
You're going to have your day in the sun
You know God loves the sensitive ones

Oh, my little bird in a cage
Oh, my little bird in a cage
I need you to get up for me up on that stage
Show all the men that you're old for your age
Now in the times of fear
But if you don't take it, it'll disappear

Oh, my little mockingbird, sing
Oh, my little mockingbird, sing
I need you to get up on the stage for me, honey
Show the men it's not about the money
Want to hold a mirror up to the world
So that they can see themselves inside my little girl

Do you know where I was at your age?
Any idea where I was at your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage!
And I couldn't let you just throw it all away
Throw me a kid, God, throw me a knife
So tell me Lord, am I the Antichrist?

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modestmark777
02-05-2007

Rated 0 
I originally thought this song was about someone living vicariously through their child... but I really have no idea.

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Gus428
02-05-2007

Rated 0 
I think it is from the perspective of Jessica Simpson's father. He questions whether if selling his daughter's soul makes him the antichrist.

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bristena
02-06-2007

Rated 0 
why jessica simpson???...

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2 Replies
bristena
02-06-2007

Rated 0 
maybe more about every single parent who has a child now and uses it in order to gain things that they themselves never could. especially those parents who have the opportunity to do such a thing, because they have access to an entrance into showbiz.
i agree it's about living thru your children. and we're supposed to feel sorry for these guys?

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thiagozero
02-06-2007

Rated 0 
i think this song is about the brazilian shepherd girl that thay put a video at neonbible.com.

just look for "menina pastora" at youtube.com and see how pathetic it is, the songs seems to make more sense then..

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Gus428
02-06-2007

Rated 0 
i said jessica simpson, because the working title for the song was supposedly "Joe Simpson"

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King of Some Island
02-07-2007

Rated 0 
this song is actually called Building Downtown (Antichrist Television Blues)

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King of Some Island
02-07-2007

Rated 0 
well maybe not, the official site calls it Anitchrist Television Blues without the parenthesis... i guess we wont know until the album drops for real. I love this song though, Its definitely about show-parents and how they use their kids to live out their own failed dreams of stardom.

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emueyes
02-08-2007

Rated 0 
This song is from the perspective of Joe Simpson, who started off as a preacher of the worst kind and moved on to marketing his children to america as sex symbols. The song is really sarcastic and has a lot of word play, "show the men it's not about the money" "so they can see themselves inside my little girl" etc.. This fits in with what I think the album's overall theme of criticizing pop culture, and mentions a black mirror which presumably shows no reflection, which I think is a metaphor for soullessness.

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cloud7
02-11-2007

Rated 0 
i believe emueyes has got it.

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erik.yefeng
02-14-2007

Rated 0 
the second last line of the song is:
"I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice"

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Clintron
02-15-2007

Rated -1 
I believe this song is actually about terrorism. hence the lines:
"Don't wanna work in a building downtown
No, I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't know what I'm gonna do
Cause the planes keep crashing always two by two"
-Reminds me of 9/11

I do see where you guys are getting the jessica simpson thing, it seems to take over the song. Maybe the song is about the wrongs of the world as of recent years.

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1 Reply
SyroVision
02-16-2007

Rated -3 
The entire album is about 'Faith' and the many many flaws within faith. Think about the opening lines it talks about Planes comming down and hitting the gound... YES it does sound alot like 9/11 but 9/11 was an act of Anger based on the belifes of two cultures clashing, mainly based on Faith (america destroying the middle east for 3 decades finaly gets whats comming to it and its an act of terror... apparenly) anyway...

So faith once again, the whole song is about some one knowing what they are doing is wrong BUT because it is helping or improving what he belives in he feels its justified... however he calls out to 'god' to answer, and tell him if its actualy right or wrong.

Some one said the working title was "Joe Simpson" and although I know alot with the workings of this album andnever heard that; i cant give an actual answer.

However yes, Joe Simpson started as a preacher and ended up whoring children through religeon for money. However a more stable connection woudl eb that of "Menina Pastora" a spanish girl preacher who works like an MC under her fathers managment.

Video of Menia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svAXeLDuXwo

This song was writen from the perspective of one of these fathers asking god if what hes doign is justified.

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SyroVision
02-16-2007

Rated -1 
The entire album is about 'Faith' and the many many flaws within faith. Think about the opening lines it talks about Planes comming down and hitting the gound... YES it does sound alot like 9/11 but 9/11 was an act of Anger based on the belifes of two cultures clashing, mainly based on Faith (america destroying the middle east for 3 decades finaly gets whats comming to it and its an act of terror... apparenly) anyway...

So faith once again, the whole song is about some one knowing what they are doing is wrong BUT because it is helping or improving what he belives in he feels its justified... however he calls out to 'god' to answer, and tell him if its actualy right or wrong.

Some one said the working title was "Joe Simpson" and although I know alot with the workings of this album andnever heard that; i cant give an actual answer.

However yes, Joe Simpson started as a preacher and ended up whoring children through religeon for money. However a more stable connection woudl eb that of "Menina Pastora" a spanish girl preacher who works like an MC under her fathers managment.

Video of Menia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svAXeLDuXwo

This song was writen from the perspective of one of these fathers asking god if what hes doign is justified.

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nursejen
02-27-2007

Rated 0 
A father is exploiting his daughter for his own personal gain. Deep down he probably knows it's wrong, but because he's a "good christian god-fearing man", he can sleep at night.

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deadeyeduck
03-07-2007

Rated 0 
I love the part at the end

Do you know where I was at your age?
Any idea where I was at your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage!

the dude is an awesome vocalist and he sings those lines so desperately and then it ends all abrupt like with the next few lines.
wonderful

and joe simpson? weird
but, yeah, bout time someone did it....that guy's a douche


peace

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JKM78613
03-08-2007

Rated 0 
This song is simply about the "pimping" of children by many parents in America today. There's this new kind of greed and childhood voyeurism apparent in this country, and it's so wrong. Joseph Simpson is just at the center of it and under the spotlight, so it's easier for The Arcade Fire to call him out on it.

At many of the live shows, some of the lyrics were changed to specifically mention him.

Sources:
http://www.stereogum.com/archives/004615.html
http://www.fluxblog.org/2007/02/sound-is-not-asleep_14.html
http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

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cold_fevers
03-12-2007

Rated 0 
The last two lines are wrong. In the CD jacket is reads,

"I'm threw being cute, I'm through being nice.
Oh! Tell me lord, am I the Antichrist?!"

Love this song. I kind of wish it wasn't about him criticizing parents of pop-culture kid icons, though. When I first heard it I thought he actually wanted a kid and it was sweet. Guess snot. But I still don't get the imagery of 9/11 at the beginning, whether it be intentional or not.

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camkid2
03-13-2007

Rated 0 
i really love this song. it might be my favorite off the new cd... but it took a couple of listens to feel that way. i feel the whole obsessive-stage parent thing. but since i always think its more interesting if songs relate to me, the part that goes-

Little girl, you're old enough to understand
You'll always be a stranger in a strange strange land
Men are going to come while you're fast asleep
So you better just stay close and hold onto me

i got when i was walking to school downtown. i'm only 16 and am constantly hit on by old weird men. and i think that it kind of relates to like... "you're never going to fit in, you're always going to feel out of place, men will try to take advantage of you so you need to cling onto my masculine strength (or whatever)" which is kind of bullshit because i hate being babied or just being that "little girl" who can't take care of herself.

and the part-

So that they can see themselves inside my little girl


is actually really creepy sounding. which i think the song is kind of supposed to be... a corruption of sorts.

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camkid2
03-13-2007

Rated 0 
and i always get chills after i listen to this song. and i have to wait a few minutes before i can listen to something else.

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Rule11
03-15-2007

Rated +1 
I think perhaps that the first verse is the father’s justification for his actions in regards to pimping his daughter on the stage of America. He does not want to work in the so-called corporate world because of all the dangers including but not limited to terrorism and the selling of the corporate culture. The crux is that the father fails to see the hypocrisy of his avoidance of the corporate world and its dangers and the selling of his daughter, which ultimately occurs through the corporate world of television.

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somethingliketreclo
03-15-2007

Rated 0 
I actually think that this song is a lot more innocent than most people are saying. To me, it conjures the story of a man abandoned by the mother of his child, struggling to support his daughter and himself. He finds out about a a singing contest of sorts, and convinces his daughter to enter-- originally so that they can get extra income, but after they both see how artificial it all is, he tells her that she has to go out there and prove that she sings because of a love for music, not for fame or fortune. I've always thought that the lines
"Want to hold a mirror up to the world
So that they can see themselves inside my little girl"
are just talking about how this one poor little girl is going to show the audience and the judges and the other contestants how superficial they are.
And the parts talking about "Do you know where I was at your age?" is just him saying she needs to use her talent to have a better life than he did.

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elcapitanloco
03-22-2007

Rated 0 
No!! It isn't innocent for the following reasons:

1. Religious hypocrisy seems to be a motif on this album (e.g. Intervention). It doesn't make sense for them to be inconsistent and suddenly make one that is earnestly religious.

2. The irony of lines like "She can sing like a bird in cage" and "So that they can see themselves inside my little girl". Many poets/lyricists from Robert Frost to Kurt Cobain have written lines that could be interpreted as earnest to the casual reader, but are actually filled with sarcasm. Win Butler and his bandmates are too smart to write lines like that and not be sarcastic.

3. The alternate title and alternate lyrics mention Joe Simpson by name:

http://www.fluxblog.org/2007/02/sound-is-not-asleep_14.html
http://thetorturegarden.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

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adrysdal
03-26-2007

Rated 0 
Hmm. I've read alot of different interpretations...I had a completely different view of it. Well first I thought the lyrics may have been part of Regine's experience, not because I know her biography but in another song the lyrics go "your father was a pervert, face down in the dirt...". Secondly, you'll always be a stranger in a strange strange land... I thought perhaps that related to Regine immigrating to Canada when she was young, that would make her family strangers in a strange strange land, especially since Haiti is so different from Canada, it is a huge adjustment and one can have the sense they may never truly belong here and Third when it said hold the mirror up to the world I was thinking about the Vodou religion (one of Haiti's official religions) in Vodou the physical and metaphysical world kind of intersect from what I understand at crossroads in a way but yet like a mirror. A "Black Mirror" would be the evils of the world because it reflects back the soul. One tries to achieve becoming a divinity by worshipping a divinity, so when they die they become a god. Hard to explain, read up and tell me what you think!

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elcapitanloco
03-29-2007

Rated 0 
Interesting idea. However, I doubt it. The original title was Joe Simpson (see links above). I think the song is pretty clear.

"Stranger in a strange land" is a biblical reference. There are many others on the album(e.g. "the lion and the lamb" "golden calf"). The character in the song seems to think that this is a strange (and immoral) land- (e.g. "planes keep crashing", "The voices when they scream, well, they make no sound/Want to see the cities rust/And the troublemakers riding on the back of the bus"). He sees himself and his daughter as being in the minority of the righteous. Of course, this is just his rationalization for exploiting his daughter.

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