* played your songs

to me this sounds like a guy's clandestne relationship with a guy who is in the closet.

*clandestine. I could very well be EXTREMELY off. I'm curious to see what others say. Absolutely amazing song.

Amazing song.

I agree IamI. . .I think, at the very least, it's about someone who's cheated on their significant other, but after all is confessed, they feel more in love with him/her than before, and want to make it right. Curious lines: "i lost your presence underneath the bridge" "I fell so fast in Sufat's bedroom" (the cheating?) I'd be interested to hear other people's interpretations.

Alrighty, personal friend of the band here. First of all, love this song, and "Don't stop calling, you're the reason I love losing sleep" is one of my all time favorite lines ever. but anyway, I must correct this here, because I've seen it on other lyric sites too. It's not "Sufat". Andy's not talking about some middle-easterner here. it's "Seth Ott", one of andy's friends growing up and throughout highschool. How do I know this? well for one, Andy, Jonathan(the bassist), and Seth Ott were my discipleship leaders. Anyway, just thought I'd clear that up, feel free to correct other lyric sites as well.

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does anyone know what colly string actually is

I agree with iam. This sounds like he is pleading with a gay lover who is in the closet. Its beautiful.

The ending is actually "Besides, we can't believe without bleeding" - not fear. Andy said so on their forums (http://www.themanchesterorchestra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9)

I'm not sure what the song really means. To me, different parts of the song mean different things and refer to different experiences. Apparently, Andy said that the part about Seth Ott is about a time when he passed out in Seth's room after hearing some "rather alarming news." He made it seem as if that particular verse was about a particular occasion, which makes me think that throughout the song he is refering to several different memories.

Anyways, part of me thinks that the song is about someone he was close to dying or some how deserting him so that the relationship ended. I don't know... But I really don't think that it's about gay lovers.

justification for my thoughts:


You wore a pink t-shirt and khaki pants,

this to me just seems like the standard douche bag type.
pink shirt
popped collar
and i think it would be odd to describe a girl as wearing khaki pants, just me i guess.

You sang your songs and danced your dance,

played the part that everyone expects
ladies man
jock
straight
whatever

Nine to eleven you're getting weak,
The tile is cold, I can barely speak,
And I think she's gone, but I'll be sure for safety's keeping

sounds like maybe fooling around in the bathroom
or a kitchen or some other unlikely place
wants to make sure the guy's girlfriend, crush, etc. doesn't see them

Your eyes are on the living room your eyes are on the CLOSET,
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything

i think gradually the subtle message becomes more obvious

For a PSEUDO BOY that WOULD RATHER WEAR A BLOUSE ,
I sincerely saw your skin for the very first time
pseu·do
–adjective
1. not actually but having the appearance of; pretended; false or spurious; sham.
2. almost, approaching, or trying to be.

I rest my case

One of my favorite Manchester songs. My boyfriend and I listened to the cd and fell asleep through the entire thing, but woke up when Colly Strings was just beginning.

Anyways, I have spent some time trying to figure out what this song is about. Different parts seem to lead to different things. I definitley feel like he was let down in a relationship of some kind and is a bit disoriented by the change.

..this song is beautiful

I don't think the song has anything to do with cheating with a gay male. I feel that the person being described is in the act of cheating with a woman who is a lesbian and she is in fear of being caught.

At first you could argue about the pink shirt and khaki pants dressed on a guy, but it becomes more clear to me later that it's not a guy. The line "pseudo-boy who would rather wear a blouse" is broken down to a fake boy.....rather wear a blouse. It's a lesbian who he thinks would rather be straigh, i.e. wear a dress....be with him.

"And I think she's gone, but I'll be sure for safety's keeping" Making sure the woman's girlfriend is gone.

"And I fell so fast in Seth Ott's bedroom". He is in love with this woman.


I could be very wrong as well, like the whole gay guy idea, but after seeing it be broken down as a gay guy I kinda saw the song in a different way. He could be cheating with a woman who thinks she's a lesbian. Her girlfriend leaves and whatever happens during their time alone he obviously falls in love with this woman. And now she is confused about her orientation.

This is what I hear:

Take a leaf of paper, draw your mind
With bourbon brown, (like you?) burn my eyes
I lost your present underneath the bridge

Unlock the door lets talk it out
Against the wall hands on my mouth
Could this be it is it really over now?

You wore a pink t-shirt and khaki pants
You played your songs and you danced your dance
I unwrapped your present underneath your feet

9 to 11 you're getting weak
the tile is cold I can barely speak
And I think she's gone but I'll be sure for safety's keeping

If you say no, then no it will be
I'll stick it out, skin pierced with Colly Strings
Just play it cool, yeah, and try to avoid being seen

I'll stick it out, skin pierced for nothing

Yeah, I saw inside the mirror of your smoking gun
Unloadin' lead inside me; I was subscribing one by one
And I fell so fast in Seth Ott's bedroom

You said you saw it comin' but you didn't see nothin'
Your eyes are on the living room, your eyes are on the closet
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything

A pity invitation to an awkward house
for a pseudo boy that would rather wear a blouse
I sincerely saw your skin for the very first time

My curly hair and a voting booth
Confessing-ly, this is the first time I've loved you
and God I mean it, God I mean it; I hope that I mean it

Cause like dying young, Idols got the best of me
Well don't stop calling - you're the reason I love losing sleep
And the building collapsed, we're so shock worn, we're shock worn for something

I'll stick it out, skin pierced for something

And besides, you don't release me until it's over
And besides, we can't believe without bleeding
And besides, we can't believe without bleeding

beautiful song.
mind blowing album.
the lead's vocals are amazing
and make my tummy hurt =/
..its weird i know
but thats the only way i know how much a song means to me

they're a christian band right?
and on their web site they said this c.d. is more like a spiritual journey.
to me, it doesn't sound like anything sexual or gay for that matter.
it's more feelings.
all about feelings...deep ones.
thats what manchester orchestra is about.

i always heard "you can't believe without fear"

Theethicalkirsten: They're not a Christian band; however, they are christians who happen to be in a band.
Now, I still want to know what "colly strings" are. Has anyone found out yet? I just don't see the connection between colly and strings.

"What are Colly Strings?

Colly - to blacken as with coal dust, grime, soot.

The line is talking about being pierced with these infected strings so that the more you move the more you are infected. Basically being stuck in something that the longer you are there the worse it gets."

i found this in an interview with manchester on milkcarton.com

i feel like a "pseudo boy" is a pretty boy, or like a preppy boy. a boy that would rather wear a blouse is guy that is maybe metro or dresses really well. other guys always hate metro guys.

Ok, my thoughts on this song are completely different from everyone else's... I may be totally wrong but hey, just throwing it out there.

To me its one of those relationships that only half work. The first stanza explains the mystery behind the lover's eyes, the unpredictability of her mind. Then after a while he loses her presence, Shes changed beyond his understanding. In my mind, shes just one of those incomprehensible people who cant settle in one place for too long.

He dosent want to lose her. He just wants to understand her, so to try to pin her down he locks them in a room together. to talk it out. But shell have none of that and turns it into a game.

is it really over? he asks him self... can he really be in a relationship with this much vagueness, all about fun and no deeper meaning to him? its a gamble he hasn't decided to take yet.

The next stanza is more about how shes all about fun. Singing her songs, dancing her dance. Its also saying that the songs and dance are all hers. Shes one of a kind, and so is everything shes doing. Hes submissive, under her, unwrapping her presents under her feet. Being her rock to keep her down so she dosent just float away. In my mind, she dosent appreciate that face. She likes floating.

Time goes on. Someone with so much energy all the time who keeps going and going needs to rest at some point. So shes getting weak now. And he sees that shes probably moved on from him now, but he just wants to make sure.

Shes now definitively not his. shes said no, so he accepts it. moves on. The longer he stays in one spot the more it hurts, pierced with the colly strings. He dosent want to break down in front of everyone, because her no probably happened in the middle of the action because thats the kind of person she is. So he tries to keep his emotional breakdown hidden.

All of his trying to understand, for nothing.

Then he hears about one of her exploits and is blown away. Its way out there, even for her. (not sure what it might be...) so he "fell so fast is Seth Ott's bedroom" reference to passing out after big news in a friends room.

so when approached about it, she says that it was bound to happen sometime, but he dosent believe that. He knows her to be a better person. But shes had enough conversation, and shes restless. cant focus her attention in one place, so "Your eyes are on the living room your eyes are on the closet" i think just shows that her attention is shifting a lot, no particular emphasis on the closet.

But she relapses back to him, she needs that grounding for a while and feels bad for whatever event that had happened which obviously hurt him. thus, pity invitation. The "pseudo-boy who would rather wear a blouse" probably lives in the awkward house and is probably one of the eccentric characters that she has made friends with. A Trans-gender is what im thinking. At this party which is very her scene, and probably not his, they finally get some alone time. he 'sincerely saw your skin for the very first time' use your imagination. But they probably also finally had a conversation and he sees her now, naked and bare. Sees the real her.

Imagery of his curly hair and a voting booth are probably remember another incident in this relapse into a real relationship. He loves her for real now, because this time hes decided to take the gamble, he thinks. He hopes.

Idols (her) get the best of him, and again shes gone. Shes just one of those people. Shell call him sporadically and obscene hours of the night, but he likes it. The building (their relationship) colapses, but theyll shop for another one. Shell be back again.


again, hes done all of this understanding to go back to nothing.

Its not really over, hes not released. its not really over. shell be back.

you cant really and truly believe in something, its not concrete in your mind until its gone, and it hurts.

like i said, just throwing it out there. If anyone has read winter dreams by Fitzgerald, it reminds me of that kind of relationship. She cant settle until shes found someone who she loves more that he loves her, because everyone loves her so much. Hes different that that everyone, but its not quite enough.

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This song is fantastic. I never thought about the gay affair thing until I read it here, but it sort of makes sense now that I think about it.

But this is what I got out of it:

This song kind of reminds me of that first, passionate, sort of immature love. Obviously it's a relationship that's going through some serious issues. But so much of this song I think is talking about that first really physical relationship you have when you're young, fooling around in your parents house etc and worrying about getting caught:

"Nine to eleven you're getting weak,
The tile is cold, I can barely speak,
And I think she's gone, but I'll be sure for safety's keeping"

"Just play it cool yeah, and try avoid being seen"

"Your eyes are on the living room your eyes are on the closet,
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything"

And especially this reminds me of that intense emotion and also uncertainty involved in first loves.

"My curly hair and a voting booth,
Confessingly, this is the first time I've loved you,
And God I mean, God I mean it, I hope that I mean it"

Oh well. I love this song, whatever it means.

Well i actually think tht this song is about a guy who's been cheating on his girlfriend and she comes to kill him. He's hiding in a room, waiting for her to leave cuz shes outside waiting to kill him. Then he walks out of the room to see her throught the mirror with a gun. Then she shoots him and he falls in the bed room.
"Well yeah I saw inside the mirror and your smoking gun,
Along in the sign, the hours, the subscribing one by one,
And I fell so fast is Seth Ott's bedroom"

then she's looking for a place to stash his body

"Your eyes are on the living room your eyes are on the closet,
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything"

He died :" 'Cause like dying young, idols got the best of me"

thts all i can think of...

I saw Andy Hull at an acoustic in-store a few weeks ago; he was talking about how he has a tradition of writing an album every year just for his fiancee, as a way of keeping close when he's on the road. He said this is one of the few songs from those albums that have made it onto a Manchester record.

Also, just found this in a new absolutepunk interview:

ANDY: "Colly Strings" is a song I wrote on the first record I wrote for my fiancee. Each phrase of four lines switches back and fourth from my perspective and hers. The song tells the story of the hard things we had to get through to finally find each other. "Besides you can't believe without bleeding" references the idea that before you can experience real joyfulness, you have to experience pain. It's the only way you can appreciate the good. And to clear confusion on the lyric people can't understand... it is "And I fell flat in Seth Ott's bedroom"."


http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=321973

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