I see a Mansard roof through the trees
I see a salty message written in the eaves
The ground beneath my feet
The hot garbage and concrete
And now the tops of buildings
I can see them too

I see a Mansard roof through the trees
I see a salty message written in the eaves
The ground beneath my feet
The hot garbage and concrete
And now the tops of buildings
I can see them too

The Argentines collapse in defeat
The admiralty surveys the remnants of the fleet
The ground beneath their feet
Is a nautically-mapped sheet
As thin as paper
While it slips away from view



Lyrics submitted by Maxxpower

Track duration: 02:07


Mansard Roof song meanings
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32 Comments

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  • +1
    My Interpretation:The last verse is about The Falklands War in the 80s. It was Britain's last real war over a colony. Firstly it points out how the Argentines had no chance against the British Fleet but the British's victory is meaningless as their once great hold over a large portion of the earth through their empire is slipping away.

    As for the rest of the song, I'm not so sure. I think that "a salty message written in the eaves" is like a pre-emption of the Falklands war. Over the course of the song the narrator gets higher (in terms of position or drug use I'm not sure), shown by "and now the tops of buildings I can see them too" and by the end they are so high that the ground looks like it does on a map.

    By the way, the british were justified in keeping the Falklands islands as the inhabitants have voted many times that they want to stay British.
    Flag jonesyboy9on August 08, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I have family in Manhattan who once told me that the island's size was expanded with piles of garbage. So when I hear "garbage and concrete", it makes me think of NYC.

    As for seeing a Mansard roof through the trees, if you see the scene in your mind's eye, you're looking out from a building or the roof of a building somewhere that has a lot of old Victorian buildings...like NYC. It's lowish, because it's "through the trees" (maybe 4 or 5 floors up). It makes me think of a time when I was in Paris looking a little down at the buildings as we climbed higher and higher. Have some pics. They're not interesting, but it's a view that goes way out.

    How that relates to the Falkland Islands, no idea. But I think they're painting a scene of looking out at some part of Manhattan from a not-too-high vantage point.
    Flag hollyholyon June 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its about the faukland war..
    Flag gkan6565on February 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:This song is about getting high in parks in NYC in the summertime - the first part at least. Splintercat got part of it. Literally and figuratively - getting high. Wafting up into the air like a cloud of smoke- first you look down and see the hot garbage and concrete, then the mansard roofs through the trees (central park, riverside, etc), and finally you are so high (up) that you can see the tops of buildings.
    Flag SkiMoFoon February 03, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:One of the features of a Mansard Roof is that it normally can't been seen from the ground due to the 2 different angles of the sloped sides, so maybe seeing a Mansard Roof through the trees is about looking at things from a different perspective and seeing something that you missed before. The Falkland's war between Argentina and the UK was actually only a conflict that was very quickly won by the English, this conflict would have happened while the members of Vampire weekend were very young and maybe in adulthood they see the British fighting for islands in the south Atlantic as being less justified. The Falkland Islands on first glance seem to be irrelevant as a colony BUT on closer inspection of the strategic advantage and oil reserves in the area then you start to see why Margret Thatcher (Former English Primeminister) took such a strong stance on this and "sent in the boys" to defend a group of islands covered in sheep.

    Hot garbage could also refer to the shelling of large attack ships like the Belgrano, one of the main injuries during the Falkland war was burn victims that had been on ships as they were blown up and set on fire. A salty message could be something to do with the sinking of ships into the salty sea.
    Flag KINGSon November 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:There's a very pretty, somewhat notable building near Columbia (I can see it from my dorm) with a Mansard roof of a sort. It's called the Paterno and it's the big curved one on 116th & Claremont & Riverside.
    Flag splintercaton October 09, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Well...I think it's easy to draw personal opinion from all song lyrics. The best songs relate to multiple people in different ways. I will say though, the fact that he chose to say "Argentines" would have to imply that he's actually speaking about something having to do with Argentina. It's just such a random thing to say, and to then obviously begin poetically speaking about the Faulkland Island war makes it undeniable.
    Keep in mind that the Argentine Capitol (Casa Rosada) building has 4 Mansard Roofs. It is the most famous building in Argentina.
    Flag piebald80on July 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:what is this style of music called?
    i know what Vampire Weekend style is
    But i mean the background of 'Mansard Roof'
    I know its not 'Peter Gabriel' but i know it is something
    Im just lost for words
    In a way it kind of reminds me of being at the beach
    Or some kind of Elvis-styled music
    -XTheColorsOfVinylX
    Flag XTheColorsOfVinylXon May 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I can just imagine their whole album being a soundtrack to a film the songs have that feel that they are from a scene. The drums in this a brilliant.
    Flag Sabarellaon March 12, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think this song is about the world and the future, and how we treat it. it talks about the environment and pollution, and war.
    does anyone have any idead for a third verse? what do you think would be appropriate? it would be relaly helpful if i could have some ideas. thanks.
    Flag friday9on September 15, 2008   Link

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