So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
I am ready, I am ready for a fall
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
We are ready, we are ready for the floor
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
(You're sinking below, I'm using my force)
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
You're my number one guy
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
I am ready, I am ready for a fall
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
We are ready, we are ready for the floor
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
(You're sinking below, I'm using my force)
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
You're my number one guy
Number one guy
Number, number, number, number, number,
One, one, one, one, one guy
(Number one guy) Stand carving up the wall
(One, one guy) Why don't you open up at all?
(Number, number, number one)I am ready, I am ready for a fall
(Number one, number one) Stand carving up the wall
(Number one, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Guy, guy) We are ready, we are ready for the floor
(Number one guy) Stand carving up the wall
(Number, number, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Guy) I am ready, I am ready for a fall
(You're my number one guy, number one) Stand carving up the wall
(Number, number, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Number, number, one, one) We are ready for the floor
Say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it, say it now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
I am ready, I am ready for a fall
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
We are ready, we are ready for the floor
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
(You're sinking below, I'm using my force)
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
You're my number one guy
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
I am ready, I am ready for a fall
Instead of carving up the wall
Why don't you open up me tall
We are ready, we are ready for the floor
I can't hear your voice, do I have a choice?
(You're sinking below, I'm using my force)
I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance
You're my number one guy
Number one guy
Number, number, number, number, number,
One, one, one, one, one guy
(Number one guy) Stand carving up the wall
(One, one guy) Why don't you open up at all?
(Number, number, number one)I am ready, I am ready for a fall
(Number one, number one) Stand carving up the wall
(Number one, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Guy, guy) We are ready, we are ready for the floor
(Number one guy) Stand carving up the wall
(Number, number, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Guy) I am ready, I am ready for a fall
(You're my number one guy, number one) Stand carving up the wall
(Number, number, one, one) Why don't you open up at all?
(Number, number, one, one) We are ready for the floor
Lyrics submitted by cbankerman
Ready for the Floor Lyrics as written by Alexis Benjamin Taylor Joseph Goddard
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I feel like the song is not about homosexuality, but it is at the same time. Like, hot chip is deeper than for a song to just have a plain meaning like that. But it is obvious that it has homo meanings... But it probably has an alternate meaning too. Whether or not they're gay, I'm sure they know they have gay fans