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I've been drooling at some mangy scraps of bread
And these hungry voices make a lot of noise inside my head
Show me the way to the rubbish dump or the bins at closing time
I'd walk a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine
Been hanging round the underground
Found a couple of crumbs down there
Was lucky and got some flirts
From a girl with long brown hair
She said her name was Mary May and
She liked the springtime, oh
She said she left the meal
Half ate she said she left the crusts of toast
[Chorus]
Leftovers is what I want
Don't need no fine cuisine
Give me a dime for bacon rind
Or slip me some of that old sardine
She'd been seeing a man named Jim
I said I didn't mind
Said the second place is just my style
I'd glasses for the line
I knew she was keen to come and
I knew I'd met my match
I was sure that I had locked the door
And she had dropped the latch
[Chorus]
I said "bring your dark eyes honey"
She said "you bring yours"
Said I don't take second glance
So she walked out the door
I walked after her it weighed me down
And asked her why she left
She said she only dealt leftovers
And that all else felt like theft
[Chorus: x2]
If you see her, say hello
She'll be out handing scraps
But don't be fooled, her heart is ruled
By forces off the maps
Show me the way to the rubbish dump or the bins at closing time
I'd walk a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine
[Chorus]
And these hungry voices make a lot of noise inside my head
Show me the way to the rubbish dump or the bins at closing time
I'd walk a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine
Been hanging round the underground
Found a couple of crumbs down there
Was lucky and got some flirts
From a girl with long brown hair
She said her name was Mary May and
She liked the springtime, oh
She said she left the meal
Half ate she said she left the crusts of toast
[Chorus]
Leftovers is what I want
Don't need no fine cuisine
Give me a dime for bacon rind
Or slip me some of that old sardine
She'd been seeing a man named Jim
I said I didn't mind
Said the second place is just my style
I'd glasses for the line
I knew she was keen to come and
I knew I'd met my match
I was sure that I had locked the door
And she had dropped the latch
[Chorus]
I said "bring your dark eyes honey"
She said "you bring yours"
Said I don't take second glance
So she walked out the door
I walked after her it weighed me down
And asked her why she left
She said she only dealt leftovers
And that all else felt like theft
[Chorus: x2]
If you see her, say hello
She'll be out handing scraps
But don't be fooled, her heart is ruled
By forces off the maps
Show me the way to the rubbish dump or the bins at closing time
I'd walk a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine
[Chorus]
Lyrics submitted by Macphisto12
Track duration: 04:16
"Leftovers" as written by John Patrick Vivian Flynn
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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As squander pointed out, the album has numerous references to vagabonds in a celebratory tone, particularly The Box, and this song continues those devices. We have images to suggest perhaps he's an actual vagabond, or can be taken as his horniness has made him as desperate as a beggar. I believe the writer is deliberately not committing to a particular interpretation, and rather hints that the protagonist may well be an actual beggar as well as begging for a shagging.
"And these hungry voices make a lot of noise inside my head" could simply be he's so horny he can't think of anything else, or could be the trials of the emotionally disturbed.
"been hanging round the underground" where panhandlers often are found, or it could be metaphorical for on the prowl. Are the crumbs scraps to eat, or interactions with potential girls.
"The rubbish dump and the bins at closing time" he could be dumpster diving for his dinner, or simply willing to bang any broad no matter how trashy. This second interpretation is born out by the next line of walking a mile for a smile (vertical I assume) from a fish (the old sardine) without its brine (knickers removed?). This couplet is repeated again near the end showing its importance to the theme.
Along comes Mary May, a girl who likes the spring, and leaves her crusts of toasts. Again the double interpretation: she's more well to do, not so hungry, she even leaves her crusts, and she's getting some, as we learn after the 1st chorus that she's been seeing a man named Jim.
Leftovers…a rebound relationship? Sloppy seconds? Essentially, I don’t need a meal, I just want to get laid/fed.
She’s got a guy, he don’t care,
“glasses for the blind” are used as a courtesy to the sighted to hide the eyes.
He thinks he’s got her. “Kind to kind…Locked the door, dropped the latch”
Ok, I must go now.
The entire album is about how awesome it is to be a vagabond.
It opens with:
"Show me the way to the rubbish dump or the bins at closing time
I've walked a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine"
When you are hungry this stuff actually sounds good. And that's what he's saying. Joyfully. He lives a care free life.
The following is funny:
"I said "bring your dark eyes honey"
She said "you bring yours"
Said I don't take second glances
As she walked out the door"
You bring your dark eyes is a come on. And she teases him back, you bring yours. He says, lazy/sarcastically, I don't take second glances. meaning he's already seen her, he knows he likes her and with that she bolts.
"I walked after her and waved her down
And asked her why she left
She said she only dealt leftovers
And that all else felt like theft"
She has taken the sarcasm in a very literal direction to create the funny. He doesn't take second glances, he said. But she's the queen of the rubish dump, that's all she takes. She only deals in left overs.
And the final line is him teasing other suitors. basically she's crazy, "Her heart is ruled by forces off the maps."
I don't know, this seems totally carefree to me. He will find another girl.
I believe there is an interview somewhere where he talks specifically about this song but I can't find it. Here is a long interview about how funny the songs are: guardian.co.uk/music/audio/2008/may/30/…
And an npr interview:
npr.org/templates/player/…
At first it seems to apply that he was the type to just have meaningless encounters rather than the full mean - but then the 'walk a mile just to catch a smile from a fish without its brine' maybe shows that he was more obsessive and wanted this girl more than originally expected.
I think he's implying that that(the fish being the woman for him perhaps?) may be what he originally wanted, and in that want he had an obsession to find so much as a smile in a girl he truly loved.
Though it would seem he walked that mile in vain, and through failing in that his general 'theme' in women had become much the same as the 'theme' in this song.
i think he's basically saying he doesn't want a real relationship, just a hook up ? "Don't need no fine cuisine" is what makes me think this.
also, this idea is supported when he talks about how he doesn't mind that she already has someone.
i hope this helps ? just my take on it.
This song just kind of confuses me. What I basically know is that its about a guy and a girl and she ends up leaving him. Can anyone help me out with this.