tis about the drug anphetamine culture amongst the youths of Brisbane!!

I agree by and large with Froggie Frog's interpretation above, except this part:

"So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon to find what science replaced
And it turns out it aint that much
Though I may have missed in in the haze
Oh it drips in your mind
And fills up your eyes
And you'll never be the same"

I think this bit is about spirituality, and is where the song gets a bit philosophical. The idea being that the people in the song haven't found any fulfillment from spirituality, so now they look to illicit drugs - science's chemical replacement for the euphoria of a spiritual experience. What they find out is that there is nothing beyond life and the high... though they still hold on and assume they just missed it. And even though they couldn't achieve what they were looking for, through either spirituality or drugs, they are forever changed by trying.

Bit heavy I suppose, but that's the interpretation I like. :)

"The Piper At The Gates of Dawn" was a Pink Floyd album described as demonstrating the genius of Syd Barrett, a founding member of the group who left because of mental illness exacerbated by the use of LSD. Jim Carrey performed a Saturday Night Live skit called "Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters" in which "Jimmy Tango" explained that the secret to losing weight was to use amphetamines, a practice he referred to as "riding the snake".

i actually have to disagree with the drug addict interpretation. i think its really about the musician's lifestyle (which may involve drugs, but i don't think that is the focus of the song). his life (the band's life) has been about breaking away from the mould that they were supposed to fill (boring forty-somethings). by making a band, they chose the neon-death lifestyle over the middle-class lifestyle they were supposed to have.

the song is probably an allegorical about drugs as well, but i wouldn't dismiss the above interpretation too quickly. these boys all went to my school a few years ago (Brisbane Grammar School). It's basically a school that gets you a free ride into the middle-class/upper middle-class lifestyle if you want it. they are talking about how most of their friends have taken that course, and they were some of the only ones to choose a different (less boring?) life.

"Come and have a drink with us
A little wine or a nice champagne
Oh thanks sounds nice and I will decline"

heroin addicts don't drink alcohol.

Hey this is an amazing song I saw them live yestirdsy and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, this song is especially good the instramentals used are incredible and I got a photo with the drummer the lyrics are awesome I especially love the refrences made to the drug addicts haha haha cool song ox

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NICE SONG

The last time I 'licked up a dream', effects were starting to kick in nicely and I'd decided to whack on the headphones and listen to some music... this was the first song that came on the radio! :) The song was very new at the time, and though I'd probably heard it a couple of times before without paying too much attention. This time I really "heard" it! I of course found it hilariously coincidental and/or meaningful that a song with such subject matter just happened to be the first one to come on the radio. Just try and imagine how 'trippy' it was to hear the voice asking repeatedly "if you're feelin' that way now" ... Ahh you crazy universe, I thought! ;)

Quite a few incorrect lyrics are listed, some of which I'll correct below.

"Oh we stretch inside and bend in the middle, But we never ever break"
I take this as a reference to the way certain substances can bend and expand your mind to various new ways of thinking, only to eventually return you to near enough your previous 'normal' state of mind unharmed, but not necessarily unchanged.

"Syd was at the gates of dawn"
Syd Barret was a renowned tripper.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is Pink Floyd's debut album and the only one made under Syd Barrett's leadership.
[ from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Piper_at_the_Gates_of_Dawn ]

"And Jim he said ride the snake"
Jim Morrison (also a renowned tripper) from the song 'The End' [ http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/4928/ ]

"Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon death"
The word 'breath' is only changed to 'death' for the last line of the song.
An apt way to end the song, and perhaps another reference to ego death (along with the references to 'losing your name')

To be honest, I first found it offensive that the song was being used for a car ad,
but have too come to find it quite amusing. Especially given that the ad is kind of trippy in its own way ;) [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjQrApTOW-M ]

Anyway, great song... All the more impressive when you consider it's this young band's debut!

I took the first verse to mean that these kids were under age, trying to get into the club and not get seen/caught.

The next part of the song is about being young and carefree, not letting yourself be weighed down with the negativity, obligations, lack of enthusiasm and obstacles in life... "...and rise" to rise above it.
Don't let other's whinging bring you down.

Basically, my interpretation of this song was about being young, carefree, positive and 'in the moment'.

yet another song about how much fun it is to take drugs - and what can happen if you go too hard. I love this one. I find it especially funny that it's being used for a car ad here in Australia - it's good that people don't tend to listen to the words! I've put my interpretation in **stars**

Brother hold your head this way
And bustle to the front of the line
Coz if they catch your eyes before you get inside,
Well you'll never be allowed
**keep your head down as you go in the door so they can't tell you're high as a kite (large pupils)**

People got a name for us
**druggies/additcts - or something equally dismissive/degrading**
Coz we escape the strain of the days
**taking drugs as a break from the mundane**
Oh we stretch in the side and bend in the middle,
But we never ever break
**could be a description of how people on some drugs dance, or how skinny a lot of drug-takers are**
But if you feel that way now
Or if you ever feel so inclined
**if you want to get high**
Skip past the doors of boring forty-somethings and rise
**come in to the club past the "boring people", get high and have a great time**

Oh and if you wanna lose your frown
Or your name or even your face
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath
**If you want to have an amazing experience and forget everything for a while eat some of this (Personally i think this is about LSD - but it could describe any number of drugs, likely hallucinigans or maybe opiates - which are mentioned later in the song)**

Come and have a drink with us
A little wine or a nice champagne
Oh thanks sounds nice and I will decline
But at night things seem to change
**a lot of poeple choose drugs over alcohol - or sometimes both?**

People got a name for us
Coz we escape the strain of the days
Coz we stretch in the sides and bend in them eyes but we never ever change
**there are always people taking drugs?**

And if you feel that way now
Or if you ever feel so inclined
Well kick in the shins of all the fucking whingers and rise
**ignore all the people telling you how bad it is to get high and have a great time**


Yeh and if you wanna lose your frown
Or your name or even your face
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with whistling neon breath

Sid was at the gates of dawn
**end of the night? (or perhaps a drug reference that I don't understand)**
And Jimmy said ride the snake
**sounds like a refence to "chasing the dragon" - opium? - perhaps at the end of a crazy night out on LSD or maybe Ecstacy they went to someone's hous to take an opiate?**
So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon to find what science replaced
**I think this is a reference to how opiates - like opium, are now engineered artificially**
And it turns out it aint that much
**it wasn't as exciting as they thought, or science didn't really make many changes to the natural chemical**
Though I may have missed it in the haze
**although it's hard to recall**
Oh it drips in your mind
And fills up your eyes
And you'll never be the same
**it takes over your mind and changes the way you think - possibly forever - not necessarily negative**

But if you're ever coming down
Or if you ever take too much
Remember that's much better than never ever getting enough
** it's better have a bad come down then to have a nagging additcion where you never ever seem to have enough**

Oh so if you wanna lose your frown
Or your name or even your face
Lick up a dream that seemingly screams with rushing neon death alright
**this seems to indicate that the person is going too far, perhaps taking too much, and knows it**

All your spirits gone, and you are barley alive.
You hand me a smoke, though it�s like you hardly notice
**after addiction has taken hold**
And it�s sad I suppose
When I look into your eyes you say
It seems to go this way, no matter what�s at stake,
Oh it seems to go this way with everything I start
**a person lamenting that they seemd to get addicted to everything they have, even if they know the consequences of going too far and do so anyway**


Oh so if you feel that way now
Or if you ever feel so inclined
Skip past the doors of boring forty-somethings and rise
But if you want to lose your frown
Or your name or even your face
Lick up a dream that seemingly sings with rushing neon death

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