Lyrics for Ottoman as interpreted by blinxbcr

Ottoman Lyrics
Ottoman couch, how handsome your furniture
Lovelier now, but dressed for a funeral
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

Elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her
Under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager
Begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
To hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

Today’s for you
They laid it out for you
For you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural to Peter Gabriel, too

All of the cards and all of the time it took
Soon it's all lines of red in a leather book
Begging you to wait for a minute by the door
Your creeping feet where they’ve never been before

Today’s for you
They laid it out for you
For you
There will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
But this feels so unnatural Peter Gabriel, too

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blinxbcr
09-23-2008

Rated 0 
I know a lot of this is off, but any corrections I'd be happy to hear! Thnaks

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ap0theosize
09-23-2008

Rated 0 
here's what i get:

ottoman couch, how handsome your furniture
love you now but dressed for a funeral
begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
to hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her
under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager
begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
to hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

today's for you
they laid it out for you
there will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you,
but this feels so unnatural to peter gabriel too

all of the cards and all of the time it took
soon it's all lines of red in a leather book
begging you to wait for a minute by the door
your creeping feet where they've never been before

today's for you
they laid it out for you
there will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
but this feels so unnatural to peter gabriel too



how great is that line, 'you sweat like a teenager' !!??
i think this is about the same thing as c.c.k.k. she's rich and he's not and he feels intimidated by this fact, and it dooms their relationship.

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4 Replies
AIxelegance
10-01-2008

Rated 0 
That's so great that they use Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa lyrics.

Lyrics sound right to me.

Love this song.

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girlofjuly
10-04-2008

Rated 0 
i agree with ap0theosize, the line 'you sweat like a teenager' really gets me for some reason.

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1 Reply
mariatehgweat
10-08-2008

Rated 0 
nah, i love the "feels so unnatural Peter Gabriel, too"
lol :D

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omagod990
10-08-2008

Rated 0 
i love the part after "you sweat like a teenage", "begging you to sit for a protrait on the wall" sounds oh so good.

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1 Reply
ooube
10-10-2008

Rated +2 
I love the idea that he's awkward in his tweed and sweating like a teenager, but reminding himself that this would be awkward for Peter Gabriel too makes him feel reassured.

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cityonyourspine
10-20-2008

Rated 0 
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, for the win!

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1 Reply
magui
11-02-2008

Rated 0 
I don't like that it uses the Peter Gabriel line from Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa in here. Maybe it's because it doesn't sound as good, but it seems like something a sell out rapper would do

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BelialCar
12-04-2008

Rated 0 
Do any of Vampire Weekend's lyrics mean anything at all? I think not.



Doesn't make it any less catchy though.

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1 Reply
LBoogie875
02-03-2009

Rated 0 
I think it is about feeling initially awkward about differing social class and being encouraged to get over it. In the song, it seems as though the guy is accepted and they end up getting married, “all of the cards and all of the time it took, soon it's all lines of red in a leather book, begging you to wait for a minute by the door." It sounds like preparation for a wedding and waiting for the bride to come down the aisle. What do I know, except that it's a great song. :)

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littlebabykatie
02-05-2009

Rated 0 
i think its the exact opposite, actually
i personally think it's about a boy who changes himself for a girl in a higher social class
and after he's changed his lifestyle and clothes, i think she left him.

"how handsome your furniture
LOVELIER* now, but dressed for a funeral"
-> i think that relates to how his lifestyle, even apartment furniture literally, might be much more 'grown-up' and look much more chic and 'older'. chic would be dark colors, like black.
portraits are painted with dark backgrounds usually.

"elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her"
-> obviously relates to how he's changed his look to see more suited to her tastes.

"all of the time it took, soon it's all lines of red in a leather book"
-> all the effort he put into making new, more sophisticated friends has been a waste.
he's scratching out their names in his Little Black Book of phone numbers.

that just how i always thought of this song or at least those parts.
the chorus i don't understand?

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1 Reply
mega_mega
03-04-2009

Rated 0 
"under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager"

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somethingpeculiar
03-10-2009

Rated 0 
alright well since i adore this song so so so much i put some thought into what this song means:
i believe he is about to get married and taking photos for it or something like that... all the mean while he is so nervous that "under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager" [which is my favorite line]

does anyone have any other ideas on what this song really means?

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blyth1972
06-01-2009

Rated 0 
the line i like best is: "begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall, to hang in the dark in some parliamentary hall". to me this song is about this man's wedding, and the woman he is marrying is from an upper class old-money kind of family, and he feels intimidated and nervous- "sweating like a teenager". ia gree with all your interpretations.

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predicate
06-18-2009

Rated 0 
is this going to be on their new album?!?!?!

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taylorrr1211
07-13-2009

Rated 0 
it sounds to me like this song is about an arranged marriage.
he wants this marriage to help his family, because the girl is from an upper class family, ie the elegant clothes.
obviously he feels awkward, and sweats like a teenager.
"they laid it out for you" makes me feel like neither the man nor woman REALLY want it to happen.
and then afterwards, "all of the cards and all of the time it took, soon it's all lines of red in a leather book" he doesn't feel like the extravagant wedding was worth it

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biggggi
11-04-2009

Rated 0 

-portrait is his story/her story
-"six bells ringing, white women singing" aint no wedding
-Everything and everyone, including the big eye, prepared him for her.

The catch to it all is i dont think they ever really met?????? Think he tried to sing to her and she never sang back. Best part is the end, how he's still singing, moving on to find that love.


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kyle16813
12-02-2009

Rated 0 
This absolutely is about a marriage! Ezra is a master of the third-person storytelling. This is about a guy who marries into a rich family.

It is:
LOVELIER now but dressed for a funeral
(as mentioned above)

and

all of the CARS (NOT CARDS!!!) and all of the time it took

ottoman couch, how handsome your furniture
LOVELIER now but dressed for a funeral
begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
to hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

The protagonist is marrying into wealth. They are always dress for success. There are many pictures of the privileged that still hand around on walls and in trophy cases.

elegant clothes, you want to be seen with her
under your tweeds you sweat like a teenager
begging you to sit for a portrait on the wall
to hang in the dark of some parliamentary hall

He isn't comfortable with his surroundings but it really helps his social status. The sweating represents a nervousness in a way that he knows know he has to be perfect to fit in.

today's for you
they laid it out for you
there will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you,
but this feels so unnatural to peter gabriel too

"Today" is the wedding day (Six bells represents a church). The mother and father of the bride put this big show on, so he must act accordingly and suck it up. But he still knows that the vanity he sought doesn't make him feel as comfortable as he thought it would.

all of the CARS and all of the time it took
soon it's all lines of red in a leather book
begging you to wait for a minute by the door
your creeping feet where they've never been before

This is saying that all of the effort into an extravagant wedding day will mean nothing in time. The words in the guest list are really all that would remain in the marriage, not all the fancy things involved with it. Wait by the door (duh...before he heads to the alter!! also stated above)He's obviously never been there and doesn't know what he's getting into.

today's for you
they laid it out for you
there will be six bells a-ringing and white women singing for you
but this feels so unnatural to peter gabriel too

Ezra uses the Gabriel reference again to perfection. He used it for a girl coming back to her wealthy surroundings with an "I don't care about money" attitude. And now he uses it to represent a man that has suddenly realized he doesn't want the social status after truly being a part of it.


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1 Reply
tiggerme123
01-07-2010

Rated 0 
actually it is CARDS not cars. it wouldnt make sense if it was cars. the lyrics show that it takes place in the 1800's if not around that time.

tweeds were used more commonly back then,

6 bells a ringin symbolizes a traditional church wedding, which was much more common, if not the only way to get married back then

sitting for portraits doesnt usually happen these days, unlike wealthy families back then.

besides, "all of the cards" is a metaphor for all of the steps (like for a wedding)

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