Lyrics for Ulysses as interpreted by vanityjunkie

Ulysses Lyrics
I sit and hear sentimental footsteps
Then a voice say "Hi so?
So what you got, what you got this time?
Come on, let's get high.
Come on Lexxo
What you got next-o?
Walking twenty five miles-o?
Well I'm bored
I'm bored
Come on let's get high
Come on let's get high
Come on let's get high
High"

Well I've found a new way
I've found a new way
Come on don't amuse me
I don't need your sympathy
La la la la la Ulysses
I've found a new way
I've found a new way
I've found a new way baby

Am I Ulysses? Am I Ulysses?
No but you are now boy
So sinister, so sinister
But last night was wild
What's the matter there? Feeling kinda anxious?
Feeling that hot blood grow cold
Yeah everyone everybody knows it
Yeah everyone everybody knows it
Everybody knows I...

La la la la la Ulysses
I've found a new way
I've found a new way baby
La la la la la Ulysses
I've found a new way
I've found a new way baby

Oh oh then suddenly you know
You're never going home
You're never x7 going home

Not ulysses baby
No la la la la
You're not Ulysses
La la la la

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xXxTeenSpiritxXx
11-24-2008

Rated 0 
No comments? Yer joking! This song is awesome :) can't wait to hear the rest of the new stuff. Franz Ferdinand have never stopped making me want to dance.




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Arrilou
11-30-2008

Rated -2 
It's 'I found the new wave'. Good song.

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TheColdestCalm
12-04-2008

Rated 0 
oh man, this song just makes me want their new CD even more.
January can't come any sooner.

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Arrilou
12-05-2008

Rated 0 
Okay, I was wrong. Nevermind!


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ShotgunXXWedding
12-07-2008

Rated +1 
i adore this song. i've had it on repeat for a few hours now.

i hear "that hot blood grew cold" rather than "that hub grew cold"

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2 Replies
maureenomalley23
12-13-2008

Rated +1 
this just might end up being my favorite song of 2009

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ummmmm47
12-16-2008

Rated 0 
i thought i was walk twenty five miles haha.
this song is so addicting though.

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Lithiumking420
12-17-2008

Rated +1 
This song is killer. After hearing lucid dreams i knew that this album would definitely be worth the long wait. After hearing this, and a couple other new songs from the album (live performances on youtube), I'm convinced that this is one of the top 10 bands of the past 10 years. Seriously-these dudes just get it.

Obviously this one is about getting high - but I'm kinda struggling with the Ulysses part - just doesn't seem to add up (then again songs about getting high rarely do). Maybe has something to do with either the book by James Joyce or the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson?? I know its a stretch, but thats all I can come up with at this point.

Anyways, you don't need to know the true meaning to appreciate how badass it is!!!!!

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WhiteShadow82
12-27-2008

Rated -1 
I think the rest of his songs suck shit but I like this one. It's about the Greek Mythological hero Ulysses which is another name for Odysseus the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, you probably just don't recognize it because he puts the stress on the Ul and not on the ly. So sinister is in reference to "Cruel Odysseus" as seen by the Romans. He's saying he gets high thinking he is Ulysses. I like the the part where he's like am I Ulysses? Am I Ulysses? Whats a matter there feeling kinda anxious

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WhiteShadow82
12-27-2008

Rated 0 
I use to think it was "My you'll see's" as in not Keanu Reeves "You'll see =D "in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

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Hagstrom
01-10-2009

Rated 0 
At first this song sounded kinda "meh" but after hearing it a couple of times more, it gets better and better!

I think WhiteShadow82 is right; at least in the Odysseus part (i'm a big fan of FF, so i think almost all their songs rocks!) And its probably right too about Alex (or Nick,or whoever wrote the song) thinking he's Ulysses. Ulysses returned home many years after he left,so maybe he thinks he's on tour all the time or recording and its hard to know when he'll be going home.
"You've got Nick stoned" hehe Poor nick... And i particularly like the lines "Come on don't amuse me, I don't need your sympathy"
I just hope neither of the lads from Franz (specially Alex and Nick) end up in rehab

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deltasunlight
01-11-2009

Rated 0 
amazing :D

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sliznut
01-18-2009

Rated 0 
Whiteshadow is on the right track about the song referencing the Odyssey. Here is my stab at the meaning. Obviously it is about getting high.

He says:

"I've found a new way"

Now you can take this one of two ways. Option 1 is that he discovered a completely new way to get high. Or option 2 is that he personally discovered a new a way for himself to get high. Meaning a new way for him but not new to the world. Which could just be a new drug that he personally has never tried before. I'm gonna go with option 2 because it fits with what I'm trying to say and makes more sense to me.

In the story of the Odyssey Ulysses(Odysseus) has a hard time getting home. You might say he takes an extended "trip" to get home. So if you put this into the reference of the song he is saying he is getting high for an extended period of time. He is tripping.

"You're never going home"

In the Odyssey Ulysses does indeed finally reach home. But the song states otherwise for the narrator. This leaves a few different interpretations. The one that I think fits is that now that he is on this trip(drug) he is not getting off. Therefore at the end of the song he realizes that he is not Ulysses because he is not going home (being sober,stop using the drug)

Anyway that is just my opinion. Btw this is a good song.


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1 Reply
CallistoBrooklyn
01-23-2009

Rated 0 
"so sinister
so sinister,
but last night was wild."

all right, it might just be me, but i thought it was
"soul sista,
soul sista,
last night was wild."
maaaan.
that would've been cooler, but whatever.

still love this song. :)

(i also feel like a fucking idiot for not relating this to the Odyssey.)

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1 Reply
Karakasa
01-24-2009

Rated 0 
Key to the meaning of this song obviously is the rather exotic title "Ulysses" which either refers to Joice or Homer himself.
At this point, I'll choose the later which leads to a quite obvious conclusion:
It's Penelope who's waiting in Ithaca for the return of her husband and encircled by all her suitors. However, she's grown tired of his absence and his (many hedonistic) adventures. In a mix of frustration and grudge, she chooses to go a new way and have a nice time with some of her wooers. However, she seems to eventually realize that none can replace her dear husband and gets even more frustrated about it.
I don't think Franz Ferdinand comes up with any gay lyrics (except for funny-joking ones like Michael) and was simply putting their words in a woman's mouth. Just 'cause they sing it, doesn't mean that they refer to themselves.

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1 Reply
satisfiction
01-25-2009

Rated 0 
I'm pretty sure the lyrics go as follows:
Well I sit and hear sentimental footsteps
Then a voice say "hi," so
So whatcha got, whatcha got this time
C'mon, let's get high
C'mon Lexo, whatcha got next door
Walk 25 miles, oh
Well I'm bored, I'm bored
C'mon, let's get high
C'mon, let's get high
C'mon, let's get high, high

Well, I found a new way
I found a new way
C'mon doll and use me
I don't need your sympathy
La, la la la la
Ulysses
I found a new way
Well, I found a new way baby

Am I Ulysses? Am I Ulysses?
No, but you are now, boy
So sinister, so sinister
Last night was wild
What's the matter, there
Feelin' kind of anxious
That hot blood grew cold
Yeah, everyone, everybody knows it
Yeah, everyone, everybody knows it
Everybody knows it
Everybody knows ah...

La, la la la la
Ulysses
I found a new way
I found a new way, baby
La, la la la la
Ulysses
I found a new way
I found a new way, baby

Oh, then suddenly you know
You're never goin' home
You're never, you're never,
You're never, you're never,
You're never, you're never,
You're never goin' home

You're not Ulysses, oh baby, no
La la la la
You're not Ulysses
La la la la

The first verse is what I'm most sure of, because it makes sense... he hears footsteps, then hears a voice say "hi". Also, his name is Alex, so Lexo makes sense as a nickname... and whatcha got next door, that makes sense with the "walk 25 miles" to see what you've got. The story of Ulysses is the story of an epic journey, so "I found a new way" fits with that as well, and "you're never goin' home" because you're not Ulysses, who did make it back in the end. It's sort of the tale of Ulysses superimposed on a young person who's taking their own journey. The mention of "last night" and "hot blood grew cold" almost makes me think it could be about a one night stand, party, or just general sort of decision you can't take back, and "everybody knows it" and since it's out "you're never goin' home'" can't rescind the action.

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musemaniac
01-25-2009

Rated +2 
It's "while I sit in here a sentimental face stares", not "Well I'm sitting here, sentimental footsteps"
"and A voice says hi, so" not "Then a voice say hi so", "so, so what you gotta, what you gotta disdain", not "So what you got, what you got this time?", "Come on look so, you got next, oh, walk twenty-five miles, oh" not "Come on lickso You got Nick stoned Walking planet by miles", "come on doll and use me", not "Come on don't amuse me", "that heart that grew cold", not "That hot blood grew cold".

This song is also alluding to and referencing Odysseus (Ulysses is the Roman name). After traveling for some time on his way back, he comes across his first obstacle: the lotus plants. He stops at an island and sends some scouts to investigate. The men see the locals eating a lotus plant and start eating it too. Soon, they forget who they were, what they were doing, and became addicted to the plant. They try to convince Odysseus to eat the plant, but he sees what it is doing to him, and refuses. He drags the men, kicking and screaming back onto the boat so they can continue the journey. The song is about doing things that are illegal and unhealthy (like drugs) and then having to deal with the problems that arise afterward. The singer states that, hey, I’ve been busy and stressed out, I deserve a little fun like the men with Odysseus, I mean, all my friends are getting high. However, it comes back to bite him because he realizes that if he was Odysseus he would never had been able to bring his friends back because he is as lost as they are now.


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1 Reply
vanityjunkie
01-27-2009

Rated 0 
Ok, so got the album yesterday (yay! Go out and buy it, it's awesome) so these are the actual lyrics from the sleevenotes now. Analyse away.

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bugoff
02-02-2009

Rated 0 
I can't help but think this song is directly related to Calypso who fell in love with Ulysses and took him prisoner for 7 years. "last night was wild" "you're never going home"

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kaitlingrace
02-04-2009

Rated 0 
Ah man, who can't relate to this? Going with what Alex said about how this is a concept album detailing a night out on a town, and the fact that this is the first song on Tonight, I say it's about preparing for the night out. I can imagine them all sitting in a hotel room, and people are coming over as they prepare to go out. The girls are putting on their make-up and they're all getting high, knowing that the night is going to be even wilder than the previous. Then, they are off and getting farther and farther from home (physically and mentally from the drugs), and it just feels like you're never getting home, you're not Ulysses.

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viva la vida
02-04-2009

Rated 0 
Awesome song...not much to add on meaning...but does the intro to the song remind anyone else of "I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon?

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DaPhinoXX
02-06-2009

Rated 0 
Check out my review of the album at http://tr.im/etuq

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cassadilla
02-10-2009

Rated 0 
I was reading an article in Rolling Stone, and Alex says that he actually got the title from Joyce's book. "Something about the impromptu title inspired Kapranos to flesh out the song. 'Not the Joyce thing but the Greek story,' he says. Instead of losing his geographical bearings, as Ulysses does in Homer's text, the protagonist in Franz's version loses himself in a haze of weed."

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Ode
02-21-2009

Rated +1 
To me Alex is singing about non longer getting his kicks from wild high nights.
He's grown up, and there's no going back.
His friends think he's lost his mojo.

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swampking
03-09-2009

Rated 0 
Dudes,

You aren't delving deep enough.

Ulysses, is about the dark cave of depression, denial and phonyness. In the myth, Ulysses arriving home is to a new way of life. A life without sin, without repressed views of the human condition of corruption. Drugs are our way of escaping this phony life. The life of which a pure soul is trapped in a devious body. The new way, is a new drug, a new idea, a new focus on life - whatever that could be. But then you realise, there is no complete solace in this life. We can never go home to where wwere, pure and innocent as a child.

That would be the deepest interpretation of the song. And musicians often go to this type of depth. Ie. Bowie etc. I imagine Franz is aswell, however perhaps he is meaning something far more shallower in meaning, you will never truly know unless you ask him yourself.

But I would bet on my interpretation above.

Cheers,

Ryan

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