Animal Collective – Also Frightened

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Venture my way into the dark where we can sweat
One takes one by the hand
Let them crawl into the logs that dam
Brown jeans, the hue of their path

Excited and screamin' their voices grow wild
And rise with the birds mating up in the pines
Down to puddles that breathe, covered by leaves
With mud they'll make prints on their backs

Will it be just like they're dreaming?
Will it be just like I'm dreaming?
Will it be just like they're dreaming?
Will it be just like I'm dreaming?

If they're awake till the dawn
Well, we won't fret that they don't have our eye
The ghosts came crowding around
And then I woke, you slept there on your side

From our window, two lanterns draw signs on the night
And light our two shadows, I watch with delight
Will I want them to be who they will be
Or to be more like their dad?

Will it be just like they're dreaming?
Will it be just like I'm dreaming?
Will it be just like they're dreaming?
Will it be just like I'm dreaming?

When influence is threatened
Maybe I should let them
Maybe we should let them
And I have a question

Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?

Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?
Are you also frightened?

No one should call you a dreamer
No one should call you a dreamer
No one should call you a dreamer
No one should call you a dreamer

Send "Also Frightened" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by Bertxx, edited by SnowIsGone

Track duration: 05:16


Also Frightened song meanings
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37 Comments

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  • +3
    General Comment:Song is about parenthood

    Will it just be like they're dreaming? (the kids dreaming about their adventures, future, being grown up)
    Will it be just like I'm dreaming? (The Father dreaming about how he wants his kids to grow up, to succeed and flourish)


    Maybe we should let them. (kids want to do somethings that they might not be ready for and the parents are wondering if they should let them be "influenced" by certain things. i.e. what movies they watch, what books they read. He is trying to properly raise his child/children.)

    that's when the father realizes that he is afraid. Parenting doesn't come with a handbook. His kids are going to ask things he's not ready to answer. Or his kids might do something he doesn't know how to react to. He knows he wants his children to flourish but he is scared that he might raise them the wrong way. He turns to his spouse and asks "Are you also frightened?"

    No one should call you a dreamer. Not now (now that he is a father. He shouldn't be dreaming of the future, he should be actively involved with his children's development)


    Brilliant song. The imagery in the first two verses is just perfect. The song manages to express so much in so few words. True music.
    Flag PerfectJoeon December 31, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Man, I was way off on this one; I didn't read fatherhood or parenthood. I thought it was about a man and a woman...the making of prints while on their backs made me think of sex. I thought it was about wondering if a dream s/he had of them being together would be good if it ever materialized (at least as good as it appears in his dreams). He's frightened and wonders if she's frightened to about making the dream a reality. Gawd, I was way off. Not a big A.C. fan (just of Fireworks and Winter's Love this far) and that might have something to do with their difficult lyrics. They have a unique style and one I have yet to either grasp or love.
    Flag MaryMaryQuiteContraryon September 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Okay, after many listenings I'm pretty sure that the 5th line is, 'the damp ground changed the hue of her hand (or maybe pants)'. that makes a whole lot more sense.
    Flag rainintheroseson July 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it sounds to me like this is a song about the singer's two young children, who have a doctor's appointment or something. He's a young dad, and still in awe of and very protective of his children. In the beginning they're playing around in the woods (excited voices, mud, etc). He's asking the doctor, "will it be just like they're dreaming?" because he's afraid of his children haing discomfort. Then he's asking his wife if he should maybe let them go a little. I don't know, that's just what I think of. Especially since several of AC's other songs sound like they're about small children. I don't even know if whichever one of them wrote the song even has kids, but I always feel like with this band, it's less about the lyrics anyway... I love them because it completely takes me out of ordinary, constricting emotions and into a wild different place
    Flag rainintheroseson July 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:Mostly correct, but I still hear:

    If they should run into the dark,
    we can't sweat: one takes one by the hand,
    Let them craw into the logs,
    Let damp ground change the hue on their pants.

    It all fits into a theme of kids playing outside...
    Flag ccario83on May 25, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is directed towards young people who undergo existential crises. The only remedy one can think of is to live as if you are in a lucid dream: to do whatever the hell you want. But this person also has compassion and morality and so does not want to live out their dreams of sex and aggression. This mental state of philosophical confusion breeds extreme anxiety and fear.

    So Animal Collective ask, "Are you also frightened?"

    In the end the label "dreamer" becomes offensive because it denotes someone who gets ideas but never does anything with them.

    It's healthier to channel your dreams through hobbies, art, careers, and romance.
    Flag backyardgypsyon February 17, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I'd say fear of being a father or death. The lyrics poke at both. There is definitely a trailing "Not now, not now" at the end. Coupled with the other lyrics, he could be afraid of the responsibilities of being a father or he could be afraid of dying now and missing his children growing up. "Will I want them to be who they will be Or to be more like their dad?" hints at both. I think the lyric "And I have a question:" which is first person, followed by "Are you also frightened?" is fantastic. Again, it suggests whether hes prepared for fatherhood or afraid to miss out on watching his kids grow up. Either way this song is a props to parents, which is hands down a theme throughout the album.

    Boom.
    Flag ijopon December 25, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:Does anyone else hear

    "DAD"
    "not now!"
    at the end? or is that just me.
    Flag inevitanevitableon November 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think it's about being watchful of the path of not only your children, but the rest of your creation, which includes ideas and abstractions, and ultimately creates what you are.
    Flag ghostspideron September 27, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This song seems to be about a father and his feelings about fatherhood, and addressed to other fathers ('are you also frightened?') It is about having to acknowledge your childrens' independence very early on, not just to allow them to grow but because they are necessarily independent: they are wild ('excited and screaming their voices were wild, and rise with the birds..') With this comes the realisation that you also have basically no control over them, because the way they really are will always be a mystery to you, and the way they're gonna turn out. This is frightening. The song is about trying to live with that fear ('we can't sweat' 'we won't fret')
    Flag 1ofdiamondson September 25, 2010   Link

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