I was biting the time zone,
And we embellish the banks of our bloodstreams,
And threw caution to the colorful
Then we fell asleep in the car,
Until the bumps woke me up in your grip
And the tide took me to your mouth,
And then swept me back down to your palms

It's them that put me inside the reminder
That yours is the only ocean,
(Yours Is the only ocean)
That I wanna swing from,
Yours is the only ocean,
That I wanna hang on

I've got this ego mechanic,
She's always trying to give me vitamins
Oh she'd be frightened of your reflection,
I preferred her as a cartoon

If I could be someone else for a week,
I'd spend it chasing after you,
'Cause she's not shattering my attitude,
No matter how she folds the potion

Yours is the only ocean,
That I wanna swing from,
Yours is the only ocean,
That I wanna hang on to

I'm swinging on
Yours is the only ocean,
Yours is the only ocean,
Yours is the only ocean,
Yours is the only ocean

Potion approaching, shield your eyes,
Potion approaching, visualize,
Holding a token, swollen in size,
Potion approaching, shield your eyes

Oh but if we're gonna escape though,
We really ought to think it through,
Would you like me to build you a go kart?



Lyrics submitted by gemmalouise89

Track duration: 03:32

"Potion Approaching" as written by Alex Turner

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Potion Approaching song meanings
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30 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:This song is definitely about sex and love, and probably drugs. Now, the only reason I mention drugs is the line 'embellish the banks of our bloodstreams' nothing else ties into this line from my mind.

    Sex though, absolutely. The song starts with '...the bumps woke me up in your grip, and the tide took me to your mouth'. The song ends with 'would you like me to build you a go-kart'. A go-kart has no suspension. I'll let you take that as you may. Also, I have a feeling the 'potion' which you must hide your eyes from is something which may sting the eyes if it were...shot...there?

    The whole album has images of water, and oceans in particular. The video for Crying Lightning is evidence of this if nothing else. He always writes about love and circumstance but this album feels more personal to me.

    So yeah, more about sex than drugs I think, if hallucigens at all.
    Flag Doricon March 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about Alex Turner's MINI Cooper, Floyd.
    Flag antioxidanton April 06, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:I think it’s about a girl he loves but isn’t with
    “i was biting the time zone
    And we embellished the banks of our bloodstreams
    And threw caution to the colourful”

    He gets drunk putting alcohol in his bloodstream and throws caution to the colourful, so he’s out to be a happy drunk.


    “then we fell asleep in the car
    Until the bumps woke me up in your grip
    And the tide took me to your mouth
    And then swept me back down to your palms”

    He dozes off from being drunk and dreams of the girl who, in his dream, wakes him up by gripping on his hard cock. ‘tide took me to your mouth’ means she starts to give him a blowjob, ‘and then swept me back down to your palms’ means she goes back to wanking him off.


    “It’s them that put me inside the reminder that
    Yours is the only ocean
    That i want to swing from
    Your is the only ocean
    That i want to hang on”

    I don’t know you “them” are but here he is singing to the girl that he only wants to shag her.


    “i’ve got this ego mechanic
    She’s always trying to give me vitamins
    She’d be frightened of your reflection
    I preferred her as a cartoon”

    He’s telling this girl about his current girlfriend who likes to stroke his ego. she thinks of his health and is always trying to make him better by giving him vitamins. His girlfriend would be frightened to see this girls face. ‘i preferred her as a cartoon’ means he preferred his girlfriend when she was made for children.


    “if i could be someone else for a week
    I’d still spend it chasing after you
    She’s not shattering my attitudes
    No matter how she fold the potion”

    If he could be someone else he’d be chasing this girl instead of being with his current girlfriend. His girlfriend tries really hard to put him off this girl but she can’t change his mind ‘no matter how she folds the potion’.
    “potion approaching
    Shield your eyes
    Potion approaching
    Visualise
    Holding a token
    Swollen in size”

    He’s saying “i’m gonna cum. Shield your eyes. I’m gonna cum. Visualise holding my dick that’s swollen in size”


    “if we’re going to escape
    We really ought to think it through
    Would you like me to build you a go kart?”

    He wants to leave his current girlfriend and run off with the other girl so he offers to build a go kart for them to escape the life they have.

    Flag craftytrixxon March 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:He is a man who lives in prison. He doesn't love the other girl. He wants only sex.
    Flag paracidaon September 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Its not that I disagree with you, but:

    (Alex is talking to the girl that he wants about the girl that hes got)
    I've got this ego mechanic. She’s always tryin' to give me vitamins.
    I should be frightened of your reflection, I preferred her as a cartoon.(not taking her seriously)
    If I could be someone else for a week, I’d spend it chasing after you,
    Cos she’s not shattered in my attitude (she isnt what he wants her to be, he wants the girl he's talkin with) , no matter how she folds the potion, yours is the only ocesn (I couldnt fall in love with her, cause YORS is the only ocean)
    Or am I absolutely wrong? :P
    Flag farfromniceon August 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Hmmm.. I agree with XxDangerousChemicalsxX..
    I think that the song is focused on a situation where there's this guy who is in love with a girl, who has/is the ONLY ocean, I interpretate ocean as a metaphor about the personality, the life, the essence or the soul of the girl, which makes him love her or wanting to be with her, but he can't be with her, first of all because he has a relationship with another girl, it doesn't tell us the reason why he is with another girl or he doesn't even know why, so he says that the girl he is with is giving him a potion (maybe the potion is a beautiful physical appereance because he says "potion approaching shield your eyes" & "I preferr her as a cartoon". Maybe he is talking literally about a potion, though). Now, the girl with the potion would be frightened of the reflection of the other one, and if he could be someone else for a week (here we can realize that he doesn't wanna be him or he doesn't wanna be where he is), he'd spend it chasing after the girl he loves because no matter how the other girl folds the potion, she's not shattering his attitudes (the attitude of wanting to be with her, no matter how much she tries or how much vitamins she gives to him haha).
    I was describing the second part, which can explain us pretty well the situation I have mentioned, and after listening the song over a million of times, I find the music, the guitars and the rythm really sexy, fast and exciting; just read the last paragraph, he wants to escape
    with her in a go kart, now, that's exciting!

    The first paragraph is pretty self-explanatory, he's talking about a situation (really sexy) where they where in a car and well, it says what happened there that made him remember that he wants to be ONLY with her...

    With all I have said until now, I don't think that the song is focused on drugs!
    Now, if there are innuendos about drugs like "I was biting the time zone and we embellished the banks of our bloodstreams and threw caution to the colorful" (these lines could be certainly about drugs), he is using these innuendos to give the song an extra plus which makes the whole piece extremely sexy and exciting, as I have said.

    :)
    Flag Marianeon June 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i really like to believe they don't do drugs ...
    i think the song is about being in love with someone thts not urs, and having someone u don't like loving u.''no matter how she folds the potion yours is the only ocean '' - no matter how pretty/interesting the girl who's in love with him looks like, he'll always prefer the one he loves. ”she's always trying to give me vitamins “ - the girl is always trying to make him love her too.
    well...thats how i see it :)

    xxoo
    B
    Flag XxDangerousChemicalsxXon May 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I couldn't agree more, this song has all the trimmings of acid-rock. The lyrics are ambiguous as they almost always are with drug related songs (unless you're the velvet underground...). There are far too many acid references and the overall mood of humbug is deeply psychedelic

    If you have been wondering what the arctic's have been doing since 'favourite worst nightmare', you now have your answer.
    Flag Landy3693on December 25, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:the replies here are funny and ridiculous.

    Didier is completely right.
    it's about drugs.
    Every lyric is *chosen* by Alex for a reason.
    Drug terminology is there for a reason.
    They went to Joshua Tree, the middle of the desert (i've been there) where it's POPULAR to take peyote cactus, shrooms or LSD.
    Josh Homme is also an obvious tripper. Listen to all his music.
    Flag indiecanadaon December 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:toward the end of the song it almost sounds like alex is doing his best jim morrison impersonation along with the early pink floyd type riff. this song is certainly about lsd.
    Flag johnnysmith410on September 13, 2009   Link

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