This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
An ancient business
A modern piece of glass work
Down on the corner that you walk each day in passing
The elderly sales clerk won't eye us with suspicion
The whole, immortal corporation's given its permission
A little stairway
A little peice of carpet
A pair of mirrors that
Are facing one another
Out in both directions
A thousand little Julias
That come together
In the middle of Manhattan
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
Around the corner
The house that modern art built
I ask for modern art
To keep it out the closets
The people who might own it
The sins of pride and envy
And on the second floor
The Richard Serra Skate Park
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
Sit on the park wall
Ask all the right questions
Why are the horses racing taxis in the winter?
Look up at the buildings imagine who might live there
Imagining your wolfords in a ball upon the sink there
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
A modern piece of glass work
Down on the corner that you walk each day in passing
The elderly sales clerk won't eye us with suspicion
The whole, immortal corporation's given its permission
A little stairway
A little peice of carpet
A pair of mirrors that
Are facing one another
Out in both directions
A thousand little Julias
That come together
In the middle of Manhattan
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
Around the corner
The house that modern art built
I ask for modern art
To keep it out the closets
The people who might own it
The sins of pride and envy
And on the second floor
The Richard Serra Skate Park
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
Sit on the park wall
Ask all the right questions
Why are the horses racing taxis in the winter?
Look up at the buildings imagine who might live there
Imagining your wolfords in a ball upon the sink there
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
Lyrics submitted by billjohn, edited by dodgerblue
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i think it's about the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the art museum that houses "The Starry Night" and "The Persistence of Memory" and is located in New York.
"A modern piece of glasswork" "Down on the corner that You walk each day in passing" - It was originally located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, but it relocated to other places. "In the middle of Manhattan" - MoMA is located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. "The house that modern art built" "I ask for modern art"
The title "White Sky" probably refers to overcast weather, where the sky is mostly covered with clouds, hence the sky being white.
Ezra said in an NME interview: [Out in both directions, a thousand little Julias/Come together in the middle of Manhattan]'That part of the song takes place in a clothing store, it's about going into a dressing room and looking at Julia who is standing between two mirrors, and that weird thing happens where you see yourself going off in two directions.'
I think that was pretty much established but I thought I'd put a quote in from the man himself (:
I honestly think this song is about having sex in different places across the Manhattan. I especially got that from:
"You've waited since lunch/It all comes at once."
Which is followed by the raucous AHHahh Aahhhaaa woowoo's of the chorus, which could themselves represent the actual deed.
Hearing "The elderly sales clerk won't eye us with suspicion/ The holy motor corporation is giving it's permission" I thought it had to do with walking past a the desk in the building, nonchalantly, with the intention of actually having sex somewhere inside.
"Ask all the right questions While all the horses race the taxis in the winter Look up at the buildings imagine who might live there Imagining your wolfords in a ball upon the sink there" seems to lend itself to being about the silly, empty banter between a lustful couple, as the girl is really just imagining another place for their deviant hobby.
I think you're spot on there. Especially when you consider the lines <br /> <br /> "A pair of mirrors that<br /> Are facing one another<br /> Out in both directions<br /> A thousand little Julias<br /> That come together"<br /> <br /> They're having sex in a change room, and the last bit about the wolfords is them pretending to look at the buidings, and ask all the right questions, while really just imagining how her pantyhose would look balled up in one of the building's bathroom sinks<br />
awesome song. love that it's a little tour of a very expensive slice of manhattan
the house that modern art built bit is moma, thought maybe guggenheim since it looks very serra-like, but no, must be moma. 52nd btw 5th and 6th aves
holy motor corporation is the gm building, on 59th and 5th.
modern piece of glass work = apple store (it's a glass cube, very louvre-like). 59th and 5th
wolfords are tights. expensive ones. think bergdorf's. bloomies. sak's.
This lyric: "A little stairway A little bit of carpet A pair of mirrors that Are facing one another Out in both directions A thousand little Julias That come together In the middle of Manhattan"
"The holy motor corporation is giving it's permission"
Should be: "The whole, immortal corporation's given its permission"
((I have the lyric book from the CD infront of me >__>))
BEST. LYRICS. EVER. The "thousand little Julias" line is my favorite line of any song I've ever heard. It's so ambient and descriptive. I dig this band.
i hate to be "that dork with the lyrics corrections" but here's what i think:
first verse: an ancient business a model piece of glasswork down on the corner that you walk each day in passing the elderly sales clerk will eye us with suspicion the holy motor corporation giving its permission
last verse: sit on the park wall ask all the right questions while the horses race the taxis in the winter look up at the buildings imagine who might live there imagining your wolfords in a ball upon the sink there
richard serra is a modern sculptor who makes all these iron arcs and stuff; i guess they do look kind of like a skate park. i saw one of his installations at the museum of modern art ("the house that modern art built") about two or three years ago. wolfords are a brand of tights. i mean, he could have just said "imagining we're living together" or something, but instead he imagines her tights in the sink. SO. GREAT.
I think that they are describing a walk though manhattan, mainly to and through the museum on modern art. In 2007 MoMA had an exibit of Richard Serras work on, you guessed it, the second floor.
What's wonderful about vampire weekend, is that it's all about epiphany...
I agree about the MOMA - how wonderful to have a pop song about an epiphany in a museum!
Sit on the park wall Ask all the right questions While all the horses race the taxis in the winter Look up at the buildings imagine who might live there Imagining your wolfords in a ball upon the sink there
This made me think of the part of Central Park opposite the Plaza Hotel, where there are always horse-drawn carriages and taxis. But it could also be the part of the park right near the Met, where there are such beautiful apartment buildings. Very evocative of a Sunday afternoon in Manhattan.