Take my hand and pray with me

My final days in company
The devil now has come for me
And helicopters circling the scene

And I pray for rest
Could you pray for us?
We know he loves you the best
We know he loves you the best

The light's inside my cave
I'm tired of my cave

Oh, these drugs, they play on me these terrible ways
They don't pay like they used to pay
I used to make it day to day

No one cares for me
I keep no company
I have minimal needs
And now they are through with me

Now they are through with me



Lyrics submitted by moonmaster

Track duration: 04:58


Helicopter song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:Now I know what this song is about but something about it reminds me of somebody who did a horrible crime and their thoughts about how they can never turn back.
    The younger brother who committed the horrible crime at the Boston Marathon must have had these words rushing through his head when he was in the boat. Don't get me wrong, his crime was brutal and awful. But as I watched the news, this song went through my head.
    Flag LeoTauruson May 08, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The "backstory" is by Dennis Cooper. He's an excellent writer and I know that he means a lot to Bradford. I highly highly recommend reading Cooper, Genet and other writers that have had such an influence on this band.
    Flag illwareon December 19, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Poor Dima, he was the result of human trafficking. He shouldn't have ran away but you never know what happened in his home. Hopefully God gave him peace finally. Sad story.
    Flag GrungyBeatleon December 12, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The background: halcyondigest.com/helicopter/
    Flag eirikkkkon October 29, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:song of the year as well as album of the year so far
    deerhunter are so good.
    Flag stickyickyzeon October 17, 2010   Link
  • +3
    Lyric Correction:Jesus these are the lyrics from the liner notes:

    Take my hand and pray with me

    My final days in company. The devil now
    has come for me, and helicopters
    circling the scene.

    And i pray for rest.
    Could you pray for us?
    We know he loves you the best.
    We know he loves you the best.

    The light's inside my cave.
    I'm tired of my cave.

    Oh these drugs they play on me these
    terrible ways. They don't pay like they
    used to pay. I used to make it day to day.

    No one cares for me. I keep no
    company. I have minimal needs. And
    now they are through with me.

    Now they are through with me.
    Flag e8ghtmileshighon October 11, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I heard "I'm tired of my face." that would be an epic line.
    Flag jkisauon October 06, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment:The liner notes explain it perfectly. It tells the story of a young Russian man named Dima who left his home at the age of 14. He moved to the city in hopes of becoming a fashion designer. He had no home and eventually moved into the home of an older man, who took him as his lover. Soon Dima left him and moved into the home of a wealthy older man who provided financial backing for a conglomerate of gay pornographic websites. Dima's documents were changed so that Dima's age was 18, although at this point he was maybe around 16.

    He soon began starring in his lover's films as well as working as a nude model. Dima supplemented his income by working as an escort. Soon, a member of the Russian mafia had developed something of a fixation on Dima. One day, Dima left his lover and cut off communication with all his friends, and moved in with the Russian crime leader. Another escort, a friend of Dima, spotted Dima being "forcibly sodomized" by a group of 10-15 men (including the crime leader) in a private sex club. That was the last spotting of Dima.

    The escort tried to investigate. He persuaded a prominent gay Russian journalist to write a story, but the journalist was threatened by the organized crime, and stopped.

    One day, another crime leader, who was being tried on an unrelated murder charge, confessed that he had seen a young man matching Dima's description be pushed out of a helicopter over a remote forest in Northern Russia. Dima's ex-lover, before dying in 2007, confessed that he had sold Dima as a sex slave in 2005 and believed Dima to have committed suicide in 2006.
    Flag Mapson October 02, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I actually spoke to Bradford Cox directly about this song. Last night he had this webcam chat where you could ask him questions one-on-one via webcam. It was absolutely amazing.

    My question regarded how "Helicopter" came about, and he told me that he was reading a story about some specific and tragic event that some German had to endure. He told me that the story resonated with him so much that he actually felt what this person was going through, so he wrote this song and the lyrics as a representation of how it would have been if he had experienced it.

    He didn't go into details about what that tragic event was though.
    Flag Shyvanon September 17, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I actually spoke to Bradford Cox directly about this song. Last night he had this webcam chat where you could ask him questions one-on-one via webcam. It was absolutely amazing.

    My question regarded how "Helicopter" came about, and he told me that he was reading a story about some specific and tragic event that some German had to endure. He told me that the story resonated with him so much that he actually felt what this person was going through, so he wrote this song and the lyrics as a representation of how it would have been if he had experienced it.

    He didn't go into details about what that tragic event was though.
    Flag Shyvanon September 17, 2010   Link

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