He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
I was carving my name out
Of a giant sequoia tree
I was blind to its beauty
Now its all I can see
See I've learned how to listen
To the folks on TV
They are passing a message
That means nothing to me
My vertebrate evolution
Easy as ABC
Baby steps from the ocean
Feather trails to the sea
Paddlefish to salamander
Honeybee to atrophy
I guess I'm losing my trail here
But it takes loss to be free
Now I work in a nightclub
At the Burj Khalifa
And I'm blind to its beauty
But it aint all that I have
So I'm passing a message
Like the folks on TV
Guess I'm getting the words out
But they don't come from me
Paddlefish to salamander
Little girl to atrophy
I guess we're losing our trail here
But it takes loss to be free
Of a giant sequoia tree
I was blind to its beauty
Now its all I can see
See I've learned how to listen
To the folks on TV
They are passing a message
That means nothing to me
My vertebrate evolution
Easy as ABC
Baby steps from the ocean
Feather trails to the sea
Paddlefish to salamander
Honeybee to atrophy
I guess I'm losing my trail here
But it takes loss to be free
Now I work in a nightclub
At the Burj Khalifa
And I'm blind to its beauty
But it aint all that I have
So I'm passing a message
Like the folks on TV
Guess I'm getting the words out
But they don't come from me
Paddlefish to salamander
Little girl to atrophy
I guess we're losing our trail here
But it takes loss to be free
Lyrics submitted by niteflite01
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
I really like this song, particularly the sense of tension and the interesting imagery, but the meaning as a whole is not easy. One of the things he appears to be saying is that losing normal literal sense or a linear mindset gives you freedom, and that freedom of expression may make what he says more meaningful than a factual pronouncement by a TV presenter, and I think the reference to atrophy being at the end of the evolution chain is likely to cross-refer to the TV comments.
I think the words about the animals and the sequoia tree conjure up his wonder and amazement at the extraordinariness of evolution ("easy as ABC" is being sarcastic) and nature.
The Burj Khalifa is in Dubai and is apparently the tallest building in the world according to Wikipedia. Maybe he is comparing this man-made structure unfavourably to the wonders of the sequoia tree - though he does make it sound rather exotic.
Maybe the overall meaning of the song is: the amazing wonders of nature and being freed from literal sense - good, the blandness of TV and artificiality and coldness of modern buildings - bad.