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And the first one tore a picture
Of a dead and hanging man
Who was kissing foreign fishes
That flew right out from this hands
And when I put my arms around him
I felt the blushing blood run through my cheeks
And an eeriness surrounded when his tongue began to speak
And he said...Oh boy you are so pretty
Enough to wrap tight in rice-paper string.
And when I finally kissed him the whole world began to ring
Lost like a bell that's tipping over
With two cracks along both sides
And I knew the world was over so I took a look outside
And watched the fires that were reaching
Up to the weather vane and the tops of trees
And the waiting scene and the Sunday dream
They're all waiting here for me
Deli markets with their flower stands
And pretty girls and the burning men
Hanging out on the hooks next to the window displays
And I took out my tongue twice removed from my face
Across a bridge and across the mountains
Threw a nickel in a fountain
To save my soul from all these troubled times
And all the drugs that I don't have the guts to take
To soothe my mind so I'm always sober
Always aching, always heading towards
Mass suicide, occult figurines
And wasted gas-station attendants
Attending to their jobs
And a nice drive in the country
Finds a nice cliff to drop off
Oh when this life just gets so grating
All the grittiness of life
But don't take those pills your boyfriend gave you
You're too wonderful to die
And the last one tore a picture
From the pornographic page
When all the pleasure points attacking
All the looks of love were staged
And it's a lie that you've been given
That just hurts you every day
So why should i lay here naked
When it's just too far away
From anything we could call loving
Any love worth living for
So I'll sleep out in the gutter
You can sleep here on the floor
And when I wake up in the morning
I won't forget to lock the door
Because with a match that's mean and some gasoline
You won't see me anymore
Of a dead and hanging man
Who was kissing foreign fishes
That flew right out from this hands
And when I put my arms around him
I felt the blushing blood run through my cheeks
And an eeriness surrounded when his tongue began to speak
And he said...Oh boy you are so pretty
Enough to wrap tight in rice-paper string.
And when I finally kissed him the whole world began to ring
Lost like a bell that's tipping over
With two cracks along both sides
And I knew the world was over so I took a look outside
And watched the fires that were reaching
Up to the weather vane and the tops of trees
And the waiting scene and the Sunday dream
They're all waiting here for me
Deli markets with their flower stands
And pretty girls and the burning men
Hanging out on the hooks next to the window displays
And I took out my tongue twice removed from my face
Across a bridge and across the mountains
Threw a nickel in a fountain
To save my soul from all these troubled times
And all the drugs that I don't have the guts to take
To soothe my mind so I'm always sober
Always aching, always heading towards
Mass suicide, occult figurines
And wasted gas-station attendants
Attending to their jobs
And a nice drive in the country
Finds a nice cliff to drop off
Oh when this life just gets so grating
All the grittiness of life
But don't take those pills your boyfriend gave you
You're too wonderful to die
And the last one tore a picture
From the pornographic page
When all the pleasure points attacking
All the looks of love were staged
And it's a lie that you've been given
That just hurts you every day
So why should i lay here naked
When it's just too far away
From anything we could call loving
Any love worth living for
So I'll sleep out in the gutter
You can sleep here on the floor
And when I wake up in the morning
I won't forget to lock the door
Because with a match that's mean and some gasoline
You won't see me anymore
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When I saw Jeff live, almost a year ago, instead of singing, "all the grittiness of life." He sang, "all the shittiness of life."
I really liked the way he changed it. I don't know if he does that for all of his live performances, or if it was a one time thing, but it really stuck with me. A very special performance, that I'll always remember.
The "and all the drugs I don't have the guts to take" part is obvious. He is experiencing depression but afraid of the potential consequences (legal, emotional, etc) of drug use. He can't find anything else to make him feel better, though, so stays depressed (always sober, always aching, always headed towards mass suicide). The "don't take those pills that your boyfriend gave you" part is referring to taking pills to kill yourself, not doing drugs recreationally.
The first time I heard this song in its entirety (and really listened) was yesterday.
I think it was extremely (and hauntingly) appropriate for me to wait that long to hear this song.
Oddly, there had been a huge fire in my apartment building early yesterday. As I entertained the possibility of the fire reaching my apartment, I realized I probably wouldn't have left if it came to that (it didn't).
Oh and the lines about setting yourself on fire remind me of this really disturbing photographic documentary I saw recently. It showed a burn victim unit where Afghani women were recovering. The women had suffered sexual abuse so brutal that they collectively decided to burn themselves alive in order to free themselves from their husbands.
I like the lines about mass suicide. They remind me of the Jonestown massacre. "But don't take those pills your boyfriend gave you/
You're too wonderful to die " sounds like "Don't drink the kool-aid" to me. I don't know if my interpretation of that verse has anything to do with the song's intended meaning (probably not). But I understand the notion of wanting to end your life because you realize how the idea of sex as a manifestation of love (rather than a carnal ritual usually accompanied by excessive drinking/drug taking and a desire to release pent up frustration) is completely dead for most of humanity. Like the people who killed themselves at Jonestown, I realize so much of what I live by has been completely and irreversibly destroyed. I suppose sometimes that makes me feel a bit like dropping off a cliff.
"And the last one tore a picture
From the pornographic page
And all the pleasure points attacking
All the looks of love were staged
And it's a lie that you've been given
That just hurts you every day
So why should I lie here naked
When it's just too far away
From anything we could call loving
Any love worth living for
So I'll sleep out in the gutter
You can sleep here on the floor
And when I wake up in the morning
I won't forget to lock the door
Because with a match that's mean and some gasoline
You won't see me anymore"
This whole verse has a personal-mythology-type meaning for me that would be embarrassing (and take way too long) to explain here, but I find it eerie how perfectly these words describe an odd situation I got myself into.
Anyways last night I kind of came to the conclusion that sex has been ruined for me.
I can't enjoy it anymore, mainly because I was so young and jaded when I lost my virginity. I spent almost 3 years chasing after "hot" hook ups who ultimately destroyed my faith in love and my trust in people. I wish I had waited longer.
Woah ramble.
I don't think it could be mostly about drugs since sex is in the title, but the most direct way to hedonism is not the most pleasing and after a while you get bored and want to try the more fulfilling ways but you can't because of withdrawals or you just don't know what to do.
But if you can interpret a song in many ways, it might not mean anything at all. And that's fine.
So the reference to "the burning man" and then setting himself on fire at the end might be related?
I don't know...