This song is really awesome.

Tonight I am printing the lyrics and I'm going to try to interpret this, even if it takes me all night, because SOCO RULES!!!

Okay guys, here’s my interpretation of this song…
I have no clue if it’s right, I haven’t looked up anything from SoCo’s site or interviews, I just took the assumption that the song was about drugs, as many people have already posted…

Alright, the first line “Staring into the intersection, she thinks that she can fly and she might” I think this means that “Jessica” is looking at different choices she can make in her life, and she’s going to try a new direction that she’s never gone in before…“Holding on in a new direction, she's gonna try it tonight” – So she’s looking at what way she want’s to go, and she’s gonna make a choice she normally wouldn’t ‘tonight’. “The closer I get to feeling, the further that I'm feeling from alright” – I think this either means, the more he notices her making bad choices, the less happy he is, OR The closer she gets to and the more she does drugs, the less she feels okay. “The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light” I think in this line, the sun is supposed to represent drugs, and the light is supposed to be happiness, like, the more the person uses drugs, the less happy they are.

“Jessica is covered ina blanket on a Sunday porch” I don’t really know about this one, I’m guessing that maybe she’s been taken in or something….“Thinking of the weekends she would party in the city” - and she’s thinking about what she used to do (drugs) on the weekend. “She doesn't have a flame, she'd prefer to burn out like a torch” – This means that she doesn’t have anything in her life, she doesn’t think she’s worth anything, she has no talent, so she figures as might as well burn out. “If she gets nowhere in life, at least she know's she pretty” – Basically explains itself.. She know’s that if she does burnout, at least she was pretty and could get guys .. (?) lol..

“She said, "Hey, now, the straw dog's out in the street” Anyone can get to the drugs, like they are in the street and easily avalibe, and easy to find.. “Hey now, there's chemicals in the clouds” I thiunk that means that like, it seems like everyone is using drugs, and there’s so many people using them that the smoke and chemicals go into the clouds.. uhm… yeah lol.. “Hey now, they're calling the police” – The people are telling on us for doing drugs…
“They won't get to us, anyhow."” I think this means either the police won’t be able to get to them, OR, I’m leaning more toward they think the drugs aren’t going to hurt them.

“The moon is shining now and shadows are what's left of all the noise” – All they notice now are the dark depressing things about doing drugs, like conciquences, and there’s no more excitement. “Simple silhouettes and cutouts as if we had the choice” They are all the same now b/c they wasted all their talent and did drugs, they have no more unique qualities, so they figure they should stop. “He listens closely now, swears that he can hear a voice, That's calling him and saying” – But then it’s like he hears a voice, the voice of drugs, calling him back, and saying:

(Just the chorus again) It’s saying anyone can get to the drugs, and everyone uses them, and they aren’t going to hurt you anyway.

“What does it take to be a superhero in our world?” – How can people NOT do drugs and be sucked in, like the only people that are beyond amanzing (or, a superhero) are people who make all the right choices. “Make no mistake that these villains always get the girl” – Bad things always happen to the best of people and it’s like saying the majority of people do make wrong choices, like the drugs always get the best of people. “We can escape, and then we'd skate away from all of this, And no one ever does.” – I think he’s saying that they can get help and all get better and start making the right choices, but nobody ever does once they are sucked in… and then the chorus again..

Anyone can get to the drugs, and everyone uses them, and they aren’t going to hurt you anyway.

That’s my interpretation of this song, I have NO clue if it’s way off, I was just guessing, e-mail me or something if you wanna talk about this, I would love to! Messymiss9@aol.com And again, this could be way beyond what SoCo wanted to say, I’m just a fan who is taking a chance on guessing.. =) Thanks!

I GOT IT!!! STRAW DOG BACKWARDS IS GOD WARTS!!!!! but i really have no idea what the song itself is about.

God warts? Messymiss, I agree but your using big words and it's hard to understand you too. hehe ok im still confused but i totally love this song and the whole album!

uhm.... who old are you... lol, the words aren't THAT big

In an interview on 86punk.com talked about the meaning of Straw Dog:
"That actually comes back to that book I was telling you about, “The Dao De Jing”, it’s a reference from that book. A “straw dog” is like this ceremonial figure in some, I’m going to really fuck this up, but in some eastern culture it’s almost how a crucifix is looked at in Christianity. The only difference is after it’s one of the most respected thing in their ceremonies, they trash it out in the street, they beat it up and disregard it. To me that was kind of a pretty decent statement about the way youth is treated in America. Like everybody says that they’re our future and most important thing in the world. Then you see the way that teachers and police and everybody treat them, they kind of treat them like shit even though they supposedly the most honored thing in the world. That’s kind of like my take on it. It’s not anything I would ever expect anybody to decipher, it’s like the most senseless babble. To me writing was never more of a inventing type thing. If I can’t relate to it on personal level then it’s bullshit to me anyway, so it ends up being more specific than general."

I usually hate this shity punk stuff. All the vocals and the music sound the same. I think most of the time that if you didn't have the name of the band on the CD that every little band lie this one would sound the same. Or maybe it's just one big conspiracy. Maybe there really is only one punk/Emo band and they just play under different names.

Anyway I have this stupid friend named Fletcher. He listens to all this crappy stuff. So he made me listen to this song on the first day that he could drive. I really like this song. For me it's about a girl I once loved. Ironically her name was Jessica, she is exactly like the girl in the song. She partied every weekend and did a lot of things she said she regretted. And she too would go to church on Sunday to make herself feel better about what she did last night, but it never did.

"What does it take to be a superhero in our world?
Make no mistake that these villains always get the girl
We can escape, and then we'd skate away from all of this
And no one ever does."

Classic line. What does it take to be a superhero? To be strong enough to protect everyone you will love from all the evil in the world. And yah, Jessica and I could have escaped. We wanted to run away to Mexico. Build a shack by the seashore, and watch the sunset over our simple lives. But we never will. We put it off, and the villains got her.

“Staring into the intersection, she thinks that she can fly and she might
Holding on in a new direction, she's gonna try it tonight
The closer I get to feeling, the further that I'm feeling from alright”

Jessica tried to fly. She tried to leave it all behind. And I offered her a way out. That’s all she loved, she didn’t love me. So she tried it with me.

"Hey, now, the straw dog's out in the street
Hey now, there's chemicals in the clouds
Hey now, they're calling the police
They won't get to us, anyhow."

We were out in the street. And there was a sort of divine connection. And we got in trouble all the time. But that would never get us. “Two of us, That’s dangerous.”

I know that isn’t what the song really means. But that is what it means to me. And what a song means to you is all that is important. What kind of connection, what sort of thought the song inspires inside of you, that is all the song is good for. And this song reminds me of so much. I had to write about it on this site. And obviously it reminds all of you of something special too. This is one of the few punk/emo songs that will always standout.

Just the pure music to this song is enough to make you feel good, its just a great song, the lyrics are confusing if you dont know the history of the "straw dog" which im partially unsure of, but anyway, this song has an awesome piano part and this is the song that made me fall in love with SoCo, and my girlfriend loves it! its awesome, no doubt, my favorite verse:
What does it take to be a superhero in our world?
that is definitely a question to think about, and i still havent come up with an answer :-P

Is it just me or does this song sound like a cross between uber-talented Eve Six singer/songwriter/bassist Max Collins and piano wunderkind Vanessa Carlton?

soco is no pop crap :D

this is a great song. aside from the fact that my name is in it, i love the meaning. and as it is said in many of these comments, i can really relate to it. i have had the pleasure of meeting andrew at warped tour earlier this month. might i say he is such a great and down to earth guy. i really like this band, all their songs have a awesome meanings. i recomend them to everyone!

i love this song. i love this band. oh man...i can't even describe it. *sigh*

I love this song. and i love that my name is in it, and it love the way it makes me feel. it's got a lot of energy, and it makes me feel like i can conquer the world. i'm not really sure what it's about, drugs maybe? it doesn't really matter, the sound is amazing

This is probably my fav. song off LTTW. I just love "Hey Now, the straw dog's out in the street." I bought this CD along with Finch's What It Is To Burn together for $10. ($5 a piece if you didn't want to do any math)

My girlfriend is a pastors daughter *thank you, thank you very much* but he has always held to to such high standards, and it nearly broke her. We have been together for a few months, and I have, I guess, liberated her. And just before she left for college, 1816 miles away, I gave her this cd. She clicked with this song. Now I listen to it all the time. This cd goes everywhere with me.
And for the record, I love you honey.

OK first off this is an awsome song...i came on here to find out what the "straw dog" was but i kinda formed my own interpretation (whether it's right or not). I think the straw dog is lke "Jessica's" dreams. This girl wants to do everything, she wants to live life to the fullest but she's not really worrying about the future or it's consequences. It says "she doesn't have a flame - she'd prefer to burn out like a torch"....she doesn't have desire...she doesn't care where she ends up. I basically consider the "straw dog" to be metaphoric. Straw isn't very heavy and it can blow away at anytime - just like her dreams. She kinda lives on the edge, and so she places her dreams in the middle of the street - careless to what happens. That's my interpretation whether it's the actualy meaning or not...it's what i think. I think taht's the whole point of song writing...to affect many different ppl by many differnet ways. Everyone has their own interpretations.:)

I have been trying to figure out what this song means. After reading all of this, I think that the comments made about drugs make sense, but this is my perspective.

If you have ever read the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, you know it is about the end of the word due to a nuclear bomb. A section of the story goes "The entire west face of the house was black, save for five places. Here the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lown. Here, as in a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers. Still farther over, their images burned on wood in one titanic instant, a small boy, hands flugh into the air; higher up, the image of a thrown ball, and opposite him a girl, hands raised to catch a ball which never came down."

The whole part about "chemicals in the clouds", "simple silhouettes", and how the police "won't get to us anyhow" reminds me of that story. Just my 2 cents...

Brokenpromise ring was right, when I interviewed Will I asked him bc it does sound like reference to drugs. In some eastern culture they would make a dog out of straw like, one week a year I think and worship it all week, then at the end of the week they destroyed it. So they kinda used that to describe today's youth. How society worships us (bit of an exaggeration but you get the point) because we're tomorrow's leaders but then they try to knock us down every chance they get. Same thing brokenpromisering posted, but I figured I'd do it again. :) Anyway.. it's a great song and means even more to me now that I know the story behind it.

What does it take to be a superhero in our world?

that line always gives me chills.

"Staring into the intersection she thinks that she can fly and she might..."

The girl is looking down, ready to jump, contemplating suicide.

The entire song is about drugs. I love this song. I swear the 2 aren't related hahaha.

Definitely on my list of 5 best soco songs ;D

i think that no one (but something corporate) actually knows what this song means i think saying its about drugs is close ..andrew and guys if you're reading this help us figure it out please

"The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light"

Come on now....that's one fricking awesome line.....

"The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light"

Come on now....that's one fricking awesome line.....

it's obvious that this song is about crazy people. for example:
"hey now, the straw dog's out in the street. there's chemicals in the clouds, they're calling the police, they won't get to us anyway." this is what you often see crazy people saying (they won't get to "us") as if they were talking to voices in their head. get it?