Lyrics for Straw Dog as interpreted by krushzed

Straw Dog Lyrics
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
The more I step into the sun, the more I step out of the light

Jessica is covered ina blanket on a Sunday porch
Thinking of the weekends she would party in the city
She doesn't have a flame, she'd prefer to burn out like a torch
If she gets nowhere in life, at least she know's she pretty

She said, "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."

The moon is shining now and shadows are what's left of all the noise
Simple silhouettes and cutouts as if we had the choice
He listens closely now, swears that he can hear a voice
That's calling him and saying

"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."

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.

She's saying "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."

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jessylovesyou
06-11-2003

Rated 0 
i don't like this song solely because my name is jessica and it beats the hell out of "jesse's girl", i like it because it's just amazing. i think it has to do with drugs, and decisions, and basically life in general. it's amazing. the whole cd is. yesss.

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sweetCatastrophe81
06-22-2003

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i went to a soco concert in arizona and they commented on how so many people think this song is about drugs, but its not. i forgot what they said about it, but it defenatly wasnt written with drugs in mind. just to clear that up.

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sweetCatastrophe81
06-22-2003

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i went to a soco concert in arizona and they commented on how so many people think this song is about drugs, but its not. i forgot what they said about it, but it defenatly wasnt written with drugs in mind. just to clear that up.

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JasonDude
06-30-2003

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brokenpromisering was correct. I talked to Andrew after a concert last summer in Chula Vista. He said that they learned about the Dao De Jing in a class they had in high school. He said that the straw dog is an idol that they worship all year long and then at the end of the year they give it to the people and the people tear it apart. He said that he was using it metaphorically because all people talk about is how the youth is the future and yet when we are out "in the streets" they treat us all like a bunch of crooks. That is about all Andrew had to say about it, so Andrew thanks for clearing that up for us!!!

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Vince
06-16-2004

Rated 0 
It is touched upon above, but a 'Straw Dog' is from Taoist Philosophy / Religion, in which these dogs made of straw are made, used as an object of worship for a day or two and then, as mentioned above, thrown away and actually violently ruined. This was all explained above, the point i am trying to make is that i think the song is representing how the author feels after a relationship. He feels as though he has been the object of affection for a little while, while he was useful, but now has been violently rejected because the object of his love, presumably 'Jessica' wants to 'fly away'.

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Ratboy
06-16-2004

Rated 0 
just a wild guess. Maybe Straw Dog in the streetis supposed to mean something vulnerable that can be destroyed or swept away easily, but I dunno how that has to do witht he rest. Anyway, AWESOME SONG!

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slud
06-26-2004

Rated 0 
One thing i do know about a "straw dog" if it is referenced to most other things made out of straw is that it refers to something being proverbialy worthless. see if you think that goes along with the song?

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chakitabananaz
10-24-2004

Rated 0 
first off this is my favorite song of all time and soco is the best band ever!! now, in this song im pretty sure that straw dog is a reference to protestors out in the street. i know it sounds kind of weird but if you look at the lyrics (in the chorus) it makes a ton or sense--"chemicals in the clouds...calling the police"-- anyway thats what one of my friends said this song means. im not really sure about the rest of it, probabaly something to do with "jessica" finding her way in life and stuff. :)

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ed_is_emo
10-25-2004

Rated 0 
Hey, i know you all say its about the youth, and how we are worshiped by adults, but still yet tourn apart like by cops and stuff who don't trust us..

but what about it being the other way around?

i mean, when we are young, we look to our parents. they are the coolest people ever. we love them with all our hearts. they can do no wrong. but then as we grow up, we decide that our parents are terrible, and are only there to bring us down.

when we are little, they have huge dreams for us.. but as we grow up, they are all shattered.. things go wrong. we are no longer perfect in their eyes.

its like their dreams for us are the straw dog, and our illusions of them are the straw dog too... eventually, they realize that you're living for your dreams, and not thiers. and we discard them, becuase we have other idols.. people who are smarter, cooler, funnier, whatever. they realize we aren't perfect, just as we realize they aren't perfect. Putting the straw dog into the streets is like both sides throwing out thier perceptions, and letting them be destroyed.

calling out the police is like them trying to gain control back, and they may get us, but we won't let them get to us. we are still gonna live our lives they way we have, and they can't really stop us..


..just my take on it tho.

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sobeautiful
11-09-2004

Rated 0 
I love this song, I've had it stuck in my head for like 3 weeks

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sobeautiful
11-23-2004

Rated 0 
I wanted them to play this when I went to the show that they opened for Dashboard but they didn't :( Still a great song though...

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msg555
12-13-2004

Rated 0 
I love this song. It has a lot more meaning when you know what a straw dog is

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kliffy
12-17-2004

Rated 0 
Like an abstract painting- this song is all about its versitility and confusion, and thats what i love so much about it. It really makes so little sense, it can mean so many different things, as to whatever you interperet it. it's truly brilliant
PS: the live version on 'songs for silent movies' BLOWS MY MIND!

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jannika
01-27-2005

Rated 0 
"the closer i get to feeling the further i'm feeling from all right"

one of my favorite lines in a song EVER

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ringlord
02-04-2005

Rated 0 
From www.rockingthescene.com-

Tyler: What does the lyric “…the straw dog’s out in the street” mean?

Andrew: 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.

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waa336
02-05-2005

Rated 0 
The line that starts as "Jessica" is wrong. Its a Sun-bathed porch. not a "sunday" porch. it makes a lot more sense.

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emlovesyou
02-06-2005

Rated 0 
this song is about a girl who has a 'perfect' life but she just wants to break free from everything and the pressure of what everyone wants from her or for her today

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xsimpledesignx
03-22-2005

Rated 0 
I love this song. But, I can't help but think of a play boy bunny star. Or some other kind of model who is accicted to cocaine, or another drug.

"If she gets nowhere in life, at least she know's she pretty"

10 to 1 a playboy will turn out to have a horrible life, but at least they know they're pretty.

She said, "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."

Now, how many people that aren't on a drug would think of a straw dog being in the street? It oculd also be a metaphor like milkcartonkid said. But, I think the fact that the dog is straw has a signifigance. You ever heard of the three little pigs? Straw is destoryed easily, just like she is being. And the fact that there are "chemicals in the clouds" seems to just bring me back to the whole drugatic bit. And when he says "they'll never get to us" makes me think about how she feels when she's in the high of the moment, literally, high. And, in that moment she feels untouchable.


That whole thing may be a little farfetched..but oh well. That's what comes to mind when I hear it! And even if it has a weird meaning to me, I still love this song!

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xsimpledesignx
03-22-2005

Rated 0 
One more thing. This also seems to show the fact of being on drugs:

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


People that are on drugs such as halusagins (spl) tend to think that they can do things such as flying. And those thoughts generally lead to their demise.

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

That refers to a drug addiction. Every time she is able to get her hands on something, for a moment she will feel alright. So, she is stepping into the "sun" but just before she can reaches, she steps "out of the light." in other words, she tries so hard to feel better about her life by using these drugs, but it's only temperary, and when she's back in reality, everything is worse.

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Fwaah
01-01-2006

Rated 0 
Hmm, I don't really know what 'straw dog' is supposed to mean...Can anyone explain? Some of you have said it may have to do with drugs..Whic for some reason I wouldn't doubt because almost every song has a refference to drugs in it....But I still love them. There is no way you can't....

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h0merg0mez
02-17-2006

Rated 0 
A straw dog is slang for something that's created just to be destroyed, if that helps. Andrew is using that symbolism.

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b_love04
03-02-2006

Rated 0 
a straw dog is something set up, and expected to be knocked down.....

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Liiva
03-19-2006

Rated 0 
I don't know I always thought that this song is about shallow people. You know like Jessica in this song only cares about partys and being pretty. And lines ''there's chemicals in a clouds'' and ''there's straw dogs in the street'' is pointing that there is bigger things in the world.

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Gaz_182
03-26-2006

Rated 0 
A straw dog is something that is set up to be knocked down. If it's out in the street it's probably going to get collected by a speeding car. This Jessica girl has set herself up to be knocked down because she doesn't have any real plans and she's burning out basically. That's my interpretation, anyhow.

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andhearts
04-05-2006

Rated 0 
stop overthinking it guys.
this songs about being high.

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


it doesnt get much more obvious..

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