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.
All behold the spectacle
A fleshy limbless rectangle
Sitting on a pedestal
So nasal handicapable
Contortions that he can't recall
Sniff and remember silver ball
The torso on a trampoline
The happiness melts into dream
To talk is an enunciated sneeze
To tatse is some foul air to breathe
One thought, it lasts a day
And at that rate - he'll most likely live forever!!!!!!!!!!
He's a bird in flight, a hermaphrodite
And he fucks himself as he fucks the world
His twitching brain can dance within
A secret means of ecstasy
Gyrating more like gelatin
Acute and very olfactory
To see is colors crawling in the nose
To hear is stinking highs and lows
He's got an itch, but nothing with which
To scratch the itch - so wish it away
With his mouth sewn shut, he still shakes his butt
'cause he's Hitler & Swayze & Trump & Travolta
Smell. Sweat. Movement.
Disco.
Everyone's dancing.
Dimple.
Fading. Darker.
A subtle fragrance.
Faint.
Everyone's dancing without him.
Where did it go?
Dark.
Odorless.
Nothing
A fleshy limbless rectangle
Sitting on a pedestal
So nasal handicapable
Contortions that he can't recall
Sniff and remember silver ball
The torso on a trampoline
The happiness melts into dream
To talk is an enunciated sneeze
To tatse is some foul air to breathe
One thought, it lasts a day
And at that rate - he'll most likely live forever!!!!!!!!!!
He's a bird in flight, a hermaphrodite
And he fucks himself as he fucks the world
His twitching brain can dance within
A secret means of ecstasy
Gyrating more like gelatin
Acute and very olfactory
To see is colors crawling in the nose
To hear is stinking highs and lows
He's got an itch, but nothing with which
To scratch the itch - so wish it away
With his mouth sewn shut, he still shakes his butt
'cause he's Hitler & Swayze & Trump & Travolta
Smell. Sweat. Movement.
Disco.
Everyone's dancing.
Dimple.
Fading. Darker.
A subtle fragrance.
Faint.
Everyone's dancing without him.
Where did it go?
Dark.
Odorless.
Nothing
Lyrics submitted by Fear_Of_Mole_Rats
Quote Unquote Lyrics as written by Daniel Heifetz Clinton Mckinnon
Lyrics © Exploration Group LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Anyone who thinks this song is actually about John Travolta hasn't read the goddamn lyrics.
The song is about some hypothetical gimp, with no arms and legs, who does drugs to escape his reality. In his drug-induced hallucinations he fantasizes about being a celebrity, that's why he's Hitler and Swayze and Trump AND Travolta.
All the lyrics support this interpretation (contortions that he can't recall, etc) and the only reason anyone would assume it's about John Travolta is that his name appears in the lyrics and was once the title.
@brian_james interesting point, I know u wrote this a while ago, but there is a possible way that this is about travolta, because swayze and trump were both dancers and actors, the lyrics show, at the very end, there all dancing and what ever. Also his twitching brain can dance with in gyrating more like gelatin. I'm not sure, I'm only 14 you are probably right. none theless I love the song.
yeah, the video is pretty fucked up.
err... ive really been thinking about this song alot... and i can't really figure out exactly what its about... i think its about how much the world values lust and fame.... but when we think about it all it really is a combination of our 5 senses... does that make any sense at all?
This song is actually called Travolta; they had to print it as Quote, Unquote on the CD for legal reasons concerning John Travolta. Keep in mind, when this song was written, it was before Pulp Fiction and his "comeback" (jt should blow Tarantino every night for that); before that Travolta was a BIG TIME has been. Quote, Unquote was the name of some biograghy or autobiography of JT published around this time.
Yes they wanted to call it travolta but were'nt allowed to for legal reasons and called it quote unquote instead. So it is actually called Quote Unquote.
The original pressings have it labeled "Travolta." So that's not entirely true. The second wave of pressings are the ones with the different title.
This song is so about Travolta, and anywone else who was big but then saw their demise! I had an older version of the album and This song was called Travolta on the notes. I laughed my ass off when I got it again after Pulp Fiction and the title had changed. To be honest, the title became inacurate after his comback. It wasn't a personal stab at Travolta, so much as it was a statement on the fleeting nature of trends: Hitler: fascism Swayze: 80s Dirty Dancing Trump: Capitalism Travolta: Disco
@xinnerx capitalism isn't a fleeting trend unfortunately... It's worse than ever these days.
The best band ever. This song makes me feel like I've taken about 600mics of really bad acid, an eight ball, and a few hits of angel dust all at once. And just for kicks, I decide to go to a carnival funhouse and I get locked in there with a bunch of incestuous serial killer clowns.
I agree, Their music is a total mindfuck thats extremely enjoyable
It's about John Travolta and how he's a twat. If they wrote this song about me, I'd be upset. John deserves it, though...
I know it's sposed to be about travolta, but why?
I get in image of a man with no arms or legs, and his mouth sown shut, with only the abilty to snort drugs. That's why all the references to senses as being nasal-related.
Limbless rectangle. No means to scratch the itch. That means no arms or legs.
Sniff and remember silver ball. Wish it away. Means of ecstasy - very olfactory. That means sniffing drugs.
But yeah, don't really get the relation to Travolta. Possibly because I know buggar all about the guy.
The video is fucked up indeed, dead ppl hanging and dancing to the music... classic.
I agree with the image of a limbless man in a wheelchair snorting drugs and hallucinating.
I think the references to Travolta could be about how a star's popularity will dwindle and you'll be remembered for your fifteen minutes of fame and if so, do you really wanna be remembered for things such as Grease, Satuarday Night Fever. etc