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From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care (x2)
There's a place so dark you can't see the end
Skies cock back and shock that which can't defend
The rain then sends dripping acidic questions
Forcefully, the power of suggestion
Then with the eyes shut looking thought the rust and rotten dust
A spot of light floods the floor
And pours over the rusted world of pretend
The eyes ease open and its dark again
From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Moving all around
Screaming of the ups and downs
Pollution manifested in perpetual sound
The wheels go round and the sunset creeps behind the
Street lamps, chain-link, and concrete
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn
Floats on down the street till the wind is gone
The memory now is like the picture was then
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again
From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care (x2)
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Now you got me caught in the act
You bring the thought back
I'm telling you that
I see it right through you (x7)
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care (x2)
There's a place so dark you can't see the end
Skies cock back and shock that which can't defend
The rain then sends dripping acidic questions
Forcefully, the power of suggestion
Then with the eyes shut looking thought the rust and rotten dust
A spot of light floods the floor
And pours over the rusted world of pretend
The eyes ease open and its dark again
From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Moving all around
Screaming of the ups and downs
Pollution manifested in perpetual sound
The wheels go round and the sunset creeps behind the
Street lamps, chain-link, and concrete
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn
Floats on down the street till the wind is gone
The memory now is like the picture was then
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again
From the top to the bottom
Bottom to top I stop
At the core I've forgotten
In the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety
The picture is there
The memory won't escape me
But why should I care (x2)
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Now you got me caught in the act
You bring the thought back
I'm telling you that
I see it right through you (x7)
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
Lyrics submitted by Matt
Track duration: 03:14
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obviously in the song,...it means - once the past & memories are tarnished...they can never be perfect.
Line always stood out to me:)
First it is important that the duality of the vocalists plays an important role in my interpretation of the song. I believe that the two voices are written as from two aspects of the same person. I choose to name them the Consciousness (C) and his/her Subconscious (S).
C: From the top to the bottom
S: Bottom to top I stop
These two phrases to me are an easily dismissed clue. From the top to the bottom could refer to a person's states of consciousness, going from the top to the bottom (fully conscious to subconscious) as in going to sleep. The inverse is the process of rising from subconsciousness to consciousness, as in waking up. But note that on their way up from subconsciousness they stop. It is commonly known that the dreams we remember tend to be the last few moments before we awaken...
C: At the core I've forgotten
S: In the middle of my thoughts
The writer's assertion comes in two parts; at the core, which could be quickly construed as the brain (core processor), but I believe is an allusion to the writer's conscious thought. The remainder is “I've forgotten”, therefore the subject of the sentence is a memory. Taking this and adding the remainder points that they have lost a memory but that it still exists elsewhere (just not at “the core”). Though the writer forgot the memory, it still exists in the center of the subconscious.
C: Taken far from my safety
S: The picture is there
These two lines to me reflect that the writer believes the memory is gone outside their grasp. Their subconscious uses a metaphor of a picture (pictures are primarily stored to bring back memories) to assert that the memory persists, perhaps against conscious desire. This is further asserted in the following line:
C: The memory won't escape me
S: But why should I care (x2)
In the first line I believe that the writer may be using a double meaning. Most commonly, the use of the word escape would indicate the writer doesn't want the memory to leave his mind. Escape could also be used in the less common “so and so's (boss, artist, friend's significant other's) name escapes me.” When used in this way escape means that we are trying to hunt for it but we can't find it. This indicates that the writer may WISH the memory will stay away from his conscious mind.
The response form their conscience is interesting. Since the two lines are tied together this line is a response to the previous one. It seems the conscience is saying it shouldn't care because the conscience “feels” differently and the memory is causing a battle between them. The conscience may want the writer to experience the memory against their will.
The following two stanzas used such clever metaphor and imagery that I was outright impressed. Notice that prior to this stanza the song was very clearly being sung by two different people which are easily distinguishable from one another. This is done not just by their tonality, but also by the fact that one line responds to the other. In the following stanzas the two artists still continue to take turns, but they start to sound similar and their parts build the imagery together until at the end they are in a chorus.
Where does the conscious self and subconscious self meet on an even plane? In dreams.
C: There's a place so dark you can't see the end
It is my belief that the writer has fallen asleep, and begun to dream. This dark place is the emptiness before we dream, the void of conscious thought right before our recollection of dreams.
S: Skies cock back and shock that which can't defend
In dreams we don't have the control. While conscious our writer can dismiss the subconscious, but not in dreams. The common term to “cock back” is to a wind up for a strike, and “that which can't defend” indicates something other than the subconscious (the conscious self) is vulnerable. I believe “shock” surrounded by the words in the line it indicates to “scare”, as any of us who have ever had a nightmare can attest. From the next line I believe it means the subconscious has scared the writer by placing them in a bad dream (not the memory) in preparation for what's next:
C/S: The rain then sends dripping acidic questions
S: Forcefully, the power of suggestion
Rain is out of the writer's control, and the reference to acid rain could indicate a polluted dream, a polluted mind. I believe the reference to “acidic questions” also implies that the questions are both negative (causing pain) and penetrating (as acid does). The conscience's proceeding statement is clarifying that everything up to this point has just been a means to force the writer's consciousness to do what it wants. “The power of suggestion” is an allusion to the methodology used by hypnotherapists to uncover memories that have been repressed. Therefore the writer is having to suffer through the fear and self doubt brought about by the subconscious in order to uncover something.
C: Then with the eyes shut looking through the rust and rot and dust
S: A spot of light floods the floor
The first line is simply asserting that the writer is asleep, which is the only time they can look “through the rust and rot and dust”, all allusions to a place that is neglected, old, and untouched. Once they starts looking in that “place” which is a metaphor for the writer's banished memory, light comes to that place. Light is a metaphor for remembering.
C: And pours over the rusted world of pretend
This line is probably the single most important clue to what is happening. The light pours over, so the writer is remembering “the rusted world of pretend”. Again rusted is an allusion to lack of use. The “world of pretend” to me is a strong allusion tied to childhood. In no other venue is “pretend” used so widely. Adults imagine, brainstorm, act, role-play, day-dream, but they don't escape to the “world of pretend”. The fact that the “world of pretend” is rusted also indicates it has been abandoned for a long time. I must surmise that the memory that the writer experienced has something to do with his childhood. This is further supported further on.
C/S: The eyes ease open and its dark again
The writer wakes up, so the memory of his childhood is hidden again.
[Chorus]
C/S: In the memory you'll find me
C/S: Eyes burning up
C/S: The darkness holding me tightly
C/S: Until the sun rises up
With all the foundational information already established it is easy to understand that the writer is reliving the memory in his sleep and it is causing them to cry, until they awaken. This would indicate the memory itself is the bad thing, but this conclusion is contrary to the rest of the song lyrics.
C: Moving all around
S: Screaming of the ups and downs
C: Pollution manifested in perpetual sound
C/S: The wheels go round and the sunset creeps behind the
C/S: Street lamps, chain-link, and concrete
The preceeding stanza seems to be the writer experiencing the real world in a busy and hectic life until the sunset comes again, alluding that we may soon enter the dreamworld once again. Based on the descriptions it appears to be written from the perspective of an adult, supporting my conclusion that the memory is of a childhood long ago.
C: A little piece of paper with a picture drawn
C: Floats on down the street till the wind is gone
C/S: The memory now is like the picture was then
C/S: When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again
The writer here continues to experience the real world, but takes note of the paper. Using the visual imagery of a discarded “piece of paper with a picture drawn” seems to me an allusion, again, to childhood since it isn't a “painting”, a “sketch”, or some other “adult” sort of drawing. The wind is a metaphor for time, and perhaps the events which have occurred in between that childhood and the present which won't allow them to coexist in the writer's conscious mind. More to follow on that:
The last two lines clears up the metaphor used in the chorus, and builds on it. Unfortunately they are confusing because they're in a difficult order. “The memory [NOW] is like the picture was [THEN]” emphasis is added to focus on the time of each. What is the difference in the memory/picture between NOW and THEN? Perhaps that is answered in the final line. The paper was crumpled up. The memory was damaged and cannot be repaired. Since “the memory now is like the picture was then” the childhood that is hidden in the writer's subconscious must then be perceived as having been perfect in the past. Whatever occurred probably occurred during childhood. The crumpling of the paper is alluding to some negative act but is unspecific and doesn't (at least in my mind) point to a particular trauma.
[Chorus]
C/S: Now you got me caught in the act
C/S: You bring the thought back
C/S: I'm telling you that
C/S: I see it right through you
The last stanza may give us a final clue as to the source of this conflict. The writer has apparently recollected “the thought” because of seeing someone. This someone must have had an impact on their life between the writer's perfect childhood and the current time.
It is my opinion that the event(s) which blocks the perfect childhood from the present consciousness is never truly uncovered. It could be surmised that it occurred close to childhood, since that is the time which is both “perfect” and repressed. Perhaps that was the intent of the writer(s), to acknowledge people who have had a traumatic event in their life and have a longing for a “perfect” time in their childhood.
I'm a fan of LP but yeah, this song makes me laugh a little. When I listened to it for the first time I was on the train and trying not to laugh because it sounded so weird and sorta superficial, but seriously, the others have a point--why waste your time bagging a band on a lyrics website if you really hate it that much?
And btw don't bag emoticons =] =] =]
From the top to the bottom, bottom to top, I stop
At the core I've forgotten, in the middle of my thoughts
Taken far from my safety, the picture is there
The memory won't escape me, but why should I care?
^the person is 'going' around his memories, and realizes they only have bad memories and completely forgot everything good.that makes them dangerous for themselves.they are wondering why do they evn care about the past
There's a place so dark you can't see the end
Skies cock back and shock that which can't defend
The rain then sends dripping, acidic questions, forcefully
The power of suggestion
^that probably describes their mind, trapped in their bad memories
Then with the eyes shut
Looking through the rust and rot and dust
A small spot of light floods the floor
And pours over rusted world of pretend
And the eyes ease open and it's dark again
^they find some kind of hope, forget for a while, but that doesn't last long
In the memory you'll find me, eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly, until the sun rises up
^people have forgot them because of their struggle and they remind people they are still there.they think that one day,eventually(maybe when they die) they will forget about everything
the second verse, again describes that person's mind, and the line:And the memory now is like the picture was then
When the paper's crumbled up, it can't be perfect again
means that once something/someone put something bad in their memory, they can never be completely happy again.
Now you got me caught in the act, you bring the thought back
I'm telling you that, I see it right through you
^that is probably about someone that reminds them,and all of their bad memories crush back on them
great song
In the memory you'll find me
Eyes burning up
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up
to me, i think it means that he has lost someone he loves, i'm thinking through death and that the only way he can find them again is through memories as they are no longer there and everytime he thinks of them his eyes burn up with tears.
i think the darkness bit refers to how he finds comfort in darkness, or perhaps lying in bed and night tucked up in his duvet, whilst he thinks of this person and the memories "hold" him tighlty until the sun comes up when he has to get on with his day to day life.
probs wrong but that's just my interpretation.