[ James Mercer tells us this is about a middle-aged woman which is fairly straightforward from the lyrics. All of her imaginative dreams are lost simply because she contents herself with her present, humdrum existence, and this in turn has caused her to become a crude parody of Himmler, although, ironically, she supposes herself to be holding on to much greater things (religion). In the poem, it becomes evident that her only chance is to make the commitment to change her life right as the speaker makes the offer. If she decides to wait, nothing will ever happen. ]
Time to put ze earphones on. . .
No!
(Born to) Born to multiply, [ born with no grander purpose ]
Born to gaze into night skies, [ but also with a desire for such a grander purpose ]
When all you want’s one more Saturday. [ wanting nothing more than trivial pleasures ]
Well, look here, until then
they gonna buy your life’s time [ your life is traded for your job ]
So keep your wick in the air and your feet in the fetters [ meant reprovingly: keep yourself shackled to the present life and let yourself be burned away ]
‘Til the day. . .
We come in doing cartwheels. [ they shake things up ]
We all crawl out by ourselves. [ contrast cartwheels/crawl; they enter with rejuvenation, but leave in a crippled state ]
And your shape on the dance floor
Will have me thinking such filth I’ll gouge my eyes. [ causing him either to lust (see Matthew 5:29) or, possibly, be repulsed ]
You’ll be damned to be one of us, girl, [ to trade her ordinary life ]
Faced with the dodo’s conundrum [ the contradiction of a bird that can't fly ]
I felt like I could just fly [ he felt like he could exceed his real physical limitations ]
But nothing happened every time I tried. [ because James Mercer is a dodo ]
Oh duotone on the wall
The selfless fool who hoped he’d save us all
He never dreamt of such sterile hands. [ she has a picture of Jesus on her wall, who she purportedly follows, but in effect she doesn't actually try to live up to His commands ]
You keep them folded in your lap, [ going along with the flow, with what's ordinary ]
Or raise them up to beg for scraps, [ accepting whatever menial comforts are available ]
You know, he's holding you down
With the tips of his fingers just the same. [ her false sense of religion does not incite her to accomplish anything; 'tips of his fingers'-- not a real burden except that she lets it become one (see also Matthew 11:28-30) ]
Will you be pulled from the ocean,
But just a minute too late, [ saved, but only after death, not experiencing any transformation in life ]
Or changed by a potion,
And find a handsome young mate
For you to love. [ a miraculous and unrealistic change; instead of vainly hoping for a magic transformation she should be taking real steps to change herself in the now ]
You'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes, [ yearning to exceed her self-imposed limitations ]
You know you'd trade your life for any ordinary Joe’s, [ any change would be better than her continued existence ]
Well do it now or grow old. [ this is your chance, lady ]
Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold. [ if she just waits for something to happen, there is no hope anything ever will ]
Been alone since you were twenty-one, [ alone ever since she left her family ]
You haven't laughed since January. [ living a life devoid of vigor ]
You try and make like this is so much fun, [ trying to justify its value ]
But we know it to be quite contrary. [ but actually, it really sucks ]
La la la la la la la [ means, basically, “la la la la la la la” ]
Dare to be one of us, girl, [ have the courage to exceed these limitations ]
Facing the android's conundrum, [ the paradox of being alive but without personality/love/awareness, etc. ]
You see I felt like I should just cry, [ as he felt that he could fly ]
But nothing happens every time I take one on the chin, [ but androids can't cry; he remains callous ]
You Himmler in your coat [ she has been a humorless, strict totalitarian of rigid beliefs ]
You don't know how long I've been,
Watching the lantern dim,
Starved of oxygen, [ watching the fire of life be extinguished ]
So give me your hand,
And let's jump out the window. [ let's break away from the confines of our present existence (see the previous reference to 'windowpanes') ]
[ James Mercer tells us this is about a middle-aged woman which is fairly straightforward from the lyrics. All of her imaginative dreams are lost simply because she contents herself with her present, humdrum existence, and this in turn has caused her to become a crude parody of Himmler, although, ironically, she supposes herself to be holding on to much greater things (religion). In the poem, it becomes evident that her only chance is to make the commitment to change her life right as the speaker makes the offer. If she decides to wait, nothing will ever happen. ]
Time to put ze earphones on. . . No!
(Born to) Born to multiply, [ born with no grander purpose ] Born to gaze into night skies, [ but also with a desire for such a grander purpose ] When all you want’s one more Saturday. [ wanting nothing more than trivial pleasures ] Well, look here, until then they gonna buy your life’s time [ your life is traded for your job ] So keep your wick in the air and your feet in the fetters [ meant reprovingly: keep yourself shackled to the present life and let yourself be burned away ] ‘Til the day. . . We come in doing cartwheels. [ they shake things up ] We all crawl out by ourselves. [ contrast cartwheels/crawl; they enter with rejuvenation, but leave in a crippled state ] And your shape on the dance floor Will have me thinking such filth I’ll gouge my eyes. [ causing him either to lust (see Matthew 5:29) or, possibly, be repulsed ]
You’ll be damned to be one of us, girl, [ to trade her ordinary life ] Faced with the dodo’s conundrum [ the contradiction of a bird that can't fly ] I felt like I could just fly [ he felt like he could exceed his real physical limitations ] But nothing happened every time I tried. [ because James Mercer is a dodo ]
Oh duotone on the wall The selfless fool who hoped he’d save us all He never dreamt of such sterile hands. [ she has a picture of Jesus on her wall, who she purportedly follows, but in effect she doesn't actually try to live up to His commands ] You keep them folded in your lap, [ going along with the flow, with what's ordinary ] Or raise them up to beg for scraps, [ accepting whatever menial comforts are available ] You know, he's holding you down With the tips of his fingers just the same. [ her false sense of religion does not incite her to accomplish anything; 'tips of his fingers'-- not a real burden except that she lets it become one (see also Matthew 11:28-30) ] Will you be pulled from the ocean, But just a minute too late, [ saved, but only after death, not experiencing any transformation in life ] Or changed by a potion, And find a handsome young mate For you to love. [ a miraculous and unrealistic change; instead of vainly hoping for a magic transformation she should be taking real steps to change herself in the now ]
You'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes, [ yearning to exceed her self-imposed limitations ] You know you'd trade your life for any ordinary Joe’s, [ any change would be better than her continued existence ] Well do it now or grow old. [ this is your chance, lady ] Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold. [ if she just waits for something to happen, there is no hope anything ever will ]
Been alone since you were twenty-one, [ alone ever since she left her family ] You haven't laughed since January. [ living a life devoid of vigor ] You try and make like this is so much fun, [ trying to justify its value ] But we know it to be quite contrary. [ but actually, it really sucks ]
La la la la la la la [ means, basically, “la la la la la la la” ] Dare to be one of us, girl, [ have the courage to exceed these limitations ] Facing the android's conundrum, [ the paradox of being alive but without personality/love/awareness, etc. ] You see I felt like I should just cry, [ as he felt that he could fly ] But nothing happens every time I take one on the chin, [ but androids can't cry; he remains callous ] You Himmler in your coat [ she has been a humorless, strict totalitarian of rigid beliefs ] You don't know how long I've been, Watching the lantern dim, Starved of oxygen, [ watching the fire of life be extinguished ] So give me your hand, And let's jump out the window. [ let's break away from the confines of our present existence (see the previous reference to 'windowpanes') ]