Any Bright Eyes fan will know that Conor is pulling in his handful of hang-ups/images/go-to obsessions.
SUCH AS:
-Machinery
"Distorted sounds on oscilloscope".
An oscilloscope is a machine that creates images of sound waves. 'Course Conor cites machinery used depicting/representing a function that is alien to it, such as in "Danny Callohan" "whose heart beats electrical".
-Cocaine references
"I was dressed in white, touched by something pure"
-Elliott Smith references
"Slipping steadily into madness, now that's the only place to be free" and an echo of "distorted" twice in another verse.
vs.
"A distorted reality is now a necessity to be free" which is the name and chorus of an ESmith song.
ETC ETC ETC.
That aside, I'm not sure what heavy love is referring to.
Could it be...
A relationship that requires two people to be equally committed? That seems to ignore the rest of the lyrics perhaps. But may make the most sense when the chorus stands alone.
The necessity of Conor to have his bandmates help him put his emotions/experiences to music.
Conor's relationship with his fans, who rely on his music to connect to their own lives.
But what's the namesake, "Shell Games" for which he says "it's a shell game"
It being...
The music industry/Bright Eyes itself as a project?
Love itself, involving oneself in a relationship?
The fulility of trying to connect your life to music or art, which could, perhaps never be enough to get you through.
Well if you know what a shell game is, it's a game of chance. It's when a bead, or marble of some sort, is placed under a cup (or shell) and there are two empty cup. A person moves it around and the one playing the game has to guess which cup the bead is under.
Well if you know what a shell game is, it's a game of chance. It's when a bead, or marble of some sort, is placed under a cup (or shell) and there are two empty cup. A person moves it around and the one playing the game has to guess which cup the bead is under.
So I'm going to assume it is your second choice, a relationship. Being that the chorus is also about love. Your other ideas don't seem to really go along with the idea of a shell game.
So I'm going to assume it is your second choice, a relationship. Being that the chorus is also about love. Your other ideas don't seem to really go along with the idea of a shell game.
"Cocaine references
"I was dressed in white, touched by something pure""
"Cocaine references
"I was dressed in white, touched by something pure""
I don't take this as being about cocaine (for once haha!) but rather about his cassadaga period when he let go of old beliefs and explored spiritualism, all the while always dressed up in white suits. What do you guys think?
I don't take this as being about cocaine (for once haha!) but rather about his cassadaga period when he let go of old beliefs and explored spiritualism, all the while always dressed up in white suits. What do you guys think?
Any Bright Eyes fan will know that Conor is pulling in his handful of hang-ups/images/go-to obsessions.
SUCH AS:
-Machinery "Distorted sounds on oscilloscope".
An oscilloscope is a machine that creates images of sound waves. 'Course Conor cites machinery used depicting/representing a function that is alien to it, such as in "Danny Callohan" "whose heart beats electrical".
-Cocaine references "I was dressed in white, touched by something pure"
-Elliott Smith references "Slipping steadily into madness, now that's the only place to be free" and an echo of "distorted" twice in another verse. vs. "A distorted reality is now a necessity to be free" which is the name and chorus of an ESmith song.
ETC ETC ETC.
That aside, I'm not sure what heavy love is referring to.
Could it be...
But what's the namesake, "Shell Games" for which he says "it's a shell game"
It being...
Well if you know what a shell game is, it's a game of chance. It's when a bead, or marble of some sort, is placed under a cup (or shell) and there are two empty cup. A person moves it around and the one playing the game has to guess which cup the bead is under.
Well if you know what a shell game is, it's a game of chance. It's when a bead, or marble of some sort, is placed under a cup (or shell) and there are two empty cup. A person moves it around and the one playing the game has to guess which cup the bead is under.
So I'm going to assume it is your second choice, a relationship. Being that the chorus is also about love. Your other ideas don't seem to really go along with the idea of a shell game.
So I'm going to assume it is your second choice, a relationship. Being that the chorus is also about love. Your other ideas don't seem to really go along with the idea of a shell game.
"Cocaine references "I was dressed in white, touched by something pure""
"Cocaine references "I was dressed in white, touched by something pure""
I don't take this as being about cocaine (for once haha!) but rather about his cassadaga period when he let go of old beliefs and explored spiritualism, all the while always dressed up in white suits. What do you guys think?
I don't take this as being about cocaine (for once haha!) but rather about his cassadaga period when he let go of old beliefs and explored spiritualism, all the while always dressed up in white suits. What do you guys think?
Sorry for this, but an oscilloscope is used to measure the voltage across electrical equipment, not for sound waves.
Sorry for this, but an oscilloscope is used to measure the voltage across electrical equipment, not for sound waves.
And the heart pumps because of electrical impulses, which is why defibrillators work.
And the heart pumps because of electrical impulses, which is why defibrillators work.