This song I'm almost POSITIVE, (although there are tons of interpretations of all of The Shins's songs) is about religion, and the false sense of importance it can give people: making them seem strong and fullfilled, when actually it is just a veil over their real-life problems.
One hand on this wily comet,
Take a drink just to give me some weight,
Some uber-man I'd make,
I'm barely a vapor
[the song starts out with Mercer already realizing that people 'drink up' religion to feel some type of grounding; He clearly knows he's nothing but a vapor so he's not going to pretend to be some kind of uber-man because of a belief.]
They shone a chlorine light on,
A host of individual sins,
[Chlorine is a cleaning agent, so this line is showing how a religion can 'clean' up your sins]
Let's carve my aging face off,
Fetch us a knife,
Start with my eyes,
Down so the lines,
Form a grimacing smile,
[this is about the 're-birth' that some people believe a religion can give you. but its artificial, just like carving your face up to look younger and happier.]
Close your eyes to corral a virtue,
Is this fooling anyone else?
[this is about praying. Who are you fooling?]
Never worked so long and hard,
To cement a failure,
[self explanatory: you have to work so hard at religion just to bury up your failures under cement.]
We can blow on our thumbs and posture,
But the lonely is such delicate things,
The wind from a wasp could blow them,
Into the sea,
With stones on their feet,
[How people blow themselves up and act like religion has made them so strong and grounded, but it didn't solve their problems, they are still extremely fragile just as before, and if they get pushed down they arent quick to jump back up]
Lost to the light and the loving we need,
{People who are very religious can be blind to the love of others, which is more beneficial to personal strength than the love to a deity or higher power which could not even be real.]
Still to come,
The worst part and you know it,
There is a numbness,
In your heart and it's growing,
[they are covering up their troubles with a fake happiness from their religion, so basically they are numb, and feel nothing because they've shut out their emotions.]
With burnt sage and a forest of bygones,
I click my heels,
Get the devils in line,
[burnt sage is used to ward off devils, so they are using 'ritual' to get rid of sins and demons instead of facing tem.]
A list of things I could lay the blame on,
Might give me a way out,
[saying that things that they have done that may seem like 'sins' or 'wrongdoings' in the church, they can blame on demons or the devil, basically just pinning troubles on something else in order to rid themselves of them.]
But with each turn,
It's this front and center,
Like a dart stuck square in your eye,
[No matter which way you look at it, its very clear in your face and to the point that...]
Every post you can hitch your faith on,
Is a pie in the sky,
Chock full of lies,
A tool we devise,
To make sinking stones fly,
[...a religion is a false, full of lies, just creeted by humanity to keep the people that are 'sinking' soaring with the rest of them.]
And still to come,
The worst part and you know it,
There is a numbness,
In your heart and it's growing.
[same as said before]
James Mercer is a lyrical genius. I've still to find another artist who can keep their listeners guessing and analyzing their lyrics as well as he does. Been a strong fan of The Shins for years! :)
This song I'm almost POSITIVE, (although there are tons of interpretations of all of The Shins's songs) is about religion, and the false sense of importance it can give people: making them seem strong and fullfilled, when actually it is just a veil over their real-life problems.
One hand on this wily comet, Take a drink just to give me some weight, Some uber-man I'd make, I'm barely a vapor [the song starts out with Mercer already realizing that people 'drink up' religion to feel some type of grounding; He clearly knows he's nothing but a vapor so he's not going to pretend to be some kind of uber-man because of a belief.]
They shone a chlorine light on, A host of individual sins, [Chlorine is a cleaning agent, so this line is showing how a religion can 'clean' up your sins] Let's carve my aging face off, Fetch us a knife, Start with my eyes, Down so the lines, Form a grimacing smile, [this is about the 're-birth' that some people believe a religion can give you. but its artificial, just like carving your face up to look younger and happier.]
Close your eyes to corral a virtue, Is this fooling anyone else? [this is about praying. Who are you fooling?] Never worked so long and hard, To cement a failure, [self explanatory: you have to work so hard at religion just to bury up your failures under cement.]
We can blow on our thumbs and posture, But the lonely is such delicate things, The wind from a wasp could blow them, Into the sea, With stones on their feet, [How people blow themselves up and act like religion has made them so strong and grounded, but it didn't solve their problems, they are still extremely fragile just as before, and if they get pushed down they arent quick to jump back up] Lost to the light and the loving we need, {People who are very religious can be blind to the love of others, which is more beneficial to personal strength than the love to a deity or higher power which could not even be real.]
Still to come, The worst part and you know it, There is a numbness, In your heart and it's growing, [they are covering up their troubles with a fake happiness from their religion, so basically they are numb, and feel nothing because they've shut out their emotions.]
With burnt sage and a forest of bygones, I click my heels, Get the devils in line, [burnt sage is used to ward off devils, so they are using 'ritual' to get rid of sins and demons instead of facing tem.] A list of things I could lay the blame on, Might give me a way out, [saying that things that they have done that may seem like 'sins' or 'wrongdoings' in the church, they can blame on demons or the devil, basically just pinning troubles on something else in order to rid themselves of them.]
But with each turn, It's this front and center, Like a dart stuck square in your eye, [No matter which way you look at it, its very clear in your face and to the point that...] Every post you can hitch your faith on, Is a pie in the sky, Chock full of lies, A tool we devise, To make sinking stones fly, [...a religion is a false, full of lies, just creeted by humanity to keep the people that are 'sinking' soaring with the rest of them.]
And still to come, The worst part and you know it, There is a numbness, In your heart and it's growing. [same as said before]
James Mercer is a lyrical genius. I've still to find another artist who can keep their listeners guessing and analyzing their lyrics as well as he does. Been a strong fan of The Shins for years! :)