painting the night unreal
out-glossing neon ,selling sex-appeal
cheaper thrills and instant visions ;
dreams that men will steal

barge in on softer shoes
putting stickers on the darker hues
carnivores in pink polyester
dig that L.A. ruse

those family ties ,those brainless insulting big lies
that bald-eagle seal,so that we know it isn't real

initiate and commence countdown
there's a new sheriff in town
paint the night in your favourite shade
before the colours all fade,the thrills all decay
untill there is nothing but mediocrity on display

keep it contained and still
put some meaning in those sugared pills
let them dream their sweet psychosis
syndicate their thrills

the greatest scam ,the soft white underbelly of uncle Sam
the stench and the pain you can never contain


Lyrics submitted by MooWasHere

Painting The Night Unreal song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a briliant comment on the U.S.A., a country with which MP have something of a love-hate relationship with. On their first album lobotomizer was already a tune which seemed to be about America (home of the brave).

    What makes this tune special for me is that I listened to it a lot befor and after septer 11th 2001 and it strikes me how much the lyrics seem to be about everything that has happened since. What the singer (Bent) is trying to say, i think, is that nothing much has changed since the days of the Vietnam war, though a lot of people in th U.S. would deny that. These days they still 'barge in' (Irak), only on 'softer shoes'. 'Putting stickers on the darker hues', the media in the U.S. are controlled mainly by large corporations and aren't really objective about what terrifying things are going on in the U.S.

    A new sheriff in town seems to be about George W. Bush, although i think they wrote the song prior to his election......

    the bald eagle, well, we all know what happened to him. He became extinct. Who shot one of the last bald eagles? I think it was a president, but i'm not shure. The bald eagles seal is still used, even though the animal has been extinct for years. So is the american dream. They are still trying to sell it, but it has lost it's shine a long time ago.

    wernerkoekon May 01, 2003   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.