This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Burst into heaven
Kissing the cotton clouds
Arctic sheets and fields of wheat
I can't stop coming down
Your shrunken head
Looking down on me above
Send me home like an elephant stone
To smash my dream of love
Dreaming till the sun goes down
And night turns into day
Rooms are empty I've got plenty
You could move in right away
It seems like there's a hole
In my dreams
In my dreams
In my dreams
Down through the heavens
Choke on the cotton clouds
Arctic sheets and fields of wheat
I can't stop coming down
Your shrunken head
Looking down on me above
Send me home like an elephant stone
To smash my dream of love
Did your bed and bookshelf go
And run run run away
These four walls saw the rise and fall
And your midnight getaway
Seems like there's a hole
In my dreams
Or so it seems
Yet nothing means anything
Anymore
Kissing the cotton clouds
Arctic sheets and fields of wheat
I can't stop coming down
Your shrunken head
Looking down on me above
Send me home like an elephant stone
To smash my dream of love
Dreaming till the sun goes down
And night turns into day
Rooms are empty I've got plenty
You could move in right away
It seems like there's a hole
In my dreams
In my dreams
In my dreams
Down through the heavens
Choke on the cotton clouds
Arctic sheets and fields of wheat
I can't stop coming down
Your shrunken head
Looking down on me above
Send me home like an elephant stone
To smash my dream of love
Did your bed and bookshelf go
And run run run away
These four walls saw the rise and fall
And your midnight getaway
Seems like there's a hole
In my dreams
Or so it seems
Yet nothing means anything
Anymore
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I Can't Go To Sleep
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Agreed. The album version is far supirior to the other mix... I'm of the opinion it's about a guy who thinks...rather highly of himself, we'll say. But he's brought down to earth "like an elephant stone" by the girl of his dreams wanting nothing to do with him.
Anybody heard the Mint Royal version, completeley different track should be included on every chill out CD. I thought an Elephant Stone meant a massive stash of drugs or something to do with South American folk law? Sounds like a Heroine inspired track to me, not sure if messrs Brown and Squire were par takers of the old brown though? always reminds me of coming down of a pill though
This is my interpretation too.
This one time I was madly in love with a girl, and I thougt she was just as madly in love with me. But one night after some drinking she broke the news, the following weeks were just like this song. So that's what it's about to me, losing that dream of being with a certain person or having love in your life, and not knowing what to do without it.
I always thought it was "feels like there's a HOME in my dreams". Because in a way, our dreams are a pure expression of our internal self - they are an exclusive construction of our thoughts, memories, desires etc.
The whole song is surreal.
"Send me home like an elephant stone" - reminds me of the bizarre and heavy transition into the dream world of sleep.
Love the 'elephant trumpeting' distortion in the beginning ^^
Never really said drugs to me. Generally just a brilli\nt song and the lyrics can sound superb if your feeling a particular way.
Such an upbeat song about a guy who gets rejected by a lass. I love it.
Another way of listenin to this track is to play it after, Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead, u'll see magic happen, not the long version, the shorter version, with the guitar intro rather than the drum intro. Genius arrangement.
@playboi I'll try this but I like the drum intro version better........
It's about liking somebody and thinking they think the same about you, then consequently being let down. We've all been there. I love how The Roses take negetive stuff like that and put it in an upbeat context, brilliant!
in my opion this is the best ever song writtin, the structure of it, ians voice, manis bass, ians fantastic riffs and reni stunning drumming. its got to be about a girl who u thinks needs you but there is a delay and in reality see just knocks you down in one. you have got to have a gud imagionation to write stuff like this.
"It's about a girl… who I don't see anymore". (John Squire)
It's an absolutely brilliant tune. I especially like the outro of the song.