Her name is Yoshimi
She's a black belt in karate
Working for the city
She has to discipline her body

'Cause she knows that it's demanding
To defeat those evil machines
I know she can beat them
Oh Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me

Those evil-natured robots
They're programmed to destroy us
She's gotta be strong to fight them
So she's taking lots of vitamins
'Cause she knows that it'd be tragic
If those evil robots win
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi

'Cause she knows that it'd be tragic
If those evil robots win
I know she can beat them

Oh Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat me
Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots defeat me
Yoshimi they don't believe me
But you won't let those robots eat
Yoshimi


Lyrics submitted by SpaceManSpiff

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1 Lyrics as written by Michael Ivins Dave Fridmann

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 song meanings
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  • +7
    Song Meaning

    This song's about breast cancer... The pink robots are a metaphor for the ribbons and she has to tackle each cell and harsh moment one by one. Not matter what happens, she should be positive and not stress on life. Such a gorgeous song. =)

    SystematicChaosAliciaon February 01, 2011   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    Who cares what he's really writing about.

    All you die hard fans can rest assured you know the truth.

    But I think this website promotes personal response/ meaning through actuality AND subjective internalization.

    I don't even listen to the Flaming Lips but the first time I heard this song it brought me to tears - sometimes music just has the words you need/ want to hear.

    I don't care if this 'she' is 'really battling robots' because all I know is that there was me in a car battling Maryland.

    AmyLizKon August 09, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    To me, this song is about depression. It reminds me of two depressed people who have ot one time or another consoleed eachother. The speaker in the song is trying to tell Yoshimi, whoever that might represent, to keep fighting the depression, that she will win eventually. He's also telling her that she has helped him in the past to get through the sorrow, ("you wouldn't let those robots eat me") , and that if she can keep the "robots"/depression from destroying him, she can do the same for herself. She souldn't give up. He's saying that she has to be strong, but she can defeat the robots in the end.

    commutronon December 31, 2004   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    OK so here's what I think, not that it matters, but oh well.

    The song's about and independent woman's battle with PMS....yeah, I said it. Think about it, it all makes sense. The PINK (suggests feminine) robots are the PMS, and she has to defeat her own PMS by disciplining her body and taking vitamins [midol], for the narrator and everyone's sakes. Because, 'It'd be tragic if those evil robots win'. Everyone knows what women are like when those evil robots win!! Haha, but no seriously, it's not fun....

    Boonerangon October 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think it's about love. I mean, I know that's hella generic, but the lyrics are so weird that all I can get is he likes this Yoshimi chick a lot. It almost reminds me of being a little kid, and maybe Yoshimi is a story you made up about your mom. I don't know. You put something better out there!

    slugsinthefieldson March 04, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I've got a live recording of them performing this song for a private show, and beforehand, Wayne talks about the song. Since I'm supposed to be working on a project, I'll summarize what he says, since its a long story. When they record songs in the studio, they are doing things really fast and just laying down a lot of tracks, and the part two actually came first. They were recording it with a girl named Yoshimi (she's the screaming girl), from a Japenese band The Boredoms. They were giving it a bunch of "silly joke titles", and Wayne just came up with Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, since she screams a lot and "it sounds like this horrible machine is either trying to kill her or have sex with her or something like that". The Lips had also been working on a "melancholy melody" they hadn't really gotten very far on yet, for about a year. The line "Yoshimi, they don't believe me" popped up from Wayne from the title, and he started coming up with this whole story that didn't have much to do with Part Two. He says that the Yoshimi in the song isn't related to the real one at all, her name was just excellent for rhyming. He goes on to say how the track version has a very uplifting feel to it, that she will undoubtedly win the battle, and they then play a version of the song where she probably won't win. Its really awesome.

    ZeroOneon December 14, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I just noticed that

    But you won't let those Robots eat me Yoshimi They don't believe me

    is a haiku. This is probably a coincidence though.

    johnkneeon December 08, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    As far as I'm concerned this may well be just be a random little nonsense ditty about Yoshimi P-We of Boredoms (she's the girl in the video eating fruit), but the fact that there are so many differing interpretations is wonderful. Is it about love, drugs, politics, cancer, nature... who knows? Well, Wayne of course. But even if there's nothing to the lyrics beyond being a fantasy story about one of his mates, the fact that it touches so many different people on so many different levels is a weird kind of heartwarming.

    stygimolochon November 27, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I've been listening to this song since I was a kid but only started to really listen to the lyrics and interpret the meaning a few years ago... Like most songs it has multiple meanings, each one for each person but I used to imagine Yoshimi was battling schizophrenia, hallucinating that she had to fight these pink robots to save someone she loved while taking anti-psychotics ('vitamins') to help her... Still one of my favourite songs of all time and makes me cry sometimes...

    eemmiillyyon January 09, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    whatever it means im sure its great, lol, all i know is the actual song rules. w00t (^_^)

    w0fzon March 05, 2003   Link

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