When I can work out how it was
Then I'll tell you
TV stained my memories, yeah
I don't think that she's

Remember through sounds
Remember through smells
Remember through colors
Remember through towns with fear and fascination
On what was here and what's replacing them now

Interchange plazas and malls
And crowded chain restaurants
More housing developments go up
Named after the things they replace

So welcome to Minnow Brook
And welcome to Shady Space
Well it all seems a little abrupt
No I don't like this change of pace



Lyrics submitted by numb, edited by moistoyster

Novocain Stain Lyrics as written by Isaac Brock Eric Judy

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Novocain Stain song meanings
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49 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    i agree...also in the lonesome crowded west "i didnt come to the city the city came to me" alot of midwestern/western artist have to come to terms with the ubrbanization of that area and STUFF (i.e. desaparacidos) sad :(

    kay_sayson March 09, 2003   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    why dont you guys just look at the GOD DAMN CD COVER it has the lyrics. jesus h christ

    sublimestyleeon February 07, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song, more than any other defines what Modest Mouse was about in the early days

    lunatic96on August 22, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Yep it is about the changes in growing up as a human and how it is mirrored in the way you view your changing surroundings.
    The best part of a male/female relationship is the early simple part where even the smell of her hair can send you off-- 10 years into marriage it isnt so common.

    Seeing your boring, but comfortable town turn into a generic suburb of something larger and less pure is one of those same feelings.

    Regardless, people in both situations tend to live in denile and refuse to acknowledge the change and face it. So you have urban sprawl and shopping centers called "Sunny Meadows"

    Bellyfull of Swanson January 07, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    More housing developments go up Named after the things they replace.

    i love it.

    nofxskater516on February 10, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think that this song is stating that change is wrecking a lot of things.. that shouldn't be..changed. Saying that people are building and replacing things, and we have forgotten the more simple and wonderful things in life, that we should pay more attention to. That's just what i believe.

    perfectdisguiseon October 10, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "More housing developments go up Named after the things they replace So welcome to Minnow Brook And welcome to Shady Space"

    Wow. Possibly the best Modest Mouse lyric ever. It's pretty literal, so I won't go into 'what it means'.

    The song as a whole is about the idea of 'progess', and how, maybe, it was better off to begin with...

    "Remember her sounds Remember her smells Remember her colors"

    'Remember' suggests that those things aren't there any more. Why? Because of progress!

    CircleTriangleon April 15, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    So wrong, so wrong, this is what the lyrics are when investigated through EXPENSIVE headphones, folks-

    When I can work it how it was, Then I'll tell you, TV state my memories, yeah, I don't fit their shoes...

    Remember through sounds, remember through smells, remember through colors, remember through towns with fear and fascination on what was here, and what's replacin' 'em now...

    Interchange, plazas and malls, and crowded chain restaraunts, more housing developments go up, named after the things they replace, so welcome to Meadow Brook, and welcome to Shady Space, well it all seems a little abrupt, well no I don't like this change of pace...

    For variations on this theme, see: The View, Teeth Like God's Shoeshine, Convenient Parking, Cowboy Dan, A Different City, The Cold Part, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes, Custom Concern, Beachside Property, Ohio, I'm sure there's even more.

    God Bless Modest Mouse.

    tundradesert81on June 17, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    humans are the disease killing the world and issac is the cure, modest mouse for president!!!! haha

    xxlocobassistxxon December 04, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    More housing developments go up Named after the things they replace So welcome to Minnow Brook And welcome to Shady Space And it all seems a little abrupt

    Anyone that lives in Jersey can attest to the truth of this.

    Wayward-Airmanon August 28, 2008   Link

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