Just when you've found your way to
The boiler room
They come to dig you out
With picks and shovels and
Acetylene torches

I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
Behind the bony walls of my skull
There was playing a lullaby

La la la la la la la la la la la, la la la la la

We're just trying to be free
Of our bodies
Our stomachs full of liquor
And our lungs
Full of water

I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
Behind the bony walls of my skull
There was playing a lullaby

La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la, la


Lyrics submitted by twitty

Tears on Fresh Fruit Lyrics as written by Mark Linkous

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Tears on Fresh Fruit song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    If this song is about anything, it seems to be about emotional detachment or the inability to communicate or connect emotionally.

    He's watching some girl crying. Meanwhile thinking about how her tears are dripping onto his fruit - presumably ruining the fruit for him.

    You might think he should be concentrating on the girl - why is she upset? What can he do to help her? Instead, he seems to be worried about the fruit.

    Similarly, he can't get a pretty, lullaby tune out of his head - even though it's inappropriate for the moment.

    gravitydwarfon January 30, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is brilliant. the "la la la la" is so fitting, to my mind anyway. there's moments when you feel like...what am i doing??? why am i thinking of this stupid song? why am i so useless? i definitely agree with you gravitydwarf. and i think the verses are about how he's found this warm safe place, but as soon as he gets there they "come and dig you out", he is unearthed again. and they were just trying to be free of emotion and pain, but it's hard to avoid.

    luey_babyon January 30, 2008   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    i don't think the narrator is worried about fresh fruit in the literal sense. he's dead, unable to console her. the first verse, just when you found your way (dead) they come to pick you apart (autopsy) and with acetylene torches (used in cremation). the narrator can do nothing but watch this girl mourn as he enters the crematorium.

    with regards to the fresh fruit, i believe she's holding a newborn, and as seen from a dead man's eyes, he is wondering why she cries with a new life in her arms. his primary concern is the baby, as he tries to sing a lullaby that only he can hear, behind his skull.

    that or the person being buried/cremated is just a baby (the fresh fruit), and the narrator is a silent observer unable to see a fit way to be of help/consolation to the bereaved mother, so he plays/sings a lullaby for the kid in his head.

    crustyknickerson June 09, 2011   Link

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