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"
Hand me down halo
Halo hello
Hand me down halo
I saw you (I saw you)
Asleep In the car (asleep in the car)
On the first wave out of a fallen town
They follow to another cell (hand me down halo)
(halo hello)
They follow to another cell (hand me down halo)
To another cell (halo hello)
I watched you (I watched you)
From the bars of my room (from the bars of my room)
Always got a suntan at the first light of every Sunday
And your broken teeth, like a mangled screen
And your burnout smile on your ashtray face
Made me sick
You always made me sick
Made me sick
You always made me sick
(take my cell now)
Have a cigarette. have an omelet
(take my cell now)
A little nasty. a little balloon
(take my cell now)
Have a cold sore. have a nightmare
(take my cell now)
A little memory. a little history
Have a problem. have a collapse
A little sympathy. a little sympathy. (made me sick. you always made me sick)
(take my cell now)
Have a pager. have a baby
(take my cell now)
A little medicine. a little discipline
(take my cell now)
Have a lie down. have a sugar hand. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
A little hassle. a little enemy. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
Have a number. have a wallet chain. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
A little nickname. a little self pity. (20, 40, 68...)
Halo hello
Hand me down halo
I saw you (I saw you)
Asleep In the car (asleep in the car)
On the first wave out of a fallen town
They follow to another cell (hand me down halo)
(halo hello)
They follow to another cell (hand me down halo)
To another cell (halo hello)
I watched you (I watched you)
From the bars of my room (from the bars of my room)
Always got a suntan at the first light of every Sunday
And your broken teeth, like a mangled screen
And your burnout smile on your ashtray face
Made me sick
You always made me sick
Made me sick
You always made me sick
(take my cell now)
Have a cigarette. have an omelet
(take my cell now)
A little nasty. a little balloon
(take my cell now)
Have a cold sore. have a nightmare
(take my cell now)
A little memory. a little history
Have a problem. have a collapse
A little sympathy. a little sympathy. (made me sick. you always made me sick)
(take my cell now)
Have a pager. have a baby
(take my cell now)
A little medicine. a little discipline
(take my cell now)
Have a lie down. have a sugar hand. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
A little hassle. a little enemy. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
Have a number. have a wallet chain. (20, 40, 68...)
(take my cell now)
A little nickname. a little self pity. (20, 40, 68...)
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'hand me down halo'
This halo might represent drugs; a worldly escape. It's a temporary 'savior', but it increasingly exhausts the user each and every time.
I speculate it's about a girl. She may be the singer's muse or someone who simply at one point was innocent, and yet to be corrupted. In his eyes she is an angel, blinded by love. But nobody can be perfect. Nobody's an angel. Hand-me-downs are usually worn, tattered, or weathered in some way or another; so is this woman. It's a hand me down halo since he assigns her this idealistic image; he's in love with the idea of her. She's fallen from Heaven, but her 'halo' is just a symbol of his love for her; it is imagined. It is given to her from him. It is a hand me down halo, and like most other hand-me-downs, it's bound to deteriorate. Keep the song in this context, and it's about him watching her decay into someone he hates, because of an addiction or drug use in general.
'a little nasty. a little balloon' 'they follow to another cell, to another cell' this definately seems to be referring to drugs, cocaine or heroin probably. MountedTigerHead is on the right track. second lyric is regarding finding drugs; calling dealers, using middle men. It wastes a whole bunch of time.
suppose you're dating this girl and she, at some point, let's out "one could rap over pinback scores- that'd be way too cool". what's your take? should this itself be considered enough to break up?
yes, break up immediately.
This seems like one of the ultimate pissed/depression songs. Just the way the song progresses and the ending... hm, I don't know how to put it, but it really does give you this whole negative vibe. It's a great song. I love the feeling it gives off, because when your in the right mood, it feels like the only song that can ease your mind. I guessed it would be calmingly negative.
Now, I've heard someone mention how Pinback likes to pick random historical places or names to name their songs. Maybe this one is no different. Clemenceau was the leader of France during WWI. The only thing I can sense that would cause some kind of depression or shame by looking at this guy's wiki is this: As a framer of the postwar Treaty of Versailles, he opposed leniency toward Germany after WWI. Since most people believe the effects of his decision contributed to the events that lead to World War II, Clemenceau's historical reputation can be argued to have suffered as a result. Face it: because of this man's decision to be too hard on Germany in WWI, WWII began even more swiftly and deadly. Anywho, this song is definitely one of the most depressing I have ever heard. I listen to it whenever I feel down.
When Rob and Zach were in Illinois they went to a Diner before a show and got into a little scuffle with some locals. They were all sick white trash southern types, twenty years behind the times, who think that having a huge Zach Morris cell phone and pager on your belt is totally awesome. This is like their only overtly negative song, and it's about the south and people who think having a confederate flag in the back of your truck window next to your commemorative 8 and 3 for Dale and his boy is the way to show your patriotism.
"When Rob and Zach were in Illinois they went to a Diner before a show and got into a little scuffle with some locals. They were all sick white trash southern types, twenty years behind the times, who think that having a huge Zach Morris cell phone and pager on your belt is totally awesome. This is like their only overtly negative song, and it's about the south and people who think having a confederate flag in the back of your truck window next to your commemorative 8 and 3 for Dale and his boy is the way to show your patriotism."
Have you looked at a map recently?
What i would like to know is how you stubbled upon that little piece of information. If true it would give meaning to this song but how do you know tdamcbigity? Anyways this song is awesome. Sure its depressing but all pinback songs hide a dark message. The difference is that this songs dark message isnt hidden.
I think it's maybe about being sickened by a junkie and/or a drug dealer, or just some trashy-type person.
"...your broken teeth, like a mangled screen and your burnout smile on your ashtray face."
Herion? Meth? Maybe a little of both?
There's several things in the "Have a..." list part of the song that seem to point to this, too ("a little medicine"). "Have a pager" -- who else has pagers today other than doctors and drug dealers?
All I can say is that the downtrodden and sullen mood of this song has always put me at ease. Another legendary Pinback song.
and your broken teeth, like a mangled screen and your burnout smile on your ashtray face
As an aside, these must be the most negative and insulting Pinback lyrics I can think of. "You're unkind and a liar" hardly compares to the sentiment expressed by these lines.