Say what?
You move really fast
I saw you screaming at top floor
Big window crash
I'm deaf
So what'd you have to do that for?
Him?
On giving it up
You chew a little foil
You can't return
To us
To us
To us
You chew a little foil
You can't return
To what
To what
To what
To what
Do... giving it up
And chewing on foil
Have in common?
Bags are packed
And out back
Out back

Hold back the road that goes
So that the others may too
That you let me in
Just to pour me down
Their mouths
x8



Lyrics submitted by b_you, edited by SlitYourInstincts

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11 Comments

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  • +4
    My Opinion

    This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.

    Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.

    teradymeon March 25, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Last 3 minutes of this song are awesome.

    FaaipDeOaidon August 27, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I still don't get it. (Suicide? Drugs? Surrealism?) But I love it.

    To quote Rev. Maclean: "we can still love them - we can love completely without complete understanding."

    caulton July 31, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I've only ever heard the Incubus cover of this but it's beautiful...

    Zytheon April 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is brilliant. No idea what it's about! :)

    reiko7176on January 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    What DO giving it up and chewing on foil have in common? j-play. I totally get it, Craig.

    triceratopson July 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    not sure, but maybe this is a song about a guy that experimented with homosexuality. the fool around some, become friends and then the guy goes back to his old friends and makes fun of gay ppl or the band.... *shrugs...who knows? anyone

    obliviousion May 06, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really think this is about being cheated on and leaving that person that cheated on you. Not saying this is the correct interpretation, but you can fit the lyrics into that context.

    isatakon January 08, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always thought it was about a relationship fight. They're still together at this point, but there's trouble on the horizon. Craig's stuff is always spatial, impressionistic. Very much HOW he sings the words is as important or more important than the words even. You can hear the emotion in it. Think like you're reassembling a puzzle from fragments of an experience in realtime.

    segue10412on September 23, 2021   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is truly a work of art, just as every song he writes. There is no denying the lyrics are sublime emotionally charged triggers that conjure strong imagery, even taste, and odd juxtapositions of ideas. The line: "To what, to what, to what Do Giving it up, and chewing on foil have in common?" Is one contiguous, and ironic question. An obvious expression of futility and association. So,
    can you answer it? I think it's the central focus of the song. And then, the the last line, which might be 'did you let..' not sure, but, the meaning seems to be a
    sentiment of invitation, of enablement; the granting of accessibility to a new, unusual concept which could very well be Craig's own creative potentiality

    I have been pondering these lyrics since I first heard this in 1994. It's an enigma.

    We need Craig himself to visit us and shed light on this unmistakably exquisite piece of avant garde rock. I will attempt to contact him.

    SlitYourInstinctson March 30, 2023   Link

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