You can huff and you can puff
But you'll never destroy that stuff
Finally, I see why, I suppose
Kid, you better change your feathers
Cause you'll never fly with those things
In "These Nights," the boys sing
"Hello, emptiness
I heard you're alright
I've heard you're alright
I've heard of you"

A body aching, fragile, and pale
Dark valleys house its trail
Why can't you see that a life in art and a life of mimicry
It's the same thing?!

The room was crowded
And, though you couldn't care less about it, that much was true
That month
Another version of this miniature Rome to set fire to
Why did we stop fucking around?
Girls like gazelles graze
Boys wearing bells blaze new trails in sound

I looked up
I looked around
A famous Toronto painter shot me down
"Oh, I've busted my ass on these streets too long," he said
I set fire to the bed and tore his gown

Felt some mercurial presence, hitherto unknown
It was the sun, it was a stone falling through blank space
It was that jewel-encrusted roan getting in my face

Looked across the way to The Princess Rooms
I saw brides and their grooms
I heard the sound of bells ringing

Cinders look back fondly upon a house on fire when across
An ocean we go
We row and we row and we tire

Now, step out of the darkness and into the light
Yeah, it's common knowledge I've been doing alright
No, I can't complain
On the East side, midwives' lives go down the drain
All cause our babies are dying

I lifted the veil to see nature's trickery revealed as pure shit
From which nothing ever rose cause nothing ever could
I swear somewhere the truth lies within this wood
I swear, "Looters' Follies" has never sounded so good
And, win or lose, what's the difference?


Lyrics submitted by asymm

Looters' Follies Lyrics as written by Daniel Bejar

Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Looter's Follies song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    "Kid, you better change your feathers cause you'll never fly with those things..." i dont know why, but i love it

    janexsayson January 28, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song = pure poetry.

    "Why can't you see that a life in art and a life of mimicry -- it's the same thing!!"

    It seems like it's just about being stuck in a rut, or in neutral. It's always secure to have some sort of position in life, whether it is bad or good. But what if you're neither here nor there? It's even worse than being at the negative end of the spectrum.

    "And win or lose - what's the difference?"

    musicforlife!on June 06, 2006   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    This is just Dan's natural thinking process from many years of studying society and mundane human habits

    Bodhitreeon February 21, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    imho, the line "Why can't you see that a life in art and a life of mimicry -- it's the same thing!!" is Dan Bejar once again showing his dislike of hipster culture.

    this song references two of my favorite singer-songwriters. "i've been doing alright" is a reference to the bob dylan song "if you see her, say hello" and "no, i can't complain" is a reference to the way Leonard Cohen was known to reply saying "can't complain" whenever asked how he was.

    vulgaron May 19, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yea the apathy throughout this song is very apparent

    jjc886on April 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i really feel like this song is comparing a normal, work a steady job, have a house and kids kind of lifestyle versus a life in the music industry. where you're taking a big risk being out there and nobody expects you to make it. and even though he feels like he's doing what he loves, the people who lead normal lives look down on him because he leads a different lyfestyle than them.

    just my take on the song.

    nightblumpkinon May 04, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "Why can't you see that a life in art and a life of mimicry -- it's the same thing!!" my favorite line.

    realfreakaynaughtyon February 09, 2009   Link

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