I've earned myself an impossible crime
I have to paint myself a hole and fall inside
and if it's far enough in sight and rhyme
I get to wear another dress and count in time

Oh won't you do me the favor man
of forgiving my
poly-morphing opinion here
on your vague outline

Find myself another burning gate
a pretty face, a vague idea I can't relate
And this is what you get for pulling pins
another hole inside the hole you're in

It's like I'm perched on the handlebars
of a blind man's bike
No straws to grab just the rushing wind...
on a rolling mind

They'll want you to decide
eventually it happens
Some gather on one side
with all their pearlys snapping

They close the basement door
that sets our teeth to chatter
You never saw it before
but now that hardly matters

You're old enough boy
too many summers you've enjoyed
So spin the wheel we'll set you up
with some odd convictions
as you're finally golden boy

It's like I'm perched on the handlebars
of a blind man's bike
No straws to grab just the rushing wind...
on a rolling mind


Lyrics submitted by heyheyhey111, edited by NexusA, PapaBrain, pinkredrabbits, embiggenator

Split Needles song meanings
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  • +8
    General Comment

    The beginning of this song, I think is both from the perspective of the boy we've been following since sleeping lessons, and James Mercer. James Mercer has been clever enough to convey ideas that aren't touched on in many albums because of the sheer gravity and grimness they portray.
    Either way, our main character has fallen to a level where he can no longer assess the world around him in a coherent manner.
    "This is what you get for pulling pins out of the hole inside the hole you're in." This is what happens when you start questioning life to a point where you cannot find hope for yourself, because it all has become grim and meaningless. But you are pushed along regardless. Some decide to go along with the side of angels and gods, gathering with "all their pearly snapping." Those who choose not to belive are closed inside the basement, a cold and dark place. And though the boy may not have realized what this meant when he started rejecting religion at the beginning of this album, he realizes it now, and now it hardly matters.

    Regardless he is pushed forward, society asks him to make decisions about life and a career, because the warmth of summer and ignorance is over, and its time to join those who have come before him.

    ladybug87on November 03, 2006   Link

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