Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
There's a smell here that stands my hairs on end
Dog hair in the heater, gas pumps and cedar
And jackknifes on the nine
And seabirds choked on fishing line
Clouds are a hush but the chainsaws mush on to Custer and Columbia
Salty tentacles drink in the sun but the red tide is over
The mollusks they have won
There's a smell here of gravel and cigarettes lit
When the match made them sweet
When the engine turned over and beat up our street
Oh, that was the day
To remember
I remember because of the fires that leapt
From the caves of the things that have not happened yet
When I think of it now they smell to me quite sinister
I want to go back and die at the drive in
Die before strangers can say
I hate the rain
I hate the rain
Dog hair in the heater, gas pumps and cedar
And jackknifes on the nine
And seabirds choked on fishing line
Clouds are a hush but the chainsaws mush on to Custer and Columbia
Salty tentacles drink in the sun but the red tide is over
The mollusks they have won
There's a smell here of gravel and cigarettes lit
When the match made them sweet
When the engine turned over and beat up our street
Oh, that was the day
To remember
I remember because of the fires that leapt
From the caves of the things that have not happened yet
When I think of it now they smell to me quite sinister
I want to go back and die at the drive in
Die before strangers can say
I hate the rain
I hate the rain
Lyrics submitted by JoyAndJubilee, edited by tiggertai
Red Tide Lyrics as written by Paul Andrew Rigby Neko Case
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Techno Ted
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Holiday
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Dreamwalker
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Just A Little Lovin'
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
I think this song is about a traditional fishing town which has been ruined by modern culture. Possibly Neko has had some experience with it when she was young and then came back years later to find it urban and dirty. The 'I hate the rain' is probably a metaphor, with rain being modern culture.
It's been driving me crazy what this song reminds me of, and I just realized: it sounds like "London Calling" by the Clash. So it's weird, 'cause I love "London Calling," but this might be my least favorite of her songs from any of her albums but The Virginian.
Ok, I don't understand it fully, but I'm going to give it my best go... I think it's about the war between nature and humanity; how natural places are being developed. The first stanza is perhaps about an industrial plant- she's commenting on how ugly and disgusting it is, and how this type of development kills animals. "Seabirds caught in the fishing line"- animals are dying because people are careless with the environment. In the second stanza, the "clouds say hush"- through storms and desolation, nature is trying to "warn" people to stop polluting, but the "chainsaws", people who are logging and cutting down trees, continue doing what they are doing. 'Mush" implies these people are doing what someone else orders them to, like sled dogs. I know Custer was a famous general who died in a battle against native Americans- a battle he was expecting to win with ease. Perhaps she's saying that if we ignore nature's warnings and don't stop ruining the environment, we're all going to suffer. I know that a red tide is an algal bloom that makes seafood toxic. It's an example of a natural phenomenon that "fights back" against people killing and eating shellfish, I guess, and the fact that it's over means that people are finally able to control nature to a certain extent. The next stanza I think she's talking about watching a childhood home be demolished, and her horror at the inhumanity and artificiality of the machine. The last stanza is definitely about her nostalgia- drive-in movies are a thing of the past, and she wishes she wasn't alive to see them ( and the other things she loved) fade away. She loves nature, so it hurts her to hear people disparage it and be unable to see the beauty in it ("die before strangers can say 'I hate the rain'"). She regrets what people and time have done to the world and place she loves. This is my interpretation.
The song is about Neko Case's disillusion with how commercial Washington state is becoming.
Custer and Columbia are cities in Washington state.
The red tide is reference to bio-toxins shellfish are releasing in Pacific County and how they are extremely poisonous.
The fire is a reference to the wildfires that has been consuming that area on and off since the late 90s.
The only nostalgia here is for the early 90s Seattle where people didn't consistently remark on how they "hate the rain".
It is a very regionally-conscious song.
Debatably my favorite song on the new album. Either this one or The Pharaohs/Prison Girls. I have no comment on what the lyrics might mean, I'm not so good with figuring things like that out.
I saw Neko yesterday (GREATNESS), and before they played this song (which is amaaaaaazing), she said it was a song about breaking up with a city, in this case Seattle, Washington. She said Seattle is not a good boyfriend of a town. I had no idea of this, and about halfway through the song, the line "I hate the rain" randomly clicked and made sense. =]
LOL - the breaking up with Seattle explanation makes so much sense. Last time I lived there, there was definitely a smell I hated. :P
seeing neko perform this on jimmy fallon a few hours ago, i suddenly heard it differently... i can't say i quite know what she's talking about, but i love how it sounds and how it feels... especially this part:
I remember because of the fires that leapt From the caves of the things that have not happened yet When I think of it now they smell to me quite sinister
I want to go back and die at the drive in Die before strangers can say I hate the rain I hate the rain
For some reason, this always reminds me of the movie "The Mist"; weird monsters invading, wetness and debris everywhere, probably all sorts of smells.
Someone needs to make a perfume out of these smells. I'd wear it. @,@
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide