a man should die gaunt,
and not bloated and overdone,
there should be new words hidden,
in the shadows on his face,
and like a wine glass, in a perfect pitch, he breaks,

we're being dumped into order out of buckets of sea salt,
what was the first condiment?

but always one rose grows though a littered lot of gravel,
or we're struck dumb and doomed when it doesn't

flowers are how plants laugh,
and not by joke or to ridicule,
i never saw my parents,
try to make a thing like me

in time in the bathroom mirror,
i learned to accept my body.

i got jumped into living by a coven of midwives,
under a dracula-caped eclipse,
like cutting through watermelon meat with a wire,
you shoot sick from the hip and never miss.

all the things inside me i assume,
are doing what they need to be doing,

and always one rose grows though a littered lot of gravel,
or we're struck dumb and doomed when it doesn't.
always one rose grows though a littered lot of gravel,
or we're struck dumb and doomed when it doesn't.

looks like a sky for shoeing horses under..
looks like a sky, of some kind


Lyrics submitted by shitscold

One Rose song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Oh man, the shout out to a sky for shoeing horses under makes me shiver.

    leahperon July 27, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Personally, I'm not too into the sound of the new album and I feel that the songs on this album are less personal and emotional than both Alopecia and Elephant Eyelash. That being said, One Rose is my favorite or second favorite song from Eskimo Snow. I think that Yoni wrote this song to explain how he feels that he doesn't fit in with society and has trouble relating to those around him. He feels as though something must be physically wrong with him that causes this separation between him and others but he can't distinguish what that is as shown with the line "all the things inside me i assume, are doing what they need to be doing." Yoni ends the song with "looks like a sky for shoeing horses under..looks like a sky, of some kind" which refers back to the song from Alopecia. In A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under, this line essentially means to give up and to move on. In that song, Yoni was referring to moving on in his musical career away from cLOUDDEAD. Yoni returns to the same idea and applies the same concept in this song; however, in One Rose Yoni is dealing with his life in general particularly his youth and his uncertainty of how to go about life. He debates whether or not to go on with life in a world where he feels misunderstood or to end it all in suicide.

    HappiestManAliveon December 11, 2009   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    The whole song is about one's worth and society's perception of it, and how distorted and inertly and inherently it is measured and used (under the assumption that no absolute worth of any human can be measured)

    It starts with losing dignity in old age by trying to stay young (hear Act Five for Yoni's views on age), and than, establishing that natural course is much more adequate (new words in shadows of his face - something to learn from the elderly) and elegant (wine glass - very elegant, perfect pitch - inevitable cause for death: AGE).

    "Dumped into order" - as soon as we get born we are put into place... "buckets of sea salt" new age ways of baby delivery maybe? In a tub at home in salt water and new age stuff like that... "What was the first condiment (blood)" - we started our life by "sucking" blood, who cares about delivery methods (you just swallow the cold and follow your breath until death - Gemini - Birthday Song)...

    Great people often get overshadowed and suffocated by the mass and ruggedness of the average masses, and sometimes they withstand, but sometimes they dont... and it is sad, but true.

    "Flowers are how plants laugh, and not by joke or the ridicule" means that smart and good people don't express themselves in spite of others, but because it's what they are... beautiful. He never saw his parents try to make him what he made of himself, because he made himself worthy and great. Bathroom mirror shows the contrast of beautiful interior and weird exterior, two world that need to be connected some way...

    "jumped into living" - whether he likes it or not

    "Under a dracula caped eclipse"... off into bloodsucking world, healthy baby, off you go...

    "like cutting watermelon meat with a wire" meaning with such ease and suggesting abortion, "you shoot sick from the hip and never miss" - from the hip meaning skillfully and routinely, shoot sick and never miss meaning killing an unworthy potential member of society...

    "all the things inside me..." meaning guess i was and am worthy...

    Before "this is a sky for shoeing horses under" I thing he rhythmically sighs "suff-o-cate"

    cutDownToSizeon September 08, 2018   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "this song is easily the worst song on the album, if not the worst why? song ever."

    Seriously? In the Shadows of My Embrace, One Rose, and On Rose Walk Insomniac are my early favorites off the album (only listened to it once). One Rose is awesome. I love the beginning of it. It sounds nothing like the usual Why? weirdness, but it's great.

    metalninjacakeon August 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The sky for shoeing horses under part im pretty sure is refering to suicide. According to the song from Alopecia, "sky for shoeing horses under," it ends as, "looks like a good sky to die under.

    ComaLogicon August 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "i never saw my parents, try to make a thing like me in time in the bathroom mirror, i learned to accept my body." This line was used before in the Odd Nosdam song "Kill Tone Two"

    wisdom cubeon September 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I am almost sure that there's answer to "what was the the first condiment"... I hear "blood" in the background.

    sensitiveeyeson September 14, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ...Or we/re struck dumb and doomed when it doesn/t.

    Brilliant.

    Mr. Shiveron October 21, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I believe the sky for shoeing horses line is referring to an ugly rainy day as that would be a perfect day to bring a horse into the stables to shoe it.

    miahhhon December 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I actually really like this. But then again I like everything Yoni does.

    yoyobyebyeon February 22, 2010   Link

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