This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
A backwards march
My back against meadows of fear
Where it all began
And there's a hunt, for they seek the whom
And the purest of hearts let their spirits be consumed
There's a new world laid at your feet
We build an army from nothing
We raise our children to the beat it's comforting pounding
A forward talk
Solely against old ways and means
We're not like them, nesu
I'm on a hunt to find the cure
And before I depart into the deepest blue
Behind all insecurity, there is a wall of assurance
She is her own worst enemy
She fights her battles for no one
There's a new world laid at your feet
We build an army from nothing
We raise our children to the beat of its comforting pounding love
Let it sink in for a new beginning
You know better now
Water fills her lungs and she's inhaling
You feel better now
Underneath the stars her body sinking
You do better now
A heavy sigh then not a sound
We have no lives to sacrifice
She makes us sing, dampens the cries
If there's a want for something new
You might find me at the start or where it ends for you
My back against meadows of fear
Where it all began
And there's a hunt, for they seek the whom
And the purest of hearts let their spirits be consumed
There's a new world laid at your feet
We build an army from nothing
We raise our children to the beat it's comforting pounding
A forward talk
Solely against old ways and means
We're not like them, nesu
I'm on a hunt to find the cure
And before I depart into the deepest blue
Behind all insecurity, there is a wall of assurance
She is her own worst enemy
She fights her battles for no one
There's a new world laid at your feet
We build an army from nothing
We raise our children to the beat of its comforting pounding love
Let it sink in for a new beginning
You know better now
Water fills her lungs and she's inhaling
You feel better now
Underneath the stars her body sinking
You do better now
A heavy sigh then not a sound
We have no lives to sacrifice
She makes us sing, dampens the cries
If there's a want for something new
You might find me at the start or where it ends for you
Lyrics submitted by imagesofme, edited by Stockholm, plays
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Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
The videos are completely random and full of nothing but random bizarre images, right? Wrong. They actually tell a story that is tied into a Arabic, African, AND European legends about something quite unexpected... Let me explain. I think I have this figured out.
Something we should start with is looking more in depth at the continuous imagery of the white substance on Jonna Lee (the singer and woman in all of the iamamiwhoami videos), on the plants, the mud on Jonna Lee, and the constant plant references throughout all of the videos.
So, first thing's first, what do the numbers in the first six introduction videos mean? Let's decipher them, shall we?
699130082.451322-5.4.21.3.1.20.9.15.14.1.12:
FIIAC**HB.DEACBB-E.D.U.C.A.T.I.O.N.A.L
9.1.13.669321018:
I.A.M.FFICBA*AH
9.20.19.13.5.723378:
I.T.S.M.E.GBCCGH
13.1.14.4.18.1.7.15.18.1.1110:
M.A.N.D.R.A.G.O.R.A.AAA*
15.6.6.9.3.9.14.1.18.21.13.56155:
O.F.F.I.C.I.N.I.R.U.M.EFAEE
23.5.12.3.15.13.5-8.15.13.5.3383:
W.E.L.C.O.M.E-H.O.M.E.CCHC
Mhm. It says: "Welcome home. I am educational. It's me, Mandragora Officinirum."
It's significant to note that one of the numbered videos spell out "mandragora" and "officinarum," otherwise known as the mandragora, or, the mandrake plant. The mandrake root, according to ancient folklore, is believed to have grown where a hanging man's semen spilled onto the ground, hence the white substance throughout the videos.
Philip de Thaun was an Anglo-Norman who wrote a book in the first half of the 20th century. In this book "Bestiary," de Thaun, says the following about the mandrake: "It has two roots, the make of a man and a woman."
(HA! Jonna and the mystery man!! But waittt, it gets better...) "The man who is to gather it must fly around about it; must take great care that he does not touch it - then let a dog be bound - let it be tied to it." Following these guidelines are instructions to starve the dog, then after three dogs, offer the dog some bread. Naturally, the dog will come running to the food in your hand. Then... "the dog will draw it to him; the root will break; it will send forth a cry; the dog will fall down dead." This explains the six dogs, then the following six graves/crosses in two of the introduction videos!
(I AM AM I WHO AM I = I AM MANDRAKE. Let's continue...)
"...if the man heard it, he would directly die - therefore, he must stop his ears and take care that he does not hear the cry. When one has the root, it is of great value for medicine, for it cures every infirmity - except only death."
The six dogs turn up dead in the introduction videos, this is obvious at seen by the six crosses used as tombstones. I believe Jonna's character in these videos is actually one half of the root (the man being the other; in U-1, it almost seems like they are connected and unified as one) and her voice is symbolic of the mandrake's cry. The cry, as stated above, is believed to be deadly, but also a miracle plant to cure all illness (just like love and faith can be the cure for all despair and sorrow, as well as the perfect weapon to diagnose pain and agony). This is why the tags for the Youtube videos relate so much to life and death. Such examples include the following tags on the introduction videos: fetus, umbilical cord, habitat, moisture, disciple, amniotic fluid, nest, lay, mount, etc.
Here is another paragraph I found interesting, and this imagery is in several of the iamamiwhoami videos: "A cut of the female mandrake root" ... "cases the figure of a naked woman with the plant shooting into leaf and flower from her head." (Which was blatantly seen in "N")
Also note that mandrake superstition has been rampant through human ages. As I've said, it's associated with providing life and causing death (more often, death). Some common synonyms for the mandrake are: Satan's Apple, Mandragora, Devil's Testicles, etc. Here is another paragraph I found informative:
"The officinarum variety is yellow-greenish; the autumnalis variety is purple. The flowers are born on separate stalks, which emerge from the centre of the leaf-rosette. They later give rise to the golden yellowish fruits, that are often referred to as 'apples', which they resemble, though their size approximates more that of a crab-apple or mirabelle. The fruit has a pleasant scent. The root can grow to over half a meter (2 feet) in length and is often strangely forked, which has given rise to anthropomorphic associations, likening their appearance to a human male or female body shape. The root has a tough brown rind but is white inside. The leaves emerge directly from the crown of the root." (Hence the crown she wears in "T") So, why is Jonna covered in black-brown while maintaining her long, blonde locks? Because her body symbolizes the root in the ground, covered in dirt, and (as stated) it has a "brown rind but is white inside."
The white is shown in "Y" as Jonna sings in the paper house, covered in mud, and her paper dress represents the inner white inside the root. Her hair symbolizes the yellow leaves. Plain and simple. Also, in "T," Jonna is seen covered in the white substance while wearing a crown ("the leaves emerge directly from the crown of the root").
Here is another paragraph: "Mandrake originates in the eastern Mediterranean region and is distributed throughout southern Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, where it grows in waste places and abandoned fields in sandy and rocky, well draining soil. There is also a species that is endemic to the Himalaya. Nowadays it is cultivated in gardens north of the Alps, but doesn't naturalize there, as it needs a warm and protected setting." This is why Jonna is standing in a flower pot, surrounded by other leaves, in a greenhouse in "O." She IS the mandrake root. She needs that warm and protect setting. Get it?
Let's address the constant use of six: six was the quantity of dogs, berries, and cats throughout the videos. Six dogs, six cats, six berries. 666, right? Well, it isn't Satanic symbolism; it's just an allusion to the devil and the end, simply because the mandrake has been called The Devil's Apple and The Devil's Testicles. The use of 666 simply signifies the end of a bond. Once you understand the mythology behind the mandrake, iamamiwhoami's videos make MUCH more sense.
So, here's the big question: Why even use the mandrake symbolism and allusions?
Well, the mandrake was believed to have a male and female root, right? The root belonged to one plant, one organism, one creation, one being, one idea. This can be symbolic of a love or bond that held significant meaning. However, the root was ripped from the ground and split in two. The female root shrieked, giving birth to Jonna's voice and lyrics.
In case you haven't noticed, the lyrics are about a love / significant connection to someone or something gone horribly wrong.
"B" is the initial love / connection. "O" is the sudden halt this love / connection takes. "U-1" is total remorse for this ending. "U-2" is the continued remorse. "N" is the insecurities brought on by this newly found independence. "T" is learning that one has potential by oneself, with or without this person / idea. "Y" is merely IAM personifying her / their hope and moving on.
:)
Wwwwwow. That is amazing. It makes total sense now that I look back at all the videos. The hanged man over the potted plant, the references to sexuality and love, fruits. I mean, i got the mandrake reference with the cardboard(?) puppet (because it reminded me of Harry Potter, haha) but i would have never looked at the whole project the way that you did. I knew that the videos were telling a story and tied together, having to do with a plant of some sort but, wow. I give you major props and I totally respect you for looking so deeply into it. Bravo. <br /> I seriously just looked at the project and thought, wow, this is such awesome visual and musical art, i've never seem something like it i'm totally diggin it. hahah
Mind. Blown.<br /> Congratulations to you sir.
here's my second go after spending every minute of July with this bleedin tune in my ears
A backwords march my back against meadows of fear where it all began and there's a hunt for they seek the whom and the purest of hearts let their spirits be consumed
there's a new world laid at your feet we build an army from nothing we raise our children to the beat of it's comforting pounding love
a forward talk solely against old ways and means we're not like them, as you I'm on a hunt to find the cure and before I depart into the deepest blue
behind all insecurity there is a wall of assurance she is her own worst enemy she fights her battles for no one There's a new world.....
Let us sing here for a new beginning you know better now water fills her lungs as she's inhaling you feel better now underneath the stars her body sinking you do better now a heavy sigh then not a sound
we have no lives to sacrify the nature sings dampens the cries if there's a want for something new you might find me at the start or where it ends for you
The song and lyrics are just amazing. Thank you for uploading them so fast :)
Thanks for lyrics
I think it might be "there's a new world laid at your feet, we build an army from nothing". I also hear in the chorus "water fills her lungs and she's inhaling".
I hear it as "every silent naught we sound". Also, "Throw my body at the sky, where the angels look"
I lied. It sounds like "The air is silent, not a sound".
I think it says "water fills her lungs and she's in heaven"
also I think she's saying "you know by now"
Another shot at it!
A backwords march, now back again ........? fear, where it all began And there's a hunt for they seek the whom And the purest of hearts .........?
There's a new world laid at your feet we build an army from nothing we raise our children to the beat of it's comforting pounding love (or bounding)
I also hear
a backwords march my back against meadows of fear where it all began and there's a hunt for they seek the whom and the purest of hearts let their spirits be consumed
:>S
Considering the 20101104 video, instead of "you walked my life, you took it back" which makes no sense, I hear "I am the wife you sacrificed"
Followed by "You made your sin that turned the ground" (aka the hanged man jizzing on the pot and then it moves)<br /> <br /> We already know "water fills her lungs and she's inhaling" is foreshadowing 20101104, I think the key to understanding that video is in these lyrics