This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
This rock of ours is just some big mistake
And we will never know just where we go
Or where we have came from
These veins of mine are now some sort of fuse
And when they light up and my mind blows up
My heart is amused so
This heart of mine is just some sort of map
That doesn't care at all or worry about where the hell you're at
But you're right there
Well, I've been meaning to dismiss you
Yeah I have some plans to dismiss you
So stand by, by, by, by, bye-bye
Wave bye, sugar boats!
As soon as you paint every last grain of sand
As you soon as you paint every star
In the sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky
Wave bye, sugar boats!
Well, I'm swatting at mosquitoes as they're orbiting me
I'm orbiting the sun and this goes on and on and on, you see
This heart of mine is just some broke machine
And when it gets a-goin', and it often gets goin'
It starts blowin' steam
Here we go again!
This rock of ours is just some big mistake
And we will never know just where we go
Or where we have came from
This watch of mine is like some sort of void
Cause when I look in, and I shouldn't look in
I, I see it swallow my time
Oh no, there it goes!
I ain't getting on no fast plane
Hell, I ain't getting on no stuffy train
Sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine
The sugar boats, they're just fine
I'll stand on the deck so you could see
I'll stand on the deck you could wave bye, bye, bye, bye
Here's the ghost that goes and waves bye, bye, bye, bye
I'm the ghost that goes and waves bye, bye, bye
And we will never know just where we go
Or where we have came from
These veins of mine are now some sort of fuse
And when they light up and my mind blows up
My heart is amused so
This heart of mine is just some sort of map
That doesn't care at all or worry about where the hell you're at
But you're right there
Well, I've been meaning to dismiss you
Yeah I have some plans to dismiss you
So stand by, by, by, by, bye-bye
Wave bye, sugar boats!
As soon as you paint every last grain of sand
As you soon as you paint every star
In the sky, sky, sky, sky, sky, sky
Wave bye, sugar boats!
Well, I'm swatting at mosquitoes as they're orbiting me
I'm orbiting the sun and this goes on and on and on, you see
This heart of mine is just some broke machine
And when it gets a-goin', and it often gets goin'
It starts blowin' steam
Here we go again!
This rock of ours is just some big mistake
And we will never know just where we go
Or where we have came from
This watch of mine is like some sort of void
Cause when I look in, and I shouldn't look in
I, I see it swallow my time
Oh no, there it goes!
I ain't getting on no fast plane
Hell, I ain't getting on no stuffy train
Sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine
The sugar boats, they're just fine
I'll stand on the deck so you could see
I'll stand on the deck you could wave bye, bye, bye, bye
Here's the ghost that goes and waves bye, bye, bye, bye
I'm the ghost that goes and waves bye, bye, bye
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher, edited by ke1kun, Passenger146, McWeird007
Sugar Boats Lyrics as written by Eric Judy Isaac Brock
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I believe this song is about futility and general bleakness of life. "This rock of ours is just some big mistake, and we will never know..." means that the subject has looked for a big picture and found no real answers and doesn't expect to. "Sugar Boats" seems to refer to the pleasures that keep us going, but as we all know, sugar dissolves in water. "Sugar Boats" refers to how we chase the things that are great, but only for a bit. That may include drugs, as other commenters have said. The "veins" lyric may be a reference to this. The subject seems displeased about circumstances, but isn't motivated to make any real changes. The subject says "I've been meaning to dismiss you... as soon as you paint every last grain of sand; as soon as you paint every last star in the sky." This is a reference to one of God's promises to Abraham in the Old Testament (his descendants would number in vast, immeasurable quantities), but I believe the lyric boils down to the fact that the "dismissal" will never happen as both tasks would take an immeasurably long time. "Swatting at mosquitoes" and "Orbiting the sun" refer to futility and the face that man cannot change course in the grand scheme of things. If you're somewhere there are mosquitoes, swat all you like - more will come. They fly around you for blood despite the threat of death because it's what they do. Similarly, people fly around the Sun on "this rock of ours" chasing those things they're driven to. The following lyrics about the subject's heart are an example of how we can't control our heart's desires and it gets us going chasing things repeatedly. ("Here we go again!") The watch as a void that the subject looks into refers to wasting time and being aware of it, but doing it anyway. The lyrics: "I ain't getting on no fast plane Hell, I ain't getting on no stuffy train Sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine" mean that the subject realizes it's possible to try other things get somewhere, but chooses not to. He or she uses weak justifications to avoid boarding a train or plane to some new destination. The subject would rather board a "sugar boat" that will be a fun trip until it dissolves.
Correct lyrics :
This rock of ours is just some big mistake, And we will never know just where we go, Or where we have came from, These veins of mine are now some sort of fuse, And when they light up, and my mind blows up, My heart is amused, So this heart of mine is just some sort of map, That care about or worry about Where the hell you’re at But you're right there.
Well, I've been meaning to dismiss you, yeah, I had some plans to dismiss you so, Stand by, by, by, by, by, by, Where's my sugar boats? As soon as you paint every last grain of sand as soon as you Soon as you paint every star in the sky, sky sky, sky sky Where's my sugar boats? So I’m swatting at mosquitoes as they’re orbiting me, I'm growing in the sun, And this goes on and on and on you see, This heart of mine is just some broke machine, And when it gets going and it often gets going, and blowing steam, Here we go again.
This rock of ours is just some big mistake, And we will never know just where we go, Or where we have came from, This watch of mine is just some sort of book, Because when I look in and I shouldn't look in, I see it swallow my time, oh no.
Well, I ain't getting on no fast plane, Hell I ain't getting on no stuffy train, My sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine, The sugar boats they're just fine, I'll stand on the decks so you could see, I'll stand on the decks so you could wave, Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, Here's a ghost that goes and waves bye, Bye, bye, bye, bye, Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.
I'm the ghost that goes and waves bye, Bye, bye, bye, bye. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
Better, but not entirely right, either. There are a couple instances where these lyrics are of.
@NotYetThere <br /> <br /> Feel free to correct them/add your version.
@Cyberghost I took your original lyrics and modified them after listening to this song multiple times with headphones...<br /> <br /> This rock of ours is just some big mistake,<br /> And we will never know just where we go,<br /> Or where we have came from,<br /> These veins of mine are now some sort of fuse,<br /> And when they light up, and my mind blows up,<br /> My heart is amused,<br /> So this heart of mine is just some sort of map,<br /> That doesn't care at all or worry about<br /> Where the hell you’re at<br /> But you're right there.<br /> <br /> Well, I've been meaning to dismiss you, yeah,<br /> I had some plans to dismiss you so,<br /> Stand by, by, by, by, by, by,<br /> Where's my sugar boats?<br /> As soon as you paint every last grain of sand as soon as you<br /> Soon as you paint every star in the sky, sky sky, sky sky<br /> Where's my sugar boats?<br /> Well, I’m swatting at mosquitoes as they’re orbiting me,<br /> I'm orbitin' the sun,<br /> And this goes on and on and on you see me,<br /> This heart of mine is just some broke machine, <br /> And when it gets going and it often gets going, and it starts blowing steam,<br /> Here we go again.<br /> <br /> This rock of ours is just some big mistake,<br /> And we will never know just where we go,<br /> Or where we have came from,<br /> This watch of mine is like some sort of void,<br /> Cause when I look in and I shouldn't look in,<br /> I see it swallow my time, oh! there it goes! .<br /> <br /> Well, I ain't getting on no fast plane, <br /> Hell I ain't getting on no stuffy train,<br /> The sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine,<br /> The sugar boats they're just fine,<br /> I'll stand on the decks so you could see,<br /> I'll stand on the decks of you and wave,<br /> Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye,<br /> Here's a ghost that goes and waves bye,<br /> Bye, bye, bye, bye,<br /> Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.<br /> <br /> I'm the ghost that goes and waves bye,<br /> Bye, bye, bye, bye.<br /> Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
So this heart of mine is just some sort of map, That doesn't care about or worry about Where the hell you’re at But you're right there.
This song would seem to be largely about injecting drugs.
"These veins of mine are now some sort of fuse, and when they light up and my mind blows up, my heart is amused."
Shooting up drugs would probably make one's veins light up and mind blow up. Can't think of what else would.
The meaning of the term "Sugar Boats" escaped me until just today as I was listening to 3rd Planet from M&A, where he says "our blood is just like the Atlantic." When he says, "the sugar boats on the Atlantic are fine," my guess is that the Atlantic is once again his blood, and the sugar boats are drugs, possibly cocaine since that is the most likely to be compared to sugar.
@sslotsky I respectfully disagree. this song is about humanity and being a human being. If your interpretation of the songs leads you to it being about drug use that is fine but modest mouse lyrics are never that cliche. There is always more as you look deeper into it.
@joel101542 I can accept that this song is about more than just shooting up drugs, but there are a couple references that don't seem like they could be about much else. I could easily be wrong of course, but those lines I mentioned paint those pictures for me.
@joel101542 also I don't know how you can say that "their lyrics are never that cliche." First, I wouldn't say that making a metaphor for drug abuse is cliche. Fairly common maybe, but not the same thing IMO. Second, The Good Times Are Killing Me is completely about drug abuse, is it not? So why would he not allude to a topic metaphorically that he's written an entire song about? Just some thoughts that occurred to me. Interested to know what you think it's about specifically, as "humanity and being a human being" is pretty vague and doesn't say a lot.
@sslotsky just wanna start by saying that the fact we're talking about this is awesome and I don't wanna get into a comment war or anything and anyone who listens to the mouse is cool with me. And i won't deny that the best part of modest mouse is how each person can find something personal to relate to in a mm song and take it in different ways. For me he's never singing about drug use in a glamorized manner. it's part of life weather you use or not. and the metaphors are relatable. I'm trying to drink away the part of the day that I can not sleep away. Basically what I get from most mouse is that we are here, we don't know why, our habbits dictate who we are and that's okay. Sometimes the songs are fun (float on) and sometimes they are serious(little motel). and other songs like this one are just bad ass and possibly the best lyrics ever put to music. And i realize humanity is a vague subject but I love mm cuz he does it so well. It's hard to be a human being and it's harder as anything else.
@joel101542 I agree, not trying to start any kind of war here. I appreciate the discussion and apologize ahead of time if I sound too argumentative. Just having a fun conversation about a band I love. Saw them twice this summer with my wife and both shows were amazing.<br /> <br /> Also sorry about responding from a different username, couldn't remember my password last night :(<br /> <br /> Anyway, yes, I agree, Modest Mouse lyrics are deep and I think that there is more to Sugar Boats than just drugs. However, one thing I've noticed about Brock is that he repeats concepts and metaphors across his different songs and albums. I struggle to think of a good example right now, but he does repeat himself. So when he says, "Sugar boats on the Atlantic," there's a VERY good chance that the Atlantic refers to his blood when you think about the song "3rd Planet." <br /> <br /> And when your veins light up and your mind blows up and your heart is amused... that's pretty obvious what's going on to me. I'm not saying he's glorifying drug use, that's DEFINITELY not his way. But I do think he's making a comment about getting really high and temporarily dropping off the radar of all the bullshit that can be too much to deal with, the complicated relationships that he refers to when he mentions his heart being a map and a broke machine, the daily existential crises he alludes to when he talks about this rock of ours and this watch of his. Ride a Sugar Boat across the Atlantic and, in a ghostly manner, wave BYE BYE to ALL that shit.
Come to think of it, "This watch of mine" is a repeated concept too. "It's been a long time, which agrees with this watch of mine," from Trailer Trash (not telling you anything you don't already know, I'm sure)<br /> <br /> I'm pretty sure there are a few more phrases on the new album that reintroduce concepts he's sang about before, sometimes using mostly the same words. But it's early and I'm having a hard time remembering.
@sslotsky I'm a little late to the party. I think you both have valid points but you're missing the big picture.
@zestybesty please enlighten me!
we all have genetic etiologies/ origins but I think it's less to do with specifically the coding and more to do with polymorphism. We all have genes and markers but that doesn't mean they're all expressed. Our environment ultimately determines our outcomes. Our experiences shape us. So when you combine them all you have a recipe for something beautiful or tragic.
youtube.com/watch this video helps a lot