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,
Adrift again 2000 man
You lost your maps,
You lost the plans
Did you hear them yell,
Land damn it land?
You say you can't
Well I hope you can
I hope you can
How's it goin 2000 man?
Welcome back to solid ground my friend
I heard all your controls were jammed
Well it's just nice to have you back again
But I guess they still don't understand
And they can never understand
And they said go find 2000 man
And they said tell him we've got new plans
But instead I'm here to tell you friend
I believe they want you to give in
Are you giving in 2000 man?
(Did you love this world
And did this world not love you?)
Are you giving in 2000 man?
Don't give in 2000 man
You lost your maps,
You lost the plans
Did you hear them yell,
Land damn it land?
You say you can't
Well I hope you can
I hope you can
How's it goin 2000 man?
Welcome back to solid ground my friend
I heard all your controls were jammed
Well it's just nice to have you back again
But I guess they still don't understand
And they can never understand
And they said go find 2000 man
And they said tell him we've got new plans
But instead I'm here to tell you friend
I believe they want you to give in
Are you giving in 2000 man?
(Did you love this world
And did this world not love you?)
Are you giving in 2000 man?
Don't give in 2000 man
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Davey Jones got it.
This song is a reflection on "2,000 Man" by The Rolling Stones.
The Stones' song illustrates "2,000 Man" as a man so into elements of the future, technology, and his career that he loses site of humanity and the tangible things that keep us grounded on this planet - our family, our children, etc.
It ends with thought of 2,000 Man having two options to continue his life... live self-absorbed in his career and technology, or "come down crashing" after recognizing and owning up to the neglect, and heartbreak he caused.
Read these lyrics, then read Grandaddy's lyrics again, and maybe a little about the band.
Grandaddy picks up with 2000 Man returning to earth after all his fuck ups, and still feeling lost, disconnected, and misunderstood.
From there, the interpretation of Grandaddy's purpose behind the song is arguable.
I tend to think while the Stones provided perspective for the listener that 2000 Man could not see, Grandaddy's style is a more introspective. It shows 2,000 man trying to reground himself, and how he feels like his intentions weren't received, feeling used and betrayed by his peers and society's expectations.
A major theme to the Sophtware Slump is technology's effect on modern society. It was released in 2000, and this is the opening track for the concept album.
Good stuff.