The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 and 3

This was the song that first turned me on the NMH. We used to hang out in a friends "house" that was actually a garage behind his parent's house in highschool. His dad was a theology major and the garage's downstairs was just wall to wall bookcases full of nothing but books about god. Being that athiest/agnostic I was me and the kid would get in lots of debates about everythough, though I believe he was an agnostic as well, he put this song on (I had never heard NMH) and I was like "Woah...what the hell is this!?" I think he expected me to be sarcastic or teasing but I think I first described it in my ignorance to all the lyrics as totally amazing (especially after hearing how Jeff Mangum really thought of Jesus in the album's insert) and the first thing I said was "This is so cool...it's about Jesus but it sounds like a Hindu chant or something! What a great mix"

Now...on to the real meaning (or what I have interpreted)

I think Jesus Christ is seen as human in this. Not as in half human half deity but really human. Jesus was just like us, like all humans, and all humans are like him, so perhaps he represents any individual in humanity...just a guess...

"Up and over we go Through the wave and undertow I will float until I learn how to swim Inside my mum in a garbage bin Until I find myself again again oh oh"

I loved how someone mentioned earlier about how the song for part three gets fast paced and they compare it to... dun dun dun... A BIRTH! That's because it is a birth! It could be litterally or metaphoricall, or after being a birth it could just be life as that very same process of being created and creating ourselves...look at the lines...

"Through the wave and undertow I will float until I learn how to swim"

This could be representative of just an egg or a sperm or something (to get real ridiculously literal, although this isn't the main point that's supposed to get across) but ALSO, think about it...you start out in life just a little kid who doesn't know what to do and everything is done for you and once you grow and learn a little bit you start to figure things out and be able to do stuff for yourself...before that...you're floating until you learn out to swim, and can control a bit of your own life.

"Inside my mum in a garbage bin Until I find myself again again oh oh""

"Inside my mum" makes this literal meaning of the birth process so literal...but the garbage bin part...woah. That brings us back to Jesus Christ...who was born in what? A stable? Where the animals lived? And his first bed was a manger? Basically a dog bowl. And it's kind of funny because think of this diety, the holy beautiful thing (that could either be jesus or just any baby before it is born and introduced to the flaws of world...it is still perfect) being born in to a world being described as a garbage bin, full of flaws and trash. Until I find myself again brings us to how life is just the birth over and over again, or learning and creating oneself and all the identities one might take and all the rough patched between those times when we know who we are.

"Up and over we go Mouths open wide and spitting still And I will spit until I learn how to speak Up thru the doorway as the sideboards creek With them ever proclaiming me me ohh"

"I will spit until I learn how to speak" parrallels the I will float until I learn how to swim, only floating verse swiming differs from spitting vs speaking because speaking means you are actually creating something else. You are putting together words and ideas. It's more of a complex action than action (swimming) alone. Or at least that's how I saw it.

Obviously the proclaiming him part brings us back to this be Jesus Christ. But you can think of way that it could be a metaphor, I'm sure.

"With them ever proclaiming me me ohh

Up and over we go The weight it sits on down and I don't know I will shout until they know what I mean "

When these parts are put together it's almost the crisis...Jesus's crisis as well as many people's crisis, of not exactly being understood. Those proclaiming him saying things about him, they don't know exactly what he means, perhaps...think of maybe he's not claiming to be the son of god, and they're saying this, and he's shouting, he's just trying to be understood.

And isn't that a universal problem? The attempt to be understood when everyone wants to take what you say how they want to take it?

"I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing and a synthetic flying machine machine"

Haha, I may talk alot of talk, but I honestly am not sure what this means. My only guess is synthetic flying machine is the resurection still being what everyone wants to believe but what he really means is that's synthetic, but I have no clue. It probably means something much better and clearer than that. The fact that it was originally titled that just throws me off completely.

Maybe I'm not supposed to get it and it's still the point that I'm sitting here trying to understand someone else when it's impossible and that's the whole point. Aren't we all just a bunch of hipocrites. Haha.

Another thing that is intersting is that King of Carrot Flowers part 1 is said to be based on Anne Frank who was Jewish and this part starts off with "I love you Jesus Christ" when the separation between those that believed and those that did not was what got her in to the situation she was in that caused her to possibly be Jeff's muse in the first place. Maybe Jeff really is just laughing as was said early, why we try to depict what he means when one of the points of this song is that "we" don't. Who knows...any thoughts?