In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I'm sitting on the curb
By the empty parking lot
Of the store where they let me play the organ
I'm waiting for my ride
But I want to wait inside
Of the store where they let me play the organ
But I'm thinking of a wooden chair
In a room at the top of a stair
And I'm looking down the stairwell
At the vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called nowhere
Standing in my yard
Where they tore down the garage
To make room for the torn down garage
I'm looking for my car
But I must have sold my car
When I needed to buy an electric organ
But I'm thinking of a wooden chair
In a room at the top of a stair
And I'm looking down the stairwell
At the vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called nowhere
Nowhere
The vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called
By the empty parking lot
Of the store where they let me play the organ
I'm waiting for my ride
But I want to wait inside
Of the store where they let me play the organ
But I'm thinking of a wooden chair
In a room at the top of a stair
And I'm looking down the stairwell
At the vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called nowhere
Standing in my yard
Where they tore down the garage
To make room for the torn down garage
I'm looking for my car
But I must have sold my car
When I needed to buy an electric organ
But I'm thinking of a wooden chair
In a room at the top of a stair
And I'm looking down the stairwell
At the vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called nowhere
Nowhere
The vanishing dot
On the map of the spot
Let me take you there
The dotted line
Surrounding the mind
Of a self called nowhere
It's a thing named "it"
In a bottomless pit
You can't see it there
The sunken head
That lies in the bed
Of a self called
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Um, it's definitely "a thing named id" not "it" and by "id" (one syllable, say it like "it" but with a "D") they are obviously referring to what we would think of as the subconscious mind. If you didn't already know what id is, I question the legitimacy of your TMBG fan status...most of us are pretty informed on things like that. ;)
Also, there should be another line after "where they tore down the garage". It should be "to make room for the torn down garage".
No idea what this song's about, but I get the feeling like a lot of other TMBG songs, it's about the innner workings of the mind.
the line is "it's a thing named ID" not "it", jesus. :)
I will also vote that it's definitely ID. As in Freud's theory of "Id", "Ego", and "Super Ego".
Id - "The id contains "primitive desires" (hunger, rage and sex)"
thank you. it's good to see that another person knew what id is.
Also the bit about the shrunken head that lies in the bed seems to be a reference to lying in the couch at a psycharists or "shrinks" office.
Carser you're jumping to conclusions. There are different versions of Mink Car, one that was released in the US, and the other was a UK release, so yes they did have different songs, bands do that sometimes. And otherwise I really don't know what you're talking about with the old songs. They only do that on collection albums... they'll release a collection but then put in some bonus material. So you should definitely reconsider your stance on buying their material, especially since their new album the else is so amazing. (pretty much all new songs)
tmbw.net/wiki/Lyrics:A_Self_Called_Nowhere
A link to the lyrics according to TMBG wiki. Notice, it's definitely "a thing named ID" as agreed by the enormous network of fans who keep that wiki accurate.
Also, I have to say for somebody calling others "pseudo-intellectual posers" amoebius sure does sound like a pretentious ass. I mean, "It is one of those unnerving things against which a slide-rule avails naught." Really? REALLY? Just sayin'.
I think the narator of the song is lonely and down on his luck. He feels like an outsider, I think,
"but I want to wait inside of the store where they let me play the organ"
For me at least, I always hate waiting for rides inside buildings, because it feels like everyone there is watching you and wondering what the hell your still doing their. He wants to go in, because its warmer there, or cooler, or just a nicer place to wait than out on the curb alone; but he doesn't want to feel like he doesnt belong.
The reference to the wooden chair is a little harder to understand... But I think it might be reffering to that same feeling of bein down on your luck and left out of the world. A wooden chair is probably the most uncomfortable kind of chair there is, and to be sitting alone in a room in a wooden chair, stairing down the stairs is a pretty lonely place to be.
I think he bought the organ because he thought it would make him feel cool and happy, after all, whats cooler than a professional musician? But it didnt work out because he ended up out on the curb, waiting alone for his ride because now he doesn't have a car to take himself home. Thus, he ended up making himself feel like an outsider after all. A viscous circle, as it were.
But as for the song... I came up with the idea that they might have been implying a place that's a "self-called" nowhere.(Just a place the protagonist thinks of as being nowhere) But it's also possible that the self is a metaphor for a place.
Fair enough if it's just standard practise, but I didn't really jump to this conclusion very quickly. My first reaction was to go to one of their web sites and e-mail them about it; They're response was basically "really? how about that?, give us more money". Maybe it's not intentional, but it's still a pretty bad business attitude.
I'm not sure why the argument about ID vs IT, or how that might effect the potential interpretation of the song. But people, why not just check the actual ALBUM? Lyrics are printed in the John Henry CD. Clearly printed "a thing named it."