| Pedro the Lion – The Longer I Lay Here Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song isn't entirely about masturbation. This song isn't entirely about being lazy. It's about both, and how one has caused the other. Like any writer worth their salt, Bazan doesn't jump headfirst into his subject matter with this song. He uses the everyday, personal matter of masturbation as a springboard from which to enter the songs main theme: the moral Christian's battle with sloth, or laziness. While the speaker, presumably Bazan, begins with the euphemistic description of their phallic member, the focus of the song shifts after only the first two lines. We are then introduced to a second character, one which the speaker admires, and perhaps even envies for their personal work ethic, which is strongly contrasted by their own personal laziness. This laziness causes a painful guilt in the speaker, as evidenced by the line "Laziness cuts me like fine cutlery." This drastic shift emphasizes the ephemeral pleasure brought on by masturbation, and the guilt it ultimately instills. From here on out, the references to masturbation are nearly nonexistant. We instead encounter a prayer from the speaker, in which the speaker asks not only for an end to their masturbatory habits, but for help in overcoming their battle with laziness as a whole. The lines "Someone to help me / help myself" imply that the speaker's slothfulness has taken such a strong hold within their being that they can't even begin to fight it themselves, or that they are simply too controlled by their laziness to do anything about it. The title of the song sheds some light on the somewhat drastic transition between masturbation and prayer. "The Longer I Lay Here" refers to the speaker's thought process. While at first, their thoughts dwelt on masturbation, they quickly shifted to that of an industrious acquaintance. Afterwards, the speaker realizes they are in a losing battle with sloth, and that they are too weak to defeat it themselves, and that it requires aid from Christ in order to overcome it. This series of realizations, when combined with the title of the song, gives us the piece's theme, "The Longer I Lay Here, The More I Realize What My Problems Truly Are". If you're familiar with the Norma Jean song, "I Used to Hate Cell Phones, But Now I Hate Car Accidents", a similar theme is expressed here. Rather than hating the sinner and the result of their sinning, the speaker learns to hate sin itself. I hope this helps. It's a great song, and like most great writing, there's no clear cut answer. Yes, the song is more than likely about masturbation, even if in a passing way. Just because it has to do with a somewhat bawdy subject doesn't make it any less beautiful. True beauty comes from our ugliness and flaws, and the way we learn to overcome them. |
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| Descendents – Tonyage Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I finally figured out a somewhat muddled, often misquoted portion of the lyrics. It's really just a word or two. At the part that begins with "I'm a new waver...", he says, "She's more posed than you are", not "she's more a trendy than you are." |
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