| Meat Puppets – Comin' Down Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song is about a spiritual experience. "Coming down from the mountain I have seen the high and mighty I will go again someday But for now I'm coming down Coming down from the mountain I have seen the lofty glory I will go again someday But for now I'm coming down" He's gone up on the mountain and had some sort of spiritual enlightening. But something caused him to believe he's not ready for the committment just yet, so he's coming back down from the mountain. "I have seen their information On the lighter side of dumbness I have heard the new statistics And the stomping on the ground" Religion is the information on the 'lighter side of dumbness". Maybe whoever was enlightening him can quote the 'statistics' from the bible quite well. Maybe the stomping on the ground is those who he feels are trying to push him too quickly when he's already feeling overwhelmed. "Picking slowly up the rockslide One thing always seems apparent If the climb becomes too much I can always turn around " He's reminding himself that his journey toward religion is in his own hands. The mountain he's climbing seems to crumble in some places and become a 'rockslide'. He doesn't have to continue if he so chooses....if it becomes too much for him he can turn around. "Waking up from my slumber To misunderstand another Though they call it terra firma It dissolves beneath my feet" He's been 'asleep' to so many things in this regard, and he's having trouble understanding it. The religous may call faith their "terra firma"...solid ground, their foundation, but to him it still seems like shaky ground...new and frightening. "Looking through a pile of garbage For some worthless piece of paper That's been hidden there for me To give meaning to my day" I think this may be referring to how believers can find faith or hope in any random item if they choose. Even if you happen to find something symbolic on a paper in the trash...it could turn your day around as a sign sent from above. He's questioning that logic. "Going down to the desert To the dirty filthy desert I'll be crawling through the sand For at least a couple days Going down to the desert" Crossing the desert definately has biblical connotations, but in this instance I think he's referring to his "old ways". Before he was climbing up the mountain, now he's going down to the desert. (I'm sure you can see the reference to hell...Down...heat of the desert, just as the mountain is a reference to Heaven) But the "dirty, filthy desert" is referring to his old bad habits or lifestyle. He's taken a backslide from the 'high and mighty', and the 'lofty glory'. "other are things worth avoiding And it always makes me cross When those things get in my way." There are many other words he could have chosen rather than cross, so I believe it is an intentional reference to the crucifiction cross. We'll just have to figure out what things are worth avoiding when they get in the way. He ends the song by reminding us that he has seen the light on the mountain, and he will go again someday...he's just not ready for it yet. Hopeful, rather than lamenting. I know some people HATE religious interpretations and I mean not to offend anyone. To me, this song is fairly blatant. To sum up, I actually think that he may mean that the spiritual experience is wonderful, but the "religion" was too much for him, and had to back off a bit. |
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| Meat Puppets – Oh, Me Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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"If I had to lose a mile." I think losing a mile refers to backsliding...or taking a (huge) step backwards. "If i had to touch feelings." This probably refers to dealing with personal, emotional issues that were likely repressed a very long time ago, and now "miles" away deep inside. "I would lose my soul the way I do." Dealing with the issue(s) would be too overwhelming and make you feel as though you are losing your soul. It could possibly be a dual meaning referring to drugs as causing one to lose their soul. I am not a drug user, so my take on this song does not relate to this. "I don't have to think, I only have to do it. The results are always perfect. And that's old news." I think this is referring to the tool we each choose as self-protection. Whether it be drugs, repression, denial, or whatever...it always works perfectly. "That's old news", I think means that this is not a new method.... either he has been coping this way for years....or humans in general have been. "Would you like to hear my voice, sprinkled with emotion, invented at your birth?" To me, this refers to the 'coping mechanism', whatever it is that allows one to function "normally". If you're choosing not to deal with the pain of your issue, then you can sprinkle your voice with emotion and basically carry on. This wasn't possible until the 'birth' of your newfound coping skill. "I can't see the end of me. My whole expanse I cannot see. I formulate infinity, and store it deep inside me." The overall tone of the song pretty well suggests it is not necessarily 'uplifting'. The coping skills we choose aren't necessarily healthy...they just help us cope. I think these lines are explaining how he no longer can "see himself"...his real self. He knows there are aspects of himself he doesn't know or deal with..and he's designed it that way. He "formulated infinity"....he can never reach the end...that part of himself repressed all those 'miles' away. And he "stored in deep inside". The few little lines of this song pack a lot of punch. Oh, nienna...ditto everything! |
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