| The Shins – Know Your Onion! Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"Know your Onion!" shut out, pimpled and angry. i quietly tied all my guts into knots. gave up on trying to make them, i figured it'd take them too long to look up and besides... [This is Mercer describing his teenage years: introverted, frustrated, and discovering his own intelligence. The first real chapter of his life, he is rejected and ridiculed by his peers for being himself. He probably tried to convince everyone that there were more important things in life, but he eventually gave up because it only got him in more trouble.] it was undeniably clear to me, i don't know why when every other part of life seemed locked behind shutters i knew what worthless dregs we've always been [At some point in his life, he had an epiphany for whatever reason. It seemed, to Mercer, that most kids and conforming teenagers have a pretty worthless existance because they can't see any of the valuable parts of life (they're all "locked behind shutters"). All they can see is popularity and apperances and petty nonsense.] lucked out and found my favorite records lying in wait at the birmingham mall. the songs the i heard, the occasional book were the only fun i ever took. and i got on with making myself. the trick is just making yourself. [I can relate to this because I remember the first time I bought my first CD and realized how much music could help me. Mercer catches a break from the frustration of school when he starts going to the mall and finding his interests. He slowly begins to get an idea of what lies behind the shutters as he reads books and listens to records, so he decides to keep heading in that direction and "making himself" into the person he wants to be: a musician. "The trick", he says, "is forcing yourself to put up with the BS in the meantime".] but when they're parking their cars on your chest you've still got a view of the summer sky to make it hurt twice when your restless body caves to its whims and suddenly struggles to take flight... [Mercer is now talking directly to the listener about the difficulties of trying to fulfill your dreams. He's saying that whenever life gets hard and you're discouraged and nobody believes in you, just keep your eye on your dreams and take pride in doing so. This section is one of of Mercer's infamous "epitaphs" , it reminds the listener that there will always be setbacks, but that they should never give up.] three thousand miles north east i left all my friends at the morning bus stop shaking their heads. "what kind of life you dream of? you're allergic to love." yes i know but i must say in my own defense [He finally understands what it is he needs to do to fulfill his dreams, so he packs his things and moves far away from his hometown and his past life. His friends think he's crazy and he'll never make it work, but he says that it's something he just has to do and he doesn't care if it works or not] it's been undeniable dear to me, i don't know why when every other part of life seemed locked behind shutters i knew the worthless dregs we are, the selfless, loving saints we are, the melting, sliding dice we've always been. [It's incredibly important to him to find himself, though he has no idea why. When everything else in his life seemed out of reach and he finally grew up a little, he realized how worthless, how selfless, how loving, and how multi-faceted we are as human beings. Like the myriad layers of an onion.] |
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| The Shins – Pressed In A Book Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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For anybody who's curious, the title is a reference to the act of "preserving" flowers for an extended period of time by keeping them pressed in a book. Obviously the flower will die, but it will keep it's original appearance and beauty for a while afterwards. So, like many of Mercer's lyrics, this one is also a metaphor, in this case it seems like he's talking about somebody who has bottled up their resentment, depression, and anger for a long period of time ("doted on like seeds planted in rows"). After a while of nurturing their negative feelings, they've finally grown into something much worse (like disgusting flowers) and are now such a part of this person's personality that they don't want to get rid of them. So they keep them "pressed in a book" or they occasionally let them slip out (like displaying ugly flowers in a vase "in bad taste at the table") I think Mercer is trying to show how damaging this behavior can be as he's arguing with this person, probably a girl that he loved, and wishing that she hadn't held in all of her feelings. |
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| The Shins – Red Rabbits Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"Out of a gunnysack fall red rabbits Into the crucible to be rendered an emulsion" I think that says it all. This song, to me, is about the total and utter collapse of a relationship. Putting red rabbits into a crucible and melting them down into a liquid is clearly a metaphor (i.e. taking a dead relationship and then further destroying it once and for all so that it never happens again). Everything else revolves around this fact and the background music even sounds like this song takes place in a cave at the center of the earth (like water dripping off stalactites in a heavy-reverb atmosphere). I really like this song, I've been in this situation before and the music matches the feelings I felt perfectly: calm, yet dark and disturbing. |
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| The Shins – One By One All Day Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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[To preface this, I think the narrator is visiting a place that makes him remember his childhood, I like to imagine that he's at his late grandfather's farm] "howdy, lem," my grandpa said with his eyes closed wiping the eastbound dust from his sunburned brow a life before doubt. [He's remembering the days he spent with his grandfather as a child, a time before he was corrupted, before he started thinking so much, before he doubted everything. His grandfather seems to have been a working man] i smell the engine grease and mint the wind is blending under the moan of rotting elm in the silo floor. [He can still smell the mint and engine grease in the air from back then, the silo floor he used to walk on is now rotted and old, which is symbollic of him becoming an adult. Life is no longer as bright and fascinating as it once was.] down a hill of pine tree quills we made our way to the bottom and the ferns where thick moss grows beside a stream. [see next] under the rocks are snails and we can fills our pockets and let them go one by one all day in a brand new place. [He recalls how him and his grandpa used to walk through nature down a hill to a special place where there was a stream. There he used to catch snails and let them go in different places, almost like it was a game. ] you were no ordinary drain on her defenses and she was no ordinary girl Oh, Inverted World [This part, to me, is the main focus of the song. The narrator is now thinking about a much more recent event, probably about a failed a relationship. When he says 'you' I think he is actually talking to himself, saying that she was one in a million and he truly loved her and he regrets that his way of thinking drained her and eventually led to their downfall. "What a backwards world," is the afterthought of his nostalgia.] if every moment of our lives were cradled softly in the hands of some strange and gentle child i'd not roll my eyes so. [Now he ties the whole thing together. My guess is that his last girlfriend believed in God or fate or something but the narrator disagreed, which led to their falling out. He remembers the childhood game he played with the snails and sees it as a metaphor for God's hypothetical relationship with humans. He thinks, "if only life were really like that... but it's not" and then rolls his eyes. The last stanza also feels like the narrator is lamenting his childhood] It's a wonderful song. Mercer always does a fantastic job of intertwining complex ideas and themes among his experiences with relationships and love. |
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| The Shins – Saint Simon Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I relate to this song quite a bit because it sums up my beliefs flawlessly. I believe the title "Saint Simon" is a reference to both Simon Peter from the bible and the French philosopher Saint-Simon, it helps illustrate the theme of ambiguity in this song. I think the narrator is saying that after thousands of years of thinking and writing and searching, we as a people are still no closer to finding our purpose in life, be it through God ("the saints dub us divine") or through philosophy ("texts designed by intellects"). He is obviously conflicted about what to do, but rather than lie to himself, he chooses to believe in nothing ("step into the night") because he knows that to be the only real truth in life. The second verse follows the same pattern, he is frustrated with our numerous attempts to make sense of everything and eventually he decides that the best option is to be totally apathetic and quit trying to figure out life. To me, the key point in this song is that the narrator wishes he could believe in something the way everyone else does, but he can't shake the feeling that life is utterly pointless so he just gives up on the entire concept. So once again he says he won't lie to himself, he'll continue believing in nothing because in his heart, he knows it's true. He also knows that this philosophy will make life that much more difficult, but he's prepared for it ("Batten down to fare the wind"). Now the last verse could go two ways, in my opinion. The first is that "Mercy" is the freedom you feel when you accept that there's no real point in life. The second is that "Mercy" is the relief of love. Perhaps he's in love with a girl with blue eyes and the warmth she makes him feel helps him forget about all his doubts and confusion about life. I personally think it's the second one. I think this song is saying that it's extremely hard to be a thinker in this world full of ambiguity, and when all of life seems pointless, at least there's love to help you survive. |
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