| Fair to Midland – Bright Bulbs and Sharp Tools Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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In my understanding, the song follows a man, another unknown figure, and a woman. In the first verse, The man is reminiscing his past crime, regarding his current living situation "in the sticks" due to mistrust of society "If walls could talk, they'd be know-it-all's" and nature as a run away "fish you cant catch" The lines "Now heaven knows I've got one short damn fuse" is also foreshadowing with the nature of our protagonist. The bridge, he then mentions the Gorey nature of his crime "And it makes my skin crawl" and inability to deal with the situation "I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so what's the use?" the last line "And she knew, she knew" is him explaining how "she" was connected to the crime/knew what happened. the second verse is him describing the unknown figure, describing him as a go-getter "He fights like hell because he wants to glow And would tackle the sun to be a bright bulb" I'm not sure the relevance to the line "I wonder if he'll wake us up in time?" but maybe it shows a personal connection? the chorus evidences to the unknown figure being killed "He's gray" and the main character having to hide the body "And has to hide somewhere in between black and white Cause it's safe" the line "But never was brave before" reflects on both his and her inability to come forward and admit what happened. The end of the line "its over" shows that now the situation has blown over, He is confident enough to talk to us, the listener, about it. the next verse is the main character describing himself "And I've got mother's smile, both my dad's fists" it also reveals a part of the build up to this characters death "They say attack can be your best defense" meaning that the protagonist took things too far "John Doe escapes, carry his name" is referencing evidence of the unknown figures death escaping. Carrying his name is to remember who died, so when the law finds them "time to sign" he can admit guilty "ask where; not why" The final line comes from the woman, "If he's going down If he's going under the ground I hope he takes you too" is likely something 'she' said in an argument between her and the main character, likely regarding the disposal of the unknown figure. I'd like to say that the protagonist, the unknown person, and 'her' are related by some kind. maybe siblings? and the unknown person (who in my understanding may be the oldest) was accidentally killed by his two younger siblings in a fit of jealousy. It's all my opinion though, likely fueled by the shows I've been watching |
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