Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
The rain it started tappin'
On the window near my bed
There was a loophole in my dreamin'
So I got out of it
And to my surprise my eyes were wide and already open
Just my nightstand and my dresser
Where those nightmares had just been
So I dressed myself and left then
Out into the gray streets
But everything seemed different
And completely new to me
The sky the trees, houses, buildings, even my own body
And each person I encountered
I couldn't wait to meet
And I came upon a doctor
Who appeared in quite poor health
I said there's nothing that I can do for you you can't do for yourself
He said oh yes you can, just hold my hand, I think that that would help
So I sat with him awhile
Then I asked him how he felt
He said I think I'm cured
No, in fact, I'm sure of it
Thank you, stranger
For your therapeutic smile
So that's how I learned the lesson
That everyone's alone
And your eyes must do some raining
If you're ever gonna grow
And when crying don't help
You can't compose yourself
It's best to compose a poem
An honest verse of longing
Or a simple song of hope
That's why I'm singing baby don't worry
'Cause now I got your back
And every time you feel like crying
I'm gonna try and make you laugh
And if I can't
If it just hurts too bad
Then we'll wait for it to pass
And I will keep you company for those days so long and black
And we'll keep working on the problem
We know we'll never solve
Of love's uneven remainders
Our lives are fractions of a whole
But if the world could remain within a frame
Like a painting on a wall
Then I think we'd see the beauty then
We'd stand staring in awe
At our still lives posed
Like a bowl of oranges
Like a story told
By the fault-lines and the soil
On the window near my bed
There was a loophole in my dreamin'
So I got out of it
And to my surprise my eyes were wide and already open
Just my nightstand and my dresser
Where those nightmares had just been
So I dressed myself and left then
Out into the gray streets
But everything seemed different
And completely new to me
The sky the trees, houses, buildings, even my own body
And each person I encountered
I couldn't wait to meet
And I came upon a doctor
Who appeared in quite poor health
I said there's nothing that I can do for you you can't do for yourself
He said oh yes you can, just hold my hand, I think that that would help
So I sat with him awhile
Then I asked him how he felt
He said I think I'm cured
No, in fact, I'm sure of it
Thank you, stranger
For your therapeutic smile
So that's how I learned the lesson
That everyone's alone
And your eyes must do some raining
If you're ever gonna grow
And when crying don't help
You can't compose yourself
It's best to compose a poem
An honest verse of longing
Or a simple song of hope
That's why I'm singing baby don't worry
'Cause now I got your back
And every time you feel like crying
I'm gonna try and make you laugh
And if I can't
If it just hurts too bad
Then we'll wait for it to pass
And I will keep you company for those days so long and black
And we'll keep working on the problem
We know we'll never solve
Of love's uneven remainders
Our lives are fractions of a whole
But if the world could remain within a frame
Like a painting on a wall
Then I think we'd see the beauty then
We'd stand staring in awe
At our still lives posed
Like a bowl of oranges
Like a story told
By the fault-lines and the soil
Lyrics submitted by firefly716
Bowl of Oranges Lyrics as written by Conor Oberst
Lyrics © Takwene LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Different people are saying different things. Some people are saying its happy and others are saying its sad. Well, to me, I can see it both ways. I've been listening and reading these lryics over and over again, but I can't make up my mind on what Conor was thinking. -In the beginning I love the line, "There was a loophole in my dreaming, So I got out of it" and it makes it seem like he's getting out of depression because in a way, it was all in his head (Like a nightmare). But pay attention to the next two lines, -"And to my surprise my eyes were wide, And already open" Now this is contradicting the happy feeling of the above line. Instead of his depression being all in his head (As in a nightmare), it was actually real. -The whole doctor thing comes out really happy to me when I first think of it. But the only pessimism I can see is if you think of it as the doctor not being able to help himself. -"So that's how I learned the lesson, That everyone's alone" This line seems pretty sad, to me. He's talking about the doctor thing but saying everyones alone. I'm still working on this line... I can't find much happy in this one. -"And your eyes must do some raining, If you're ever gonna grow" This one seems really happy as well. He's saying its okay to cry and sometimes it what makes you feel better. Love it. -"That's why I'm singing, baby, don't worry Because now I've got your back And every time you feel like crying I'm gonna try to make you laugh And if I can't, if it just hurts too bad Then we'll wait for it to pass And I will keep you company Through those days so long and black" This whole part seems mostly happy to me. He's helping out a friend just by being there. The next part is the part that gets me. -"We'll keep working on the problem We know we'll never solve Of love's uneven remainders Our lives are fractions of a whole But if the world could remain within a frame Like a painting on a wall Then I think we'd see the beauty then And stand staring in awe" Now this could really go either way. At first I thought it was happy, he's saying that even with the bad parts of life, thats only a fraction of life. If you look at the big picture, and think of everything in life, you see its mostly happy. If you could put life on the wall and look at it, it'd be beautiful. Or it could go another way, as if he's saying that it was a painting, as in peoples fake idea of life. As if all the beautiful parts of life are just painted in our imagination. And yet the doctor and girl are still upset, I guess. Or maybe if the world was still, it would look beautiful. But the world is not still, In the beginning he's saying how things are changing. And the changes in the world make it sad, I guess. Its really hard to explain. Eh... -And of course the last part could also be happy or sad. "At our still lives posed Like a bowl of oranges Like a story told By the fault lines and the soil"
It could be happy just like the one before this, saying when you see the whole world (Faults and all) then it'd be beautiful. Or its saying "A story told" suggests that the its imagination. As if the world is only happy in our imagination.
I love this song to death because to me, it seems like it could be happy or sad, and maybe thats what Conor wanted. I can't decide on witch one seems more accurate. And maybe he's just talking about life in general, and saying how it can be happy and it can be sad, it just depends on the way you look at it.
Great song. Conor is a genius.