Your mother made you cry when she told you about the womb
And how people die
Watching over you when you were young
Smiling when you learned to crawl
You don't know her at all

It's a dirty job, but they're very suave
Jesus high on wine weeping turpentine

Daddy's voice like an intercom connected to a hidden room
Where yellow roses bloom
A sacred mountain near Peterborough where clouds paint a picture so calm
That they swallowed Mom

It's a dirty job but they're very suave
Jesus high on wine, weeping turpentine
What are they doing in there?
Have they got guns?
Make you run up and down the same hill
And they'll break your will

Was it Christmas or Groundhog Day when your friends turned to shadows
And they dragged you away
Tell nobody that you've been here, don't breathe a word that's been said
(Now there's a scar)
Upon your forehead

It's a dirty job but they're very suave
Jesus high on wine, weeping turpentine
What are they doing in there?
Have they got guns?
Whether Mount Pinatubo
Or the threat of God's love
There'll always be something that's raining

Down from above.
Down from above.
Down from above.
Down from above


Lyrics submitted by Fish-chan

Down from Above Lyrics as written by Michael Ford Jian Ghomeshi

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Down From Above song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    A great song, by a great band...which seems to be about how children and families in general are lured into cults. Examples: "You don't know her at all" The child that was once cared for by a loving parent doesn't recognise that part of their past. "Daddy's voice like an intercom connected to a hidden room" The child's father is constantly referencing things that seem secret and possibly frightening. Or the "hidden room" could be a surveillance tactic like "Big Brother is watching". "...they swallowed Mom" The mother that the child "didn't" know has now been swallowed by the doctrines of the cult, and is now recognisable. "Make you run up and down the same hill/ And they'll break your will" The repetitive and tiring nature of the tasks given to the family break them down emotionally and psychologically, submitting them to the cult's will. "...your friends turned to shadows/ And they dragged you away/ Tell nobody that you've been here, don't breathe a word that's been said/ (Now there's a scar)/ upon your forehead" By now, the child and the family are no longer able to function outside the cult, and when they do go out, they are forced into silence. The "scar" could be referencing a brand made on cult members, or the emotional scars of the people who do leave and are forced to hide what happened to them. In that vein, the scar on the forehead could also reference Harry Potter, though that doesn't seem as likely. "...the threat of God's love/ There'll always be something that's raining/ Down from above" This line reminds the listener that the threat of cults is not just a story in the song, but a real and insidious problem.

    musicality43on August 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always saw this one as an ode to parents. You never understand what they're doing, but they're always there for you.

    elementaron October 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Guesses. The protagonist's parents split up - the father was distant - the mom is gone. There was alcoholism. The child suffered at the hands of the mental health system and organized religion. Society, in general, coercively/oppressively/covertly rains on us. Grim, as is the beautiful music...

    freebuskeron October 24, 2019   Link

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