He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Your grand dad left home for the circus
He was young just like me,
with hope to explore
He married a girl in Virginia
She could swing the trapeze,
they could sleep on the floor
Your mother was born in December,
on the one sunny day that winter gave up
With warm summer eyes that flickered like fireflies,
and she stared at the world
So why do you leave these stories unfinished,
my Cheshire cat doorstop with tears in your eyes?
And why do you look when you've already found it?
And what did you find that would leave you walking by?
She was raised in a New England village
Then she moved to LA with her firefly stare,
and you loved sunset strip when it sparkled
You grew up and you sparkled, but why don't you care?
And why do you leave these stories unfinished,
my Cheshire cat doorstop with tears in your eyes?
And why do you look when you've already found me?
And what did you find that would leave you walking by?
And these nights I get high just from breathing
When I lie here with you I'm sure that I'm real
like that firework over the freeway
I could stay here all day but that's not how you feel
So why do you leave these questions unanswered?
The circus awaits and you're already gone
My Cheshire cat doorstop with fear in your smile,
what makes it so easy for you to be walking by?
And what did I do that you can't seem to want me?
And why do we lie here and whisper goodbyes?
Where can I go that your pictures won't haunt me?
What makes it so easy for you to be walking by?
Walking by
He was young just like me,
with hope to explore
He married a girl in Virginia
She could swing the trapeze,
they could sleep on the floor
Your mother was born in December,
on the one sunny day that winter gave up
With warm summer eyes that flickered like fireflies,
and she stared at the world
So why do you leave these stories unfinished,
my Cheshire cat doorstop with tears in your eyes?
And why do you look when you've already found it?
And what did you find that would leave you walking by?
She was raised in a New England village
Then she moved to LA with her firefly stare,
and you loved sunset strip when it sparkled
You grew up and you sparkled, but why don't you care?
And why do you leave these stories unfinished,
my Cheshire cat doorstop with tears in your eyes?
And why do you look when you've already found me?
And what did you find that would leave you walking by?
And these nights I get high just from breathing
When I lie here with you I'm sure that I'm real
like that firework over the freeway
I could stay here all day but that's not how you feel
So why do you leave these questions unanswered?
The circus awaits and you're already gone
My Cheshire cat doorstop with fear in your smile,
what makes it so easy for you to be walking by?
And what did I do that you can't seem to want me?
And why do we lie here and whisper goodbyes?
Where can I go that your pictures won't haunt me?
What makes it so easy for you to be walking by?
Walking by
Lyrics submitted by LittleNemo
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I think the line that anyone who has ever been in love can relate to the most is "where can I go where your pictures won't haunt me". that sums up the broken heart!