Flat Top Lyrics
Bringing home the new invention
See it there in pieces on the ground
A television war between the cynics and the saints
Flip the dial and that's whose side you're on
Sleeping on the White House lawn ain't never changed a thing
Look at all the washed out hippie dreams
And it's fallin' all around us
Is this some kinda joke they're trying to pull on us
Fallin' all around us
I turned my head off for a while
The tabloid generation's lost
Choking on it's fear
Used to be that's all we had to fear
Conscience keeps us quiet while the crooked loves to speak
His knowledge wrapped in blankets on the street.
A visionary coward says that anger can be power
As long as there's a victim on TV
And my dirty dreams all come alive on my TV screen
And assassination plots
Show me what I haven't got
Show me what I love, who I'm supposed to be
Show me everything I need
Show it all to me
Show it all to me
Yeah, you guys are right, it's sort of a punch-in-the-face obvious political song. It's all about propaganda. "Show me what I haven't got, show me what I love, or who I'm supposed to be. Show me everything I need.. show it all to me". That's saying TV will tell you what to think so you won't have to consider things for yourself.
"Flip the dial and that's who's side you're on". People don't think for themselves. They'll hear something on TV and believe it without question. "A tunnelvision war between the cynics and the saints" is saying that people choose one side of the political spectrum and blindly believe anything the representatives of their party tell them. That's why he calls it a "tunnelvision" war (well, that's what I hear, but the lyrics suggest otherwise..). The cynics being liberals, who think conservatives are selfish assholes that are only looking out for themselves, lumping all conservatives into this same system of thought regardless of their personalities outside of politics. And the saints are the conservatives, who believe they can do no wrong and know what is best for everyone. They possess a holier-than-thou attitude, thus, "saints". It attacks left and right wing morons who never even try to consider things for themselves and let their party do the thinking for them. The singer is the moderate stuck in the middle of all this bullshit and pointless bickering, so he'll "turn his head off for awhile" and not get involved in their ignorant strife.
This is an excellent song that perfectly expresses my political beliefs. I could analyze it line for line, but I think I've hit most of the key points.
This is my first comment, by the way. Hope I did alright.
This is an AWESOME political song. "There's knowledge wrapped in blankets on the streets." Wow. So true. I love this song.
obviously a political song...but it has an awesome feel...one of my favorite (if not my favorite) song by the Goo Goo Dolls
"A visionary coward says that anger can be power"
"Let fury have the hour, anger can be power D'you know that you can use it?" -The Clash from "The Clampdown" on London Calling http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=47761
How dare they speak poorly of the Clash....
yea u can tell its about politics cuz he's talking about picking sides and sleeping on the white house lawn aint never changed a thing look at all the washed out hippie dreams........
I love this song so much. I always say it's four and a half minutes of lyrical genious.
I swear, Johnny's got such a way with words, it's amazing. He's a genius.
Xim 's comment was so fucking awesome i'm not even going to bother explaining it i totally agree with this song too i fucking hate how all there mother fucking corporate Nazi fucks are running our country, America is slowly turning into a big huge shit pile and we are way to brain washed "Look at all the washed out hippie dreams" is my favorite line because the great morals the hippie used to have was so good and now its all gone we need a revolution!
I don't understand how this song isn't more popular. Simply brilliant.
I wish they'd try to rerelease it. I feel like it strikes a chord with today's world.
So amazing in every way.
Again, clearly a political song. Very bitter and cynical, but it's all true. He takes no side, and he takes no prisoners. He has a very defeatist attitude about the situation, but there's really no known way out of what he's talking about.
Caustic, bitter, and brilliant. Plus the guitar work is simply amazing, and extremely overlooked. This would be the greatest closer to a concert ever. Any concert, Googs or not - doesn't matter. Love it.
It's songs like this that make me so disappointed with Let Love In. The guitars crunching away behind a soaring vocal and some of the best political lyrics I've ever heard.
This is what Johnny Rzeznik could do back in the mid-1990s. What happened? It's almost as if he's now 'scared' to rock too hard. And his lyrics are now so tame by comparison. I'll always love the Goos. I just wish they'd rediscover the genius of songs like this one.