Flies are buzzing round my head
Vultures circling the dead
Picking up every last crumb
The big fish eat the little ones
The big fish eat the little ones
Not my problem, give me some

You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can?
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough

This one's optimistic
This one went to market
This one just came out of the swamp
This one dropped a payload
Fodder for the animals
Living on animal farm

You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough

Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh

I'd really like to help you, man
I'd really like to help you, man
Nervous messed up marionettes
Floating around on a prison ship

You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can

Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth

Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh


Lyrics submitted by shut

Optimistic Lyrics as written by Colin Charles Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood

Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Optimistic song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    Beautiful song, I think it's anything but optimistic though! This is what it means to me...

    Verse 1: it's a dog-eat-dog, selfish world. Right and wrong aren't important as long as you get your share.

    Chorus: if you've got a conscience, follow it or ignore it. No one will judge you.

    Verse 2: alludes to "This Little Piggy" and "Animal Farm". The pigs in Animal Farm seek to improve their lot at the expense of the other animals: all are equal but some are more equal than others. I think it refers to humanity in general, but particularly the political class (bombing often improves a leader's popularity rating).

    Verse 3: no idea :-o

    Verse 4: "Dinosaurs...", what should be extinct is still going strong. Not too sure what he's alluding to.

    ...I kind of lose the plot towards the end :-) I suppose the song can be interpreted in many ways.

    Paegaon April 25, 2003   Link

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