Blue Lyrics
First of all, allow me to say, it is "optimist".
The song is about finding something new about someone, noticing a sudden change in someone, or or being deceived by someone, which repulses you/him. This is why he says things like ignore the smoke. Just act like he never knew, the smoke was never there, he never found out.
He's saying to call an optimist because in the situation he is not optimistic. He has no faith in it.
People generally jump straight to "drowning" figuratively or metaphorically when someone turns "blue". Truth is, they are turning "blue" because whatever he found out is killing her. Its ruining her in every possible way. Not only for herself but also how he viewed her and now he cant ever look at her the same.
The lyrics reference which substaintially agrees with what im saying is that he says "Such a lovely color for you". Basically saying, "Sure, go ahead, great idea." or "Who am I to stop you from doing what you want, I had to find out like this, right?". Basically just letting it be because hes so disgusted he just doesnt care anymore and hes quite sure, pestimistic, that it will not ever be the same between them.
When he says, "Mistook their nods for approval", that was actually speaking for her, and she just assumed he was ok with it, or not bothered, and she went and continued. So he ignored how aweful it was, never confronted her, and just smiled like everything was perfect.
@SongInterpreter i hadnt figured out what the line "Mistook their nods for approval" meant, i liked reading an idea of it. good interpretation :)
@SongInterpreter i hadnt figured out what the line "Mistook their nods for approval" meant, i liked reading an idea of it. good interpretation :)
This song's meaning is so simple it amazes me that people don't see it. It's about watching someone self-destruct and chosing that it's easier/better for you to do nothing but watch. "Best to keep things in the shallow end, Cause I never quite learned how to swim" And "she's turning blue" as in the fact that she's drowning. Songs that Maynard writes are rarely something happy or that are in some way light, he tells us to "think for yourself, question authority" when he's not saying to "take off your pants" (the only reason I'm glad that I missed seeing APC last time they played near me, I would have taken off my pants and gotten arrested just for the Hell of it.) And yes it is aftermath, as in he's starting to see the results of his choice to do nothing when he could have saved someone.
DatheR
Thank you for posting this. I watched their dvd which can be played with commentary by MJK. He explains the song meaning, which is very similar to what you said. It is about a person that is close to or in love with someone who is dealing with an addiction or dying. This person refuses to admit that there is a problem, or that anything is wrong. Anyway, thanks for not posting idiotic ideals or ignorant generalizations. Peace. -Jeff
Thank you for posting this. I watched their dvd which can be played with commentary by MJK. He explains the song meaning, which is very similar to what you said. It is about a person that is close to or in love with someone who is dealing with an addiction or dying. This person refuses to admit that there is a problem, or that anything is wrong. Anyway, thanks for not posting idiotic ideals or ignorant generalizations. Peace. -Jeff
This song is very simple. For those who are lost, guess you have to get used to thinking about things creatively and not the obvious way. This is why i personally started listening to music that isnt mainstream bullshit. I am one that likes to learn, sharpen the mind and not take the easy way out.
This song is very simple. For those who are lost, guess you have to get used to thinking about things creatively and not the obvious way. This is why i personally started listening to music that isnt mainstream bullshit. I am one that likes to learn, sharpen the mind and not take the easy way out.
@DatheR its optimist, aftermath doesn't make sense. aftermath definition: "the consequences or aftereffects of a significant unpleasant event.". so "call a consequence (of an unpleasant event), she's turning blue"? doesn't sound right.
@DatheR its optimist, aftermath doesn't make sense. aftermath definition: "the consequences or aftereffects of a significant unpleasant event.". so "call a consequence (of an unpleasant event), she's turning blue"? doesn't sound right.
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those were the first 3 websites i found when i googled "a perfect circle blue lyrics", and they all say optimist. i liked the 'take off your pants and get arrested' idea though, gonna do that one day for sure haha
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those were the first 3 websites i found when i googled "a perfect circle blue lyrics", and they all say optimist. i liked the 'take off your pants and get arrested' idea though, gonna do that one day for sure haha
I think it's the other way around. I think he or she, whomever he is singing to, was in denial about the singer (abusing drugs, making bad decisions, etc.) and they initially ignored all the warning signs. ("Smoke" is just a metaphor) After it all came out in the wash, they were committed to him and stuck around, regardless of his refusal to change. "Til I'm blue in the face" is a saying referring to exhausting all efforts and he is sarcastically acknowledging it.
I just want to clear up the "smoke" thing. It seems fairly clear to me that "smoke" refers to "smoke and mirrors" (a figure of speech used to describe illusionary tactics) and the line "ignore the smoke" to me basically means to CHOOSE to be ignorant to what's going on around you. I don't yet have a comment on the rest of the song.
@crystalla Puscifer came out with a song called "smoke and mirrors" spot on
@crystalla Puscifer came out with a song called "smoke and mirrors" spot on
I think this song refers to a girl that he loved who was having an affair, possible with someone who was also his friend.
"I just didn't want to know" "Ignore the smoke and smile" He may have known something wish fishy, veiled in "smoke" but choose to ignore it.
"Mistook their nods for an approval" This is my biggest hint for the affair, rather than a drug addiction or suicide, which are also good theories. He may have seen the two together, saw them "nodding" at each other, and thought it was just being friendly while they were actually nodding to affirm what they may had been doing the night before.
As for the turning blue part, I have no doubt that she's dying or dead. He himself may have killed her when he finally came to realize what was going on.
This is what I was thinking after listening to this song a few times. I think it is fairly obvious that he is the one who "killed her." The affair part is not quite as obvious, though, makes sense. It could be any number of things. Whatever was mistook by the narrator, the narrator definitely did the killing. Great interpretation Rob
This is what I was thinking after listening to this song a few times. I think it is fairly obvious that he is the one who "killed her." The affair part is not quite as obvious, though, makes sense. It could be any number of things. Whatever was mistook by the narrator, the narrator definitely did the killing. Great interpretation Rob
When I listen to this song I imagine both Maynard and the girl he's singing to being on drugs; Maynard is watching her overdose. At the beginning of the song, he is afraid and doesn't know what to do, hence staying in the shallow end instead of jumping in to try to help her.Trying not to lose his high, he attempts to ignore the fact that she is literally turning blue and instead convinces himself to be an optimist and that it's a lovely color for her.
Every song of the album depicts different viewpoints of addiction. The name itself, "Thirteenth step" is a direct reference to the 12 step programs of AA and NA.
"I didn't want to know I just didn't want to know Best to keep things in the shallow end Cause I never quite learned how to swim " ^-This song is about being in denial about a loved one's opiate abuse while they ruin their life over it.
"Call an optimist, she's turning blue Such a lovely color for you Call it aftermath, she's turning blue While I just sit and stare at you " ^- When some one is dieing/"falling out" from a heroin overdose, they turn a blue-ish color and twitch. The person is just hoping for the best, that their loved one will just be okay without anyone intervening. Obviously this never happens because they just "sit and stare" at the addicted love one, letting the person just die from the opiate abuse.
"Mistook their nods for an approval Just ignore the smoke and smile " ^- Referring to 'nodding out' while under the influence of heroin, smoke from the actual process of doing the drug.
Ignoring the smoke is a metaphor as well.
Ignoring the smoke is a metaphor as well.
Her turning blue is a sign that something is wrong.
Her turning blue is a sign that something is wrong.
One metaphor for any major problem is a fire and you notice smoke before the fire.
One metaphor for any major problem is a fire and you notice smoke before the fire.
In this case, the signs of her addiction are starting to show and at this point he's choosing to ignore them to continue to live in ignorance, in spite of the fact that she is dying. This is the smoke he's ignoring.
In this case, the signs of her addiction are starting to show and at this point he's choosing to ignore them to continue to live in ignorance, in spite of the fact that she is dying. This is the smoke he's ignoring.
@CSKupo1959 Best description so far. You did background reading––thanks, that's refreshing. I'm reeling because I never noticed the "mistook their nods for approval" when it's so fucking obvious holy shit. Thanks.
@CSKupo1959 Best description so far. You did background reading––thanks, that's refreshing. I'm reeling because I never noticed the "mistook their nods for approval" when it's so fucking obvious holy shit. Thanks.
@CSKupo1959 You missed the smoke part out. This "turning blue"-term is often used for overdosed heroine users. They turn blue due to their lack of oxygen.
@CSKupo1959 You missed the smoke part out. This "turning blue"-term is often used for overdosed heroine users. They turn blue due to their lack of oxygen.
You can also smoke heroine. That must be the meaning of the "ignore the smoke" part. Completely fits in your songmeaning of course, and for me it was just the remaining puzzle piece.
You can also smoke heroine. That must be the meaning of the "ignore the smoke" part. Completely fits in your songmeaning of course, and for me it was just the remaining puzzle piece.
"Call an OPTIMIST", not "call it aftermath" - come on guys.
This is the enabler track, am I right? Refusing to acknowledge that your loved one has an issue for whatever reason as you basically watch them die.
first off, lyrics are wrong, its "call an OPTIMIST, shes turning blue", not aftermath lmao.
the song's about someone who would rather ignore whats happening instead of facing it ("i didnt want to know / close my eyes, ignore the smoke"). by ignoring it, its kinda like its not happening, they create a happy(?) vision where everything bad is blocked out or filtered, which is what mayard meant with the line "Taken by the seamless vision", 'seamless vision' as in their vision has no imperfections or rough parts. also, the lines "Best to keep things in the shallow end, 'Cause I never quite learned how to swim" means that its best to keep things low-key for that person, because they never quite learned how to deal with bad situations like this.
the part of "call an optimist, shes turning blue" basically means that this situation is helpless. we all now what an 'optimist' is, right? someone who sees the good in bad, even if there is not really any good in bad. its also important to know what a realist is, a person who sees the situation as it is, no more good than there is, no more bad than there is. but why call an optimist and not a realist? if they called a realist, they wouldnt get the answer they wanted, because the situation is bad, there is no actual good in it, and a realist would point that out. so they call an optimist, to make it seem like theres light in the situation, even when there isn't.
I figure it was either aftermath or ultimate, but callin out to me also fits too