Hands Away

This song is about homosexuality. End of story. Paul himself said so in this recent interview: http://thefourohfive.com/news/article/in-conversation-with-paul-banks

<i>I doubt you understood the meaning of that song. It's so absurdist, it's an almost dreamy snapshot of a scenario that involves homosexuality, you know, like bondage and some weird sexual partnership which at the time I felt was very radical as a lyrical context for a rock song.</i>

For me, this song seemed to be about being closeted and gay.

Will you put my hands away ? Will you be my man ?

The speaker is married, in a trapped relationship, and goes out at night meaninglessly reaching out to other gay men for affairs, groping in the dark. But, he falls in love with someone he didn't intend to. He's asking this man to "put his hands away," his hands that are always hungry to touch another man.

Serve it up, don't wait Let's see about this ham

"Ham" is lesser used gay slang for "ass."

oh, what happened ? oh, what happened ?

He still can't believe what he's doing after he's done it. He thinks every time will be his last. He feels that he can't control his cravings.

Home spun desperation's knowing Inside your cover's always blown

To me, "home spun desperation" indicates the speaker's unhappily married status, where he sits at home but still fantasies desperately about other men, and "inside your cover's always blown" is his knowing that he's gay, and that he can't hide it from himself. He's also hiding the affair with the man he's asking to be his man.

Something about his gay partner

interpol live is close to sex

is any/ all of the band members homosexual?

why are you interested

i love this song, to me the lyrics dont make it the music does. its one of those songs that takes you away into another world. my favourite at the moment though most of the bands music is great- its so refreshing

i think this is close to being Interpol's best song, in terms of musicianship. Just listening to it is glory...reminds me so much of The Cure's "Plainsong"....Interpol at their very best.

I like your interpretation vend

i like vends but it begs the question: why would banks write a song about being a lonely homemaker? I think that he had an affair with a married homemaker and this is how the homemaker felt