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Ribcage Lyrics

We blew the doors, didn't we?
Pissed in their champagne
And did a real thing, didn't we?
Gave ourselves a name
And peeled away the shame

I wanted to explode
To pull my ribs apart
And let the sun inside

Red stain blossoms
And all you have is kisses

And when the sunshine
Throwin' me a lifeline
Finds its way into my room
All I need is you

We called that love
All you have is kisses
And all I need is you...
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Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

An absolutely beautiful song.

Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

Awesome song...mellow and touching...and peculiarly depressing at first

Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

these guys are rad. i can't believe i just found them. i love how the choir comes from nowhere.

Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

what does this song mean to me? let's see!

"and when the sunshine

  • throwing me a lifeline - finds its way into my room all I need is you..."

the beginning reminds me of spending time with someone, having a really good time, and then not hearing from them for awhile... then one day, you're up really late, and you hear from the person, a phonecall or whatever, and you wind up staying up til the sun rises, talking to 'em... and suddenly everything is made good and happy just with that call, you forget the loneliness of when you went without hearing from the person, and all you want is that person with you in that moment.

when i first heard this song, the chorus scared me, haha. totally unexpected, yet perfect. =P

Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

My favourite bit is when he says "wanted" in "wanted to explode." It's just so soulful and incredible. It's such a personal song - great with headphones

Cover art for Ribcage lyrics by Elbow

I think this song is about taking a scandalous affair public and not giving a damn about the reaction ("we blew the doors, didn't we? pissed in their champagne"), whether it's an actual affair, an interracial relationship, or something as simple as two freinds who have been carrying on in secret letting their friends know. They're proud of it and claiming it (hence the "Gave ourselves a name and peeled away the shame" line). I also thing there's a bit of mischief in the pair, like these people found their matches in each other and they are all they need.

That said, the line "We called that love" really kind of challenged my interpertation and suggests an entirely different meaning, like no one was ever supposed to find out about the lovers. Maybe? I'm still kind of working out the end, but I'll stick to my posi interperation for now.

Please forgive a fairly emotionally raw tone here, but this song hit me like a freight train recently. Several Elbow songs were playing in the background the other day and suddenly the rising chorus singing "And Let the Sun Inside" called my attention to this particular song and it just took over my consciousness for a couple of days now. I was going to come here and describe what it has meant to me over the past days since I first heard it and to find BlackEyedAngels' description here already, so close to my own thoughts, was an unexpected...

It think this song may be the band commenting on their first album. Since Asleep In The Back was such a success, that could be them blowing the doors open for their career, and pissing in the champagne could symbolise taking everyone by surprise.

That's just my opinion, but now I think about it, I can remember Guy Garvey saying in an interview that Cast Of Thousands was meant to open with questions, because it was meant to be the band questioning why Asleep In The Back got such a good reaction. E.g 'We blew the doors, didn't we?' might...

 
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