1
Cross the street from your storefront cemetery.
Hear me hailing from inside and realize
I am the conscience clear
In pain or ecstacy
And we're all weaned my dear
Upon the same fatigue
We're staring at the sun
Oh my own voice
Cannot save me now
Standing in the sea
It's just
One more breath
And then
I'll go down
Your mouth is open wide
The lover is inside
And the tumult's done
Collided with the sign
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your body's over me
Note the trees because the
Dirt is temporary
More to mine than fact, face,
Name, and monetary
Beat the skins and let the
Loose lips kiss you clean
Quietly pour out like light
Like light, like answering (chorus comes over this part) the sun
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
Be what you will
And then throw down your life
Oh it's a damned fine game
And we can play all night
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Hear me hailing from inside and realize
I am the conscience clear
In pain or ecstacy
And we're all weaned my dear
Upon the same fatigue
We're staring at the sun
Oh my own voice
Cannot save me now
Standing in the sea
It's just
One more breath
And then
I'll go down
Your mouth is open wide
The lover is inside
And the tumult's done
Collided with the sign
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your body's over me
Note the trees because the
Dirt is temporary
More to mine than fact, face,
Name, and monetary
Beat the skins and let the
Loose lips kiss you clean
Quietly pour out like light
Like light, like answering (chorus comes over this part) the sun
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
Be what you will
And then throw down your life
Oh it's a damned fine game
And we can play all night
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Lyrics submitted by insulatedsoul
Staring At the Sun Lyrics as written by David Andrew Sitek Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Except that it's filled potentially pretentious metaphors for sex.
Here's my guess on this song. A lady was driving in front of a store and hit a sign, and now her lover is giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR.
Now, whether the wreck happened on an actual beach or not, I don't know... the author might be making a reference to the fact that since she's not breathing (in fact, suffocating), it's like drowning. I don't know...half the song is from the point of view of the victim, and part from her lover.
But here's a breakdown. cross the street from your storefront cemetary: He approaches her body hear me hailing from inside and realize I am the conscience clear in pain or ecstacy: he's calling her to "come back from the light," so to speak. And telling her he's trustworthy we were all weaned my dear upon the same fatigue: we all get tired of living once we grow up
staring at the sun: she's on her back as he gives CPR standing in the sea: either it's a literal beach, and he's just above the surf, or the "water" is a suffocation death (since she's not breathing). your mouth is open wide: that's cause she's unconscious, and it's the position you put someone in to give mouth-to-mouth the lover is inside: the victim is his lover and all the tumult's done: the car wreck is over (or, he just pulled her out of the surf, which is also a "tumult") collided with the sign, you're standing in the sea: her feet are still being lapped by the water (literal or no) the woman's part is the victim speaking: oh, my own voice cannot save me now (underwater, you can't talk), one more breath and then I go down (she's suffocating)
note the trees because the dirt is temporary: they're between the high tide line and the current level of the surf; trees don't grow below the high-tide line.
more to mine than fact, face, name and monetary: ambulances and stuff want your insurance info and vital stats, but he's saying that his lover ("mine") is more than just a bunch of facts. be what you will and then throw down your life: either it's a suicide, or he's saying she's giving up the fight to stay alive oh, it's a damned fine game, and we can play all night: sounds like he's saying if she does give up, he's going to keep giving CPR until she stops "playing around."
beat the skins: CPR let the loose lips kiss you clean: mouth-to-mouth, and either it's a reference to the fact that you have to make sure the airway's unblocked (a "clean" airway) when you do mouth-to-mouth, or it's a reference to a non-sexual (i.e.: "clean") kiss quietly pour out like light: leaving your body? lightning in your teeth: not sure: a crash cart, and they're "shocking" her? or she has braces? or he has that metallic taste in his mouth from a lot of adrenaline (or drugs)? Not sure.
@sprucebranch <br /> <br /> It's about fucking dude.
such a sexy song...
creation and destruction are but sides of the same coin.
this band amazes me, they overflow with original creativity. damn and they don't need a "wall of sound". great stuff.
mevlana, that's awesome. i just gained about 3 times more respect for this band than i had:)
the line, 'note the trees because the/dirt is temporary' is one of the most brilliant phrases i've ever heard. trees are symbols of permanence, strength. i think of ancient redwoods hundreds or thousands of years old. but really, nothing is permanent... if each human being considers himself as always existing (that is, that it's rather impossible to conceive of the world you've entirely experienced through your own senses occuring without you), but it's as fleeting as anything else. not only will the trees not last forever, the very dirt will one day fade. amazing
that's exactly how i feel. this song tries to paint a picture of the ecstatic feeling that occurs when you leave the temporary perception of the physical world and become the "conscious clear."<br /> <br /> at first it does seem to cheapen the song since it's derived from that poem, but tv on the radio takes it an essential step further by giving a name to that which is answered, 'the sun.' this echoes hindu beliefs, where the upanishads say that those who have reached the state of pure consciousness realize they are both themselves and the sun at the same time. <br /> <br /> in other words, the song's about existing as/in/through God, which can only happen permanently through death, although we can catch glimpses of it during our human lives such as during orgasm, hence the possible sexual imagery.
Just a note, an orgasm is also known as "le petit mort" the little death.
amen to that
the song is about dying - the moment when your soul leaves your body
kindof shes cumming
It's about sex.
the band has stated that the song is about the experience of dying. although it does contain a healthy dose of sex.