Grey Cell Green

ahh, used to love this band and this song in particular. can still see jon swinging his lopsided fringe....shame we have to grow up eh?

It's a shame these guys weren't slong that long. They were way ahead of their time. If they came out with song now, they'd be going places!

I think he's expressing disdain for "magical thinking". He keeps hearing that "it" is in the trees, in the skies, all around, etc. Presumably that's in reference to "God" or whatever spiritual entity someone wants to believe in, pray to, tap into, or try to emulate in some way. In the end, he says, "Your desire, it's inside her, it has been found..." which I think means: instead of trying to find "Love" as a magical, spiritual experience, simply realize that consciousness is not magic, it only exists inside us, in our grey matter, which has it's own desires, and we can easily fulfill our desires with each other, and without looking for signs, consulting tea leaves, praying to the heavens, or other non-sensical behaviors.

Great song that has always stayed with me since I first heard NAD. I always thought it was about not looking outside of yourself for answers (Psychic, Zodiac....etc. etc.) but inside yourself and your desire - hence the lyrics: You're tellin' me it's in the trees, in the trees It's not, it's inside me now You're tellin' me it's on the ground, it's all around But it's not, it's inside me You're tellin' me it's mother earth, some sign of birth It's not, it's inside me, COME ON!

The grey sells green = that which is grey in our life that we are unsure of others sell us on what it is what it means and make money off that. Grey cells is our grey matter (our minds, our intelligence, our brain power)- "Grey cell's green only if the green cell's grey" I think he's saying use your mind and desire cause that's what's real and natural (green) -grey cells green are unpolluted cells it's an unpolluted mind able to think for itself, unpolluted by those things outside of us telling us how to feel or be or what our meaning is because the answer is really inside of us. Pretty deep stuff for a group of 20 something year olds in the early 90's!!

This has to be one of my all time favorite songs off of God Fodder.

This has to be one of my all time favorite songs off of God Fodder.

I think the last line is "Grey cell's green or you've got green cell's grey" as in 'if you don't use your grey matter to think about green matters, your greenery is going to turn grey'

I always thought of this song as one of those perfect pop songs, great tune, great lyrics and what the hell does it mean? Is it about the environment, lust, desire, what? (obviously desire, and he found it, it was inside him all along. In case you missed that part)

Am I the only one who thinks this song is just about smoking weed? Turning green cells grey (to ash), his grey cells turn green (high). The first part of the song is about this is just a physiological process, nothing mystic.

Here's the actual meaning of the song, straight from John Penney himself.

"When I wrote it, what happened was I was starting to become aware of the environment. That was what ‘Grey Cell Green’ was about. A lot of people think it’s a love song. It isn’t a love song. I mean, people can have it as a love song. But what I was writing at the time was related to lots of people saying, “We’ve got to get in touch with Mother Earth. It’s in the trees. It’s all around us. We’re gonna get all conceptual and love the planet,” and I was saying, “Actually, it’s down to us. We’ve got to not chuck our crap on the floor, we’ve got to stop eating meat.” That was my thing. I was already starting to get worried about fisheries and overfishing and pumping chemicals into cows—and this is 1989! And then now, look where we are… It doesn’t please me to feel clever. It doesn’t, because nothing has changed, in fact it’s worse! I’m looking back thinking I could have pushed that point a bit more, possibly. But the past is what it is, isn’t it? But these days I do use it, I do you use it—if I say so myself, the concept of making your grey cells turn to green issues, I think that’s a decent hook for where we’re at right now."

Source: https://www.indiependent.co.uk/interview-neds-atomic-dustbin/

I am so happy that John Penney explained the environmental message behind this fantastic song. It has stuck with me for many years and that's the way I always interpreted the meaning. There are many other fascinating interpretations of the lyrics out there, but this song is about finding our proper place in the all-embracing fabric of Nature. Being gentle and sensitive, realizing that all the great and necessary exterior efforts of protecting the environment are not the true crux of the matter. It all starts inside us.