I want to be the surgeon that cuts you open
That fixes all of life's mistakes
I want to be the house that you were raised in
The only place that you feel safe
I want to be your shower in the morning
That wakes you up and makes you clean
I know I'm just the weather against your window
As you sleep through a winter's dream

Something's churning the earth, something's stirring the sky
And the colour at once in column of light
Bacteria breeds on a microscope slide
The worm in my heart's the apple of your eye

Don't adore what is impossible
We have built this ship in a wine bottle
But oh, but if you knew how it worked
We would have to grow old

Something's eating at you, wakes you up in the night
If you dig in the past, who knows what you'll find
Read the newspaper print off the microfiche slide
And your holding your breath for the rest for of your life

Don't you love what is intangible
I have built this ship in a wine bottle
But if you knew who I was
You would never grow old


Lyrics submitted by apocalypse84

Ship in a Bottle Lyrics as written by Conor Oberst Oberst

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Ship in a Bottle song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    yeah right along with what Gråvejr said. i saw bright eyes at the grand olympic last summer and he said something to that effect.

    so going along with that, i think its about that type of "fantasy" relationship that we all dream of having but we know we could never have it because nothing in this world is perfect.

    like the first verse, you just wanna be this everything for the one you love. you want them to feel perfect and safe. but you know all you can really be is this type of disruption ("the weather against your window...").

    then i believe snipets of the song talk about the different types of chaos in the world that keep the world in order. like "bacteria breeds on a microscope slide". we normally view bacteria as a harmful thing but the truth is we need it to survive.

    then i think its also about this girl who wants this perfect and beautiful relationship and she's being kinda naive about it. but the guy is warning her not to wish such things because they'll only happen in your head. and even if we could get it to be perfect, we could prolly figure out a way to get alot of other things perfect and we would never grow old.

    and as for the ship in the bottle metaphor... i think some magnificent and complex thing put in such a small and confined area so that it can never be disrupted by the impurities of the world.

    also i guess the last prechorus of the song im guessing talks about how the girl used to be disappointed in this lack of "perfect" relationships but she then realizes, shes had them all along. and shes holding her breath for the rest of her life.

    thats really all i can pick apart... and i dont even think alot of it is right. i kinda wanna take it to my english teacher because she can decipher any damn poem in like 3 seconds.

    merry christmas kids.

    luderetragicuson December 26, 2005   Link

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