In the middle of nowhere
When we're looking for something
Then we raise our heads for the colour red
I am too a spirit and a wonderer
And I welcomed the dew as much as you did
When we're looking for brushwood
In the nearest neighbourhood
Then we follow the sky with the eye
We search vegetation
And surprised by the rain
We're stumbling, tripping home again
In the middle of nowhere
When we're looking for something
Then we raise our heads for the colour red
I am too a spirit and a walker
And I welcomed the dew as much as you did
We found the little man
And his aeroplane
But we never located the animal
Examined the dirty ground
Like it never been done
Modern exploring of 1991
When we're looking for something
Then we raise our heads for the colour red
I am too a spirit and a wonderer
And I welcomed the dew as much as you did
In the nearest neighbourhood
Then we follow the sky with the eye
We search vegetation
And surprised by the rain
We're stumbling, tripping home again
When we're looking for something
Then we raise our heads for the colour red
I am too a spirit and a walker
And I welcomed the dew as much as you did
And his aeroplane
But we never located the animal
Examined the dirty ground
Like it never been done
Modern exploring of 1991
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The chorus is referring to walking at sunrise. The sun comes up which cases the sky to be red, and also coincides with why there'd be dew.
In the first verse they're presumably looking for wood for a fire (hence looking for brushwood; dead fallen twigs and branches that's dried out hence suitable for burning). They have to return home (which may be somewhere secluded - they're "in the middle of nowhere" and have to go to "the nearest neighbourhood" to find the brushwood) when it interrupts their search with rain.
The second verse I can't really add much too, although I think it's a little glib to refer it to marijuana or hallucinations without a little to back that up.
I relate this song to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and their experiment with communism. "We raise or head to the color red" could be referencing communism and the blind faith some had in the Bolshevik Party. This continues with "and I welcomed the dew as much as you did."
Karin keeps singing about how they are "looking for something," but they don't really seem to know what it is and keeps stumbling while trying to find it. Marxism was never really given a shot until Lenin took over, but he had to implement some elements of capitalism (NEP) in order to keep it afloat. They seem confused about what they are looking for. I think that could be Marxism, Socialism, and Communism.
"We search for vegetation" makes me think of Stalin's collective farms and the famine it helped create.
"Like it never been done, modern exploring of 1991" makes me think of the communist experiment and its final collapse in 1991.
I dunno, that's what this song reminds me of.
I think it might be about being high on marijuana.
I think it's more of a psychedelic experience.
i dont think it has anything to do with drugs.
seems like they were looking for the site of a plane crash, but the title 'parade' doesn't seem to correlate with this. also, "i am too a spirit and a wonderer" doesn't really fit with looking for a plane crash..
strange.
they love the sun, don't they?
I agree mostly with Barnard17, except that i think it also has something to do with astral projection. The best time to do it is at dawn, and it would explain the " i am also a spirit and a walker". A lot of projectors sometimes travel together, and it is not rare to meet another traveler during a journey, especially if you surround yourself with like minded people. I would think "the knife" would be likely candidates to know about it as well, alot of their songs reflet some of its properties.
I agree mostly with Barnard17, except that i think it also has something to do with astral projection. The best time to do it is at dawn, and it would explain the " i am also a spirit and a walker". A lot of projectors sometimes travel together, and it is not rare to meet another traveler during a journey, especially if you surround yourself with like minded people. I would think "the knife" would be likely candidates to know about it as well, alot of their songs reflet some of its properties.
I know very little about history, Russia, Stalin, etc, so thank you magicalhobo6.
Taking Barnard17, Seedsightsound and magicalhobo6's interpretations into consideration I think we are very close to right. I think this is a naturalistic allegory. One one level this is, as seedsightsound and barnard17 have said, the story of some people looking for firewood and doing astral projection in the early morning. On another level, this can be seen as a metaphor for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The only other thing I can add is that, since the title is Parade, and it may have something to do with Communism, I instantly thought of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being', more specifically the Communist parade at the end of the novel.
There seem to be lots of political references in The Knife's lyrics.
Thank you to previous posters for their insights
This song always made me thing of Lord of the Flies. Probably just because it has aspects of survival ("In the middle of nowhere","we're looking for brushwood",) and childishness ("surprised by the rain We're stumbling, tripping home again"). Also mention of the animal (the best) and finding the little man (at one point the find a dead parachutist). There are lots of lines that contradict this interpretation, especially the mention of 1991, but it was just something I found myself repeatedly thinking of when listening to this song.