Crooked Teeth Lyrics
Whose tears didn't care, they just hung in the air
And refused to fall, to fall
I knew I'd made a horrible call
And now the state line felt like the Berlin wall
And there was no doubt about which side I was on
With rotten wood that decayed from the start
If there was nothing there all along
No, you can't find nothing at all
If there was nothing there all along
And kids strung out on homemade speed
And we shared a bed in which I could not sleep
At all, woo hoo, woo hoo oo oo hoo
At night, the sun in retreat
Made the skyline look like crooked teeth
In the mouth of a man who was devouring us both
You're so cute when you're slurring your speech
But they're closing the bar and they want us to leave
If there was nothing there all along
No, you can't find nothing at all
If there was nothing there all along
And it's always this way
My head is weak, my heart always speaks
Before I know what it will say
If there was nothing there all along
No, you can't find nothing at all
If there was nothing there all along
There were churches, theme parks and malls
There was nothing there all along
In VH1's Story Tellers episode featuring DCFC, Ben Gibbard mentioned that this song was about being trapt in a place and living an unordinary, boring, unspectacular life.
He uses this very common story of someone staying in a relationship, despite the fact that it isn't "real", to illustrate his broader point that most people stay where they're born, get in bad relationships, and let it ride because that's just what "normal" looks like.
The line of "There were Churches, Theme Parks & Malls" describe the fact that those three things are found around most places people live. Just another way to drive home his bigger point of complacency and not taking risks.
My apologies, I meant to say "ordinary" in the first paragraph, obviously.
My apologies, I meant to say "ordinary" in the first paragraph, obviously.
personally, i think this song is about how a man and a woman had a relationship that was never really true, and more of lust than love.
"cause I built you a home in my heart with rotten wood that decayed from the start"
i think this means that he started a relationship that was so rocky and would never last.
"and you can't find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along no you can't find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along"
i think this means that right before or after their break up he started to contimplate his love for her. then realized he had none for her, and never did.
thats just my theory. i suck at figuring out what songs mean, so this is probably about as close to the real meaning as a lizard is close to a toaster.
The bassline is off the hizzook.
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
@musicforlife! Still off the hizzook 15 years later
It's about being trapped in a meaningless and dead-end relationship and about his regret being in it.
Oh for the love of fuck! that line has nothing to do with religion specifically. I think Ben's just saying that none of those things really matter in the grand scheme of things, and so what if he saying that religion isn't important to him. It's HIS OPINION. The only way you can really tell if someone's an atheist, is if they specifically say so, and even then you should probably take it with a grain of salt in our modern shock-hungry culture. Oh, and just because Switchfoot MAY have some elements of spirituality does NOT mean that they're specifically a Christian band.
OK, bear with me but this song makes me think of a bad LSD trip. Evidence, you say?
"It was 100 degrees as we sat beneath a willow tree"
Acid can make people feel unbearably hot. Also the thing about a weeping willow literally having tears sounds like a hallucination.
"i knew i'd made a horrible call and now the state line felt like the Berlin wall and there was no doubt about which side I was on"
Feeling the ill effects of the LSD, and regretting ever trying it. After being convicted for certain offenses you're not allowed to cross state lines.
"I braved treacherous streets and kids strung out on homemade speed"
Reference to other people around him doing drugs as well. The streets were "treacherous" because, well, a place where a bunch of kids are doing speed probably isn't a very nice neighborhood.
"at night, the sun in the trees made the skyline look like crooked teeth in the mouth of a man who was devouring, us both"
First, I think it should be "sun in retreat." Anyway, the image described here of the skyline appearing to devour the singer and his companion definitely sounds like the effects of a hallucinogenic drug.
"I'm a war, of head versus heart, And it's always this way. My head is weak, my heart always speaks, Before I know what it will say."
Trying to fight off the effects of being high, which dull your mind.
"no you can't find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along there were churches, themeparks and malls there was nothing there all along"
Saying that all the things he imagined while under the influence were never really there.
That's one interpretation, anyway, although it's almost certainly NOT what Ben Gibbard intended. But, my friend got me started on this theory and now it's all I can think of when I hear the song.
this is a great song, kinda relates to what ive been going through.
i think this song is about a relationship that he started which was never gonna work.
"Because I built you a home in my heart With rotten wood that decayed from the start"
and
"I'm a war of head versus heart And it's always this way My head is weak, my heart always speaks Before I know what it will say"
hes sayin that his heart always wins over his head. so he actually knew it wasnt gonna work, but he went on with the relationship.
"you cant find nothing at all, if there was nothing there all along" i think this means there never was anything in the relationship or something.
im quite confused about the rest of the song though
It's about a couple who embraced their feelings and affection for one another but they knew it will eventually end..They had some sort of deal or rule, to express their love even though it's confusing them. But they still took the risk even if the relationship in the first place was pointless. And I think both of the characters here maybe literally loves to drink haha or they constantly drowned their sorrows in the bar because they both know they could never be.. And at the end of it, the guy or girl still loves the other person but then, what I think is that both of them have a relationship they could never leave or a situation that could be reason that they could never commit in the first place, so they tried to seize the moment and it was great but then knowing the ending...
I think this is a song about a man who was in a relationship with a woman who was lying to him. He was so in love with her the whole time that he never saw the falseness of their relationship. Then he starts realizing that she's just a pretty crappy person that he doesn't want to be around, and really doesn't make him happy- so he's trying to break up with her.
Great song!!!
I think she was all in his mind where everything was safe and easy. Interesting song
I think she was all in his mind where everything was safe and easy. Interesting song
Although it seems that the general consensus regarding the meaning of this song is that it’s about a relationship bound to fail from the beginning, I think it’s more. This common interpretation is most likely stemmed from an automatic response to the chorus:
“No, you can’t find nothing at all, if there was nothing there all along”
Looking at this line alone, I too would think it was only about a relationship; however, looking at the rest of the song, there is an overarching theme of disdain for a certain city. Ultimately, I think Crooked Teeth is Ben Gibbard’s lament for a city he has ended up in (most likely to follow a girl). His hate for the city, as a result, makes loving his girl much harder and eventually tears them apart. The specifics of the city, I can’t draw a definitive conclusion about.
Gibbard says he knew he “made a horrible call” by leaving his previous residence. He notes that the “state line” that he has passed makes him feel like he’s stuck on the other side of the Berlin wall, as if he cannot leave but it also unwelcome as it is clear he belongs on the other side.
Most relevant however, is the amazing imagery in the following verse that truly showcases how much discomfort Gibbard feels in the city:
“’Cause at night the sun in retreat
made the skyline look like crooked teeth
in the mouth of a man who was devouring us both.”
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@Littlewanderer - Disdain for a certain city --> I wonder if it was Los Angeles. I share Ben\'s disdain for that place. He\'s from the beautiful green Northwest and didn\'t like living in the brown hellhole known as LA.
@Littlewanderer - Disdain for a certain city --> I wonder if it was Los Angeles. I share Ben\'s disdain for that place. He\'s from the beautiful green Northwest and didn\'t like living in the brown hellhole known as LA.