Fancy

"I find it in an atlas Or flipping over old news Check what's in the trash bag" - how the homeless are little more than a passing curiosity to most people

"We're just another part of you" - people need to face up to reality.

"I beg your pardon??!" double meaning, a) show us some respect! b) literally, a homeless person begs passers-by for their approval

"Blame me for where you are Tell me what I got to lose That's a bit fancy" - How people scapegoat the poor for society's problems

i love the anger and intentional griminess of this song and it fits the topic perfectly.

I find it in the atlas or flippin' over old news check what's in the trash bag we're just another part of you we're just another part of you I beg your pardon? (beg your pardon?) beg your pardon?! WOAAAAAAAAAAH!

ready me for what you are tell me what I gotta lose 'bout to get fancy we're just another part of you we're just another part of you I beg your pardon? (beg your pardon?) beg your pardon?! WOAAAAAAAAAAH!

we read it for three days..

we ran over it like a perfect fit didn't need our.. didn't need our eyes watched it from the next island

In an interview in 2006, Karen O said:

"I wouldn't say that only the softer ballad side of me is who I actually am, as opposed to the more confrontational, irreverent side. They're both interwoven. It's not like one is acting and the other is for real. Both are what appeared and came out from the first performance we ever did to the last one, and I'm not exactly sure where it comes from and I can't ever actually predict what's going to come out. Both of them come from their respective places inside of me, but I think they are just two sides of the same personality. But one wouldn't exist without the other. They balance each other out."

IMO, Karen is talking about the conflicting pieces of the human personality that constantly pull you in different directions (depending on mood, setting, circumstance, synergy, etc.). This is basically what causes your persona to change, perhaps many times, throughout your life. Sometimes, a single piece (or a subset of pieces) will just fit you perfectly in terms of your level of consciousness, age, experience, and current aspirations. So you put that mask on because.. it just fits.

However once you do this, you sort-of forget about all the other pieces that are still there, even though they've been run over and hidden by the current dominating piece of the persona. You just jump on this one piece, as if it's your own private island, and treat all the others as old news and throw them in a trash bag.

Then one day, something happens that makes you remember the other pieces of your personality that have been pushed down for a long time. So you freak out, and things start to get very complicated (i.e. "fancy"). Now, you have you decide whether you're going to jump to the next island or deal with the other pieces and try to integrate them into your life in a balanced, harmonious way.

This is the conversation that's taking place here, in Fancy. It's the dominating piece of a persona running into the others that were previously-hidden and pushed into the unconscious. This is why almost every line is doubled on the vocals; this represents the different pieces of her persona violently clashing with each other. This is also why she wears a mask during this song in some of the live shows from the Show Your Bones era. It's a total expression of the friction that's created by the complicated nature of the human mind, and the potential for balance if the conflicting pieces can somehow become integrated as one.

Wow no one commented on this song, I love it, its not the best but i still really like it. I do not know what it means.

I think it's about how the YYY's were unknown until Fever To Tell, and now they are in the mainstream.

I think it IS about mainstream music, and kinda about how yyy is a bit alt. for the mainstream. "I find it in an atlas Or flippin’ over old news" --the mainstream is expressed everywhere-- "Check what’s in the trash bag Well just another part of you" --the mainstream is always changing, and when a new wave comes in, the old is forgotten/thrown away-- "We were overlooked" --how the band was discovered and pulled closer to the mainstream-- "Won’t you find the next, ah…" --wanting to get out of the spotlight/mainstream--

Show Your Bones sounds like it's going to be more atmospheric and interesting than Fever To Tell....wait wait wait, indie kids! The first one was really great and a big ol' rush and so forth, but this sounds like the sheer texture of the sound will pull in newbies and cause the current fans to sink further in.

I think its about them becoming news for today, and trash for tomorrow. You can find it in the altlas (they are just a point)

We read it for three days

I guess means that after 3 days to "awesome" it soon turns to crap.

(total guess)

love the Oh-ah

This song is obviously about NYC's homeless!