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Hang Me Up to Dry Lyrics
Careless in our summer clothes splashing around
In the muck and the mire
Careless in our summer clothes splashing around
In the muck and the mire
Fell asleep with stains
Caked deep in the knees
What a pain
[Chorus]
Now hang me up to dry
You wrung me out
Too, too, too many times
Now hang me up to dry
I'm pearly like the whites
The whites of your eyes
All mixed up in the wash
Hot water bleeding our colors
All mixed up in the wash
Hot water bleeding our colors
[Chorus x 3]
In the muck and the mire
Careless in our summer clothes splashing around
In the muck and the mire
Caked deep in the knees
What a pain
Now hang me up to dry
You wrung me out
Too, too, too many times
Now hang me up to dry
I'm pearly like the whites
The whites of your eyes
Hot water bleeding our colors
All mixed up in the wash
Hot water bleeding our colors
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this is the sexiest song i've ever heard about laundry
Im pretty sure its about clothes from the clothes point of view. But I might be reading a little too much into it.
@dcrico20 I want to marry you
@dcrico20 I want to marry you
@stephmh that would shut my mom up
@stephmh that would shut my mom up
@dcrico20 lets shut that bitch up!
@dcrico20 lets shut that bitch up!
@dcrico20 also sorry for calling your mom a bitch. I don't want any brawls at the wedding.
@dcrico20 also sorry for calling your mom a bitch. I don't want any brawls at the wedding.
i get the impression that this guy has been made to cry to many times, his eyes have wrung out, the clothing used as a metahor. he just wants to be left alone, hung up to dry or recover.
"we used to vacation" alludes to alcohol addiction remission. "hang me out to dry" certainly sounds like a song written during recovery. Although, it's likely that the writer had multiple meanings in mind for the lyrics- alcohol addiction, being used or abused or led on by a lover (or substance), and of coarse the resolution to give up. At least that's my take.
i think so too... although, i think that it can be interpreted more than one way, depending on the listener and their own experiences. "hang me up to dry" could be the alcoholic/addict saying that he's ready to try again at sobriety (drying up) ... "you've wrung me out too many times" refers to his partner's previous attempts to help him through sobering up. i love the way he uses the metaphor of laundering dirty stained clothes (cleaning up the mess he's made). "...pearly like the whites of your eyes", to me, refers to the fact that she remains sober, unlike...
i think so too... although, i think that it can be interpreted more than one way, depending on the listener and their own experiences. "hang me up to dry" could be the alcoholic/addict saying that he's ready to try again at sobriety (drying up) ... "you've wrung me out too many times" refers to his partner's previous attempts to help him through sobering up. i love the way he uses the metaphor of laundering dirty stained clothes (cleaning up the mess he's made). "...pearly like the whites of your eyes", to me, refers to the fact that she remains sober, unlike the bloodshot or yellowed eyes of someone struggling with alcoholism. sad, beautiful song.
fell asleep with stains- i interpret this line as him letting himself be vulnerable and because of it got hurt..and its such a pain. careless in summer clothes...i think when you fall in love your so happy that you forget to be careful and all you focus on is how great you feel. pearly like the whites- white reflects innocence, his innocence. a girl messing with his mind.
I agree it's about being led on, and the lyric should definitely be changed to "muck and the mire"
What's intriguing about this song, is that the singer is perfectly aware that he's being led on, it almost makes you wonder if he truly wants to be let alone. This song may be entirely sexual. He's telling the "you" that he's been wrung out-- twisted, warped, robbed of juices over and over and over again. At the same time, it's almost as if the singer doesn't have a say in if he may leave the situation or not.
The line "mud caked deep in the knees" is definitely suggestive, just the idea of mud on knees suggests kneeling (and sexual favors ensuing), and the crevice of a knee joint being pact with mud can be taken as rather explicit sexual imagery. (Think about it.)
The second verse is almost trippy. Again, he's aware of how confusing the situation is ("mixed up in the wash"). The song brings accent to the word hot, and the entire line "hot water bleeding out colors" implies that there is a melding of one into another. Those involved (the two or three or more) are bathed, lost, and literally melting into each other in hot water. Again, a sexual reference.
At the end of the whole situation, he is left white (like eyes), colorless, beaten wrung out.. perhaps post-coitus?
For some reason, though, I want to take the "pearly as the whites of your eyes" to mean I'm just like you now. I have no support for this, just a feeling.
Anyone else feel me?
[oh and scuba, let us have our fun :)]
This song is far from an innuendo. I don't think you can interpret this song apart from the narrative of the rest of the album. The album centers around robbers and cowards making confessions to the listener, or hanging up their dirty laundry. In their youth the characters in this album all enjoyed sinning (splashing around in the muck and mire). Eventually they will die carrying the marks of their sins (fell asleep with stains/ caked deep in the knees). Willet is making a remark on how deep man's sin problem runs. But now the...
This song is far from an innuendo. I don't think you can interpret this song apart from the narrative of the rest of the album. The album centers around robbers and cowards making confessions to the listener, or hanging up their dirty laundry. In their youth the characters in this album all enjoyed sinning (splashing around in the muck and mire). Eventually they will die carrying the marks of their sins (fell asleep with stains/ caked deep in the knees). Willet is making a remark on how deep man's sin problem runs. But now the laundry faces judgement day, (Hang me up to dry/ you rung me out too many times). No matter how many times the clothes were rung out they could not be cleaned by the sinner. But amazingly they were "pearly like the whites of your eyes." This was due to nothing but the free grace of God who will remove the scarlet stain of sin and give us new clothes as white as snow if only we will believe in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save us from our sins. The closing lines refer to the characters in the album who are all so similar in their depravity (all mixed up in the wash/ hot water bleeding our colors). We are all like each sinner in this album. The only thing that saves us is faith in Christ to be our righteousness for us. This interpretation fits with the "secret track" "Sermons vs. The Gospel." Only grace can save you from yourself. This song is a beautiful and very cryptic Gospel track.
if you watch the music video the story is very different from what we initially thought.
I think this song is about racism. It's easy to miss, because it's a pretty skillful interplay of symbols, but other songs on the album share this theme. In fact, one could say the entire album's theme is domestic life in the 1950s-early 1960s period (aka the COLD WAR period). I think it refers specifically to a black kid who has been "wrung out to dry" by racism. He convinces himself he's "pearly white," and tries to convince others of the same thing. playing in "the muck and the mire" could refer to the diversions of an underprivileged child, which is why I think it's from the perspective of a child. And because the tendency to convince oneself one is someone else is a childish tendency.
People tend to underestimate CWK's lyrics, but they're actually quite meaningful.
I'm only a few years late, but i agree with this idea. It's deeper than everyone thinks.
I'm only a few years late, but i agree with this idea. It's deeper than everyone thinks.
I'm pretty sure from diagnosing every amazing lyric of this song that it's about a guy being lead on by a girl but of course "you've wrung me out too many times" she keeps bringing him down but he is not sure if he's going to give up on her yet. This song is amazing and the Cold war Kids have such a uniqueness about them and that's why I love them. I definately agree that they don't get enough credit for their amazing work and I hope they become more popular.
I Believe this song is about a boy and a girl that have carelessly fallen in love. Or Perhaps he's fallen carelessly in love with her, while she's just prancing along not really giving a damn; She's just having a good time. He is exhausted and worn out and just wants her to be only his. There is "stains" on his heart that she has left and he can't just move on. He needs her. That's what I think. What beautiful metaphors.