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The Point of It All Lyrics
Oh what a noble distinguished collection of fine little friends you have made
Hitting the tables without you again no we'll wait no we promise we'll wait
June makes these excellent sewing machines out of common industrial waste
She spends a few months at a time on the couch
But she's safe she wears shades she wears shades
Oh but no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're aces for playing along
You're only human after all
And you're learning that just 'cause they call themselves friends
Doesn't mean they'll call
They made the comment in jest
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point of it all
Maybe a week in the tropics would help to remind you how nice life can be
We propped you right up in a chair on the deck with a beautiful view of the sea
But a couple days later we came back and you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
You had magically moved to the closet eyes fixed on the spot where the dryer had been
Oh yes no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're almost human after all
Why on earth would I keep you locked up in here where you so love the fall
Well the patterns laid out on the bed
With hundreds of colors of thread
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point in the end
It's better to waste your life watching the scenery change at a comatose rate
And to put yourself in and turn into one of those cigarette ads that you hate
And while you were sleeping some men came around and said they had some dementions to take
I'm not sure what they were talking about but they sure a mess of your face
But still no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for coming along you're almost human even now
And just cause they call themself experts doesn't mean that they'll call
Oh they've got the permanent price and the homes with a stable address
And they've got excitement and life by the fistful but you've got the meaning
I guess that's the point of it all
Hitting the tables without you again no we'll wait no we promise we'll wait
June makes these excellent sewing machines out of common industrial waste
She spends a few months at a time on the couch
But she's safe she wears shades she wears shades
Oh but no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're aces for playing along
You're only human after all
And you're learning that just 'cause they call themselves friends
Doesn't mean they'll call
They made the comment in jest
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point of it all
We propped you right up in a chair on the deck with a beautiful view of the sea
But a couple days later we came back and you and the chair were nowhere to be seen
You had magically moved to the closet eyes fixed on the spot where the dryer had been
Oh yes no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for playing along
You're almost human after all
Why on earth would I keep you locked up in here where you so love the fall
Well the patterns laid out on the bed
With hundreds of colors of thread
But you've got the needle I guess that's the point in the end
And to put yourself in and turn into one of those cigarette ads that you hate
And while you were sleeping some men came around and said they had some dementions to take
I'm not sure what they were talking about but they sure a mess of your face
But still no one can stare at the wall as good as you my baby doll
And you're racist for coming along you're almost human even now
And just cause they call themself experts doesn't mean that they'll call
Oh they've got the permanent price and the homes with a stable address
And they've got excitement and life by the fistful but you've got the meaning
I guess that's the point of it all
Song Info
Submitted by
zweiundzwei On Jun 24, 2006
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i'm pretty sure she says "aces" not "racist" but I could be wrong.
this song is love.
100% aces, not racist :)
100% aces, not racist :)
I think this song is about some one, who for whatever reason, refuses to participate in life. They are so afraid of screwing up and turning into something that they hate that they would rather sit around. Even when given the opportunity to embrace the beauty of the world (a week in the tropics) they retreat back inside their comfort zone.
This person tries to engage in creativity (the patterns laid out on the bed) but they never get around to actually creating anything. The things that they try to give life to end up dying, but it's enough consolation to know that s/he has the ability (you have the needle) to bring things to pass if they so desired to do so.
I think the people taking "some dimensions" are measureing this person for a coffin. Death, which is certain to come from being so removed from life really upsets the individual this song is about (look what they've done to your face). People in the funeral business make a lot of money, and even though they deal with and profit from death they are able to lead full, wonderful lives. Perhaps in this stanza needle refers to the means with which to kill oneself. If this is the case, this person is essentially able to control the coffin makers because it's up to them when they off themselves. It's the same method of control delivered by having the needle yet being unwilling to finish the project.
I also think the idea about a drug addict is possible, but the interpretation I just described is the first one that popped into my head when I heard this song.
@EphemeralFortress You're mostly right but Amanda Palmer is singing about herself. She frequently refers to herself in her songs as someone very good at standing still. She is singing about her own fears of getting out in the world.
@EphemeralFortress You're mostly right but Amanda Palmer is singing about herself. She frequently refers to herself in her songs as someone very good at standing still. She is singing about her own fears of getting out in the world.
However, she does get out in the world some. She is creative and she does create "sewing machines out of common industrial wastes". Her song is not that she never gets out but that her attempts to get out are often misunderstood. People call themselves friends "in jest" (not "and just"). The fakeness of some people is what drives her back...
However, she does get out in the world some. She is creative and she does create "sewing machines out of common industrial wastes". Her song is not that she never gets out but that her attempts to get out are often misunderstood. People call themselves friends "in jest" (not "and just"). The fakeness of some people is what drives her back into her shell.
The needle symbolizes many things, not just one thing, but I think it mostly symbolizes the pain in her own heart, a pain that both drives her creativity and a pain that causes others to not be comfortable around her so they keep trying to take the needle away. But without that needle, she would be as fake as everyone else. The needle keeps her real and that is the point.
I think the song is dealing with a friend who is either suicidal or a drug addict, or both.
This song could be written about me. I have severe mental issues and am highly creative. To stay alive I have to take meds that turn me into a zombie. To be uniquely creative, I have to be off my meds. I spend a lot of time staring at walls wishing I could create. I have friends but they have mostly given up on trying to get me to go out.... That which I live for is not enough to keep me alive. That which keeps me alive (drugs) stops me from doing what I live for....
To me this sounds like it is about drug abuse- the "needle" presumably referring to heroin or morphine. It's about how the life of an addict is reduced to sitting and "watching the scenery change at a comatose rate" while the only thing that matters is getting another fix:
"But you've got the needle I guess that's the point of it all"
It's an incredibly moving song, I wish they would release it!
This is just my interpretation, what do other people think?
i LOVE this song. hehe.
I agree with me&theminibar. It really sounds like she knew someone who was a herioin or morphine addict and they tryed to help that person and they just went back to his/her old ways. And maybe in the last part where it says "But while you were sleeping some men came around Said they had some dimensions to take I'm not sure what they were talking about But they sure made a mess of your face" maybe he didnt pay his dealer and they came in and beat the living shit out of him/her while they were sleeping.
@MorganULookLikeHell I think she's alluding to the fact that the person died. Not sure if you've heard the old expression "getting fitted for a pine box." The men who had some dimensions to take were measuring the addicts' dimensions, and then Amanda says "they sure made a mess of your face." I'm sure you've been to funerals with an open casket and the person lying there looks totally different from how they did in life, pretty much a mess. That's what I believe she's talking about here: the sad, empty life of a heroin addict who couldn't, and...
@MorganULookLikeHell I think she's alluding to the fact that the person died. Not sure if you've heard the old expression "getting fitted for a pine box." The men who had some dimensions to take were measuring the addicts' dimensions, and then Amanda says "they sure made a mess of your face." I'm sure you've been to funerals with an open casket and the person lying there looks totally different from how they did in life, pretty much a mess. That's what I believe she's talking about here: the sad, empty life of a heroin addict who couldn't, and then wouldn't kick the habit and ultimately just died from OD'ing or being too hard on their body with the drug. But you've got the needle, "I guess that's the point in the end" is the jab to us - this line could also be written, "and I guess that's what hurts the most in the end."
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=90535988
you can download a live version of it from there... the first two songs aren't by them, though
I think this song is about her knowing a guy and that guy is dead but she doesnt want to believe it so she does stuff like make him confortable ect. But all he does is stare at the wall.
I have no idea what this is about but the saddest thing ever is just the little pause in "you've got the needle-I guess that's the point of it all"