Wasp Nest

Wasp nest women are irresistable, they're all honey and needles (broken bottles, live wires). This is a song about the last moments of luring and the first moment of giving in, and it's done in such a raw and refined way that listeners can see that humming throat themselves.

wasp = W.A.S.P. (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)? If viewed in that way the song takes on a whole separate meaning about class perhaps. The other alternative is that the woman is just trouble, but attractive nonetheless. The guy knows she's trouble and yet he can't stop himself from kissing her throat. The humming is great imagery too - reminds me of a swarm of bees buzzing about. Damn, this band is good.

Some person on YouTube thought the first line was "Your cousin is stoned in a cocktail dress" and now that's all I can hear.

Okay guys, this is just my spin on the song - you could either agree with it or don't agree with it. Please don't flame me for my POV on this song. We all have different or opposing opinions/views, and that's totally okay.

They way I see it, this couple have broken up but bump into each other after they've separated, (maybe in a bar/club) and they reconcile. Past: He fell in love with her, but she didn't reciprocate his feelings, so that's why they went their separate ways - she had broken his heart, she rejected him, etc.

Present: But he's still in love with her, which is how I interpret "A wet martini in a paper cup" - he thinks she's gorgeous, he's always found her attractive, and in his estimation, the dress she's got on (the "cocktail dress") isn't flattering her at all.

"Your eyes are broken bottles And I’m afraid to ask"

To him, she looks just utterly sad and broken - he can tell that she's going through an emotional upheaval. He knows how to read her emotions, her state of being well enough to know this. He can tell that she's been struggling with some emotional conflict - maybe even their relationship, which didn't work out. The way I see it, he could be hoping that she's been missing him as much a he's been missing her. He's clinging to that hope, that hope that she is in love with him, too.

"Get over here, I wanna kiss your skinny throat"

I think this articulates his feelings for her - he's missed her like crazy, and do you love me, and he wants her back, and why can't they be together? all thrown into one simple statement.

And that's the way I see it, peeps. Am I over-analysing this song? Yeah, maybe. But I LOVE this song! This interpretation came to like an epiphany, a bolt right out of blue. I had to share it.

~E.

P/S: Could anyone tell me what 'red sun saint' means? Is it some kind of talisman she's wearing?

Yes! I submitted corrections and they fixed it! Great song, one of my favorites.

fuck this song is good

Everything has pretty much been said concerning this song, except I think for the broken bottles line.

Your eyes are broken bottles And I'm afraid to ask For all your wrath and cutting beauty You're poison in a pretty glass

When I think broken bottles, I think of the kind of glass you find on the beach. It's beautiful and it glimmers in the sun like stained glass, but it's sharp and dangerous, too. Matt Berninger is brilliant.

I think he's just crazy about a drunk/pretty lady..she's cussin a storm (cause she's drunk). Has martini in a paper cup (drinking and doesn't care what it comes in) broken bottles mean maybe she's seeing double or blurred vision. The humming live wires means there's energy there or chemistry between the two, killing clothes (she's dressed sexy) and he simply wants to kiss her skinny throat. He's trapped by her sexiness and actions/ wasp nests

The narrator is tickled by this lady he is infatuated with. I am not sure if he has been dating her for a while or if she is new. Maybe we know he has been seeing her for a while as he writes "a cocktail dress that your mother wore." This could mean he knows her and has known her, he knows her family and such. OR, this lady is wearing a really out of fashion dress. He then juxtaposes "wet martini in a paper cup." When one thinks martini, they think of class and fancy...but a martini in a paper cup? "Eyes are broken bottles..and Im afraid to ask". She's got some issues, but the narrator doesnt really think that much of her issues. He just states he "is afraid to ask". He then goes on to say "your all humming live wires under your killing clothes." She is on fire underneath as well. Wasp nest means she has some issues and is on fire. This lady needs to get herself together. I'm thinking the narrator and this lady had a fight before their party. He is trying to make the best of it by looking at all her quirks despite that she needs to put herself together.