There was a stage and a pier up in western Massachusetts,
And the kids came from miles around to get messed up on the music.
And she drove down from Boden with a carload of girlfriends,
To meet some boys and maybe eat some mushrooms
And they did and she got sick
And now she's pinned and way too shaky.
She don't wanna tell the doctor everything she's taken
The paramedics hovered over her like a somber mourning family
They gave her activating charcoal, they flooded her with saline

Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."

He was rough around the edges:
He'd been to school, but never finished,
He'd been to jail, but never prison.
It was his first day off in forever, man
The festival seemed like a pretty good plan,
Cruise some chicks and get a sun-tan.
And his friend gave him four, but said only take one,
But then he got bored and ended up taking all four.
Ah, so now my man ain't that bored anyways,
The paramedics found him: he was shaking on the side of the stage.

Him:
"Everything was spinning and I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."
Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent"
Both:
"They gave us oranges and cigarettes."

She looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament
He quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin.
He looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin.
They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs,
It was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy.
Their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola,
They had the privacy of bedsheets
And all the other kids were mostly in comas.

Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She was pretty cool, we kinda kicked in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."
Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She seemed pretty cool, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."


Lyrics submitted by kemekongka

Chillout Tent Lyrics as written by Tad Jason Kubler Craig Finn

Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Chillout Tent song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • +3
    General Comment

    Their best song. I love the juxtuposition of unrequited love set against a backdrop of drug overdose ('it was kind of sexy but it was kind of creepy').

    The female vocals just kill me, especially the line, 'and I never saw that boy again'. Such a simple sentence but rammed with emotion.

    Great songwriting.

    shedboy82on October 04, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "he's tennessean in denim and sheepskin."

    I think that should be Tennyson, as in the poet.

    heysailoron October 11, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    heh, I've been to a few festivals that had chill out tents for the people who get too strung out, but I've never heard it used as a setting for a love/hook-up story before. Craig Finn's is one damn creative songwriter.

    muteoffon September 02, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "She looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament He quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin He looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs It was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy Their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola They had the privacy of bedsheets And all the other kids were mostly in comas"

    This is probably my favorite verse in a song ever. It is so clever and funny but in a very off beat sort of way. Craig Finn is absolutely brilliant and is such a great writer. I feel like he should write a book.

    Durango95on December 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Probably my favorite song right now. I lovelove Craig Finn's stories.

    Lightbluenesson October 09, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "She looked just like a baby bird, all 'new and lemonshot a lot of polymer'(?)"

    Well I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean, but I know that this is what he's singing:

    "...all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament"

    Craig is a ridiculously amazing poet.

    Lightbluenesson October 12, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    thankyou both kindly, it's hard being ESL.

    kemekongkaon October 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    comments:

    "piet" = "P.A." "activating charcoal" = "activated charcoal"

    heartbeats_xxxon October 17, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    For those that don't know, the guest male vocals are by David Pirner of Soul Asylum, and the guest female vocals are by Elizabeth Elmore of The Reputation/Sarge.

    Tom Selleckon October 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    heh. the only reason i know this is because i go there, but it's "bowdoin," not "boden".

    scheisseon January 04, 2007   Link

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