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Turn On Me Lyrics
You can fake it for a while,
Bite your tongue and smile,
Like every mother does an ugly child.
But the stars are leaking out,
Like spittle from a cloud,
Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound.
You're entertaining any doubt,
Because you had to know that I was fond of you,
Fond of Y-O-U,
Though I knew you masked your disdain.
I can see that change was just too hard for us,
Hard for us.
You always had to hold the reigns,
But where I'm headed, you just don't know the way.
So affections fade away,
or do adults just learn to play
The most ridiculous, repulsive games
On the faith of ruddy sons,
And the double-barreled guns,
You better hurry,
Rabbit, run, run, run.
'Cause mincing you is fun,
And there's a lot of hungry hatters in this world set on taking it over
but brittle, thorny stems,
They break before they bend,
And neither one of us is one of them.
And the tears will never mend,
'Cause you had it in for me so long ago.
Boy, I still don't know,
I don't know why and I don't care,
well hardly anymore,
If you'd only seen yourself hating me.
Hating me,
When I've been so much more than fair.
But then you'd have to lay those feelings bare,
one thing I know still got you scared,
yeah all that cold ire
And never once aired on a dare
You had to know that I was fond of you,
Fond of Y-O-U.
So I took your licks at the time,
and a change like that is just so hard to do,
Hard to do.
Don't let it whip-crack your life,
And i'll bow out from the fight,
those old pious sisters were right
The worst part is over,
Now, get back on that horse and ride.
Bite your tongue and smile,
Like every mother does an ugly child.
But the stars are leaking out,
Like spittle from a cloud,
Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound.
Because you had to know that I was fond of you,
Fond of Y-O-U,
Though I knew you masked your disdain.
I can see that change was just too hard for us,
Hard for us.
You always had to hold the reigns,
But where I'm headed, you just don't know the way.
or do adults just learn to play
The most ridiculous, repulsive games
On the faith of ruddy sons,
And the double-barreled guns,
You better hurry,
Rabbit, run, run, run.
'Cause mincing you is fun,
And there's a lot of hungry hatters in this world set on taking it over
but brittle, thorny stems,
They break before they bend,
And neither one of us is one of them.
'Cause you had it in for me so long ago.
Boy, I still don't know,
I don't know why and I don't care,
well hardly anymore,
If you'd only seen yourself hating me.
Hating me,
When I've been so much more than fair.
But then you'd have to lay those feelings bare,
one thing I know still got you scared,
yeah all that cold ire
And never once aired on a dare
Fond of Y-O-U.
So I took your licks at the time,
and a change like that is just so hard to do,
Hard to do.
Don't let it whip-crack your life,
And i'll bow out from the fight,
those old pious sisters were right
The worst part is over,
Now, get back on that horse and ride.
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[ James Mercer professes that this is about a falling out with a former colleague in his previous band (Flake Music). As a result of the falling out, his estranged comrade did not join The Shins, and each went their separate ways. In the poem, Mercer talks about the pettiness of the both of them, although he feels that he was the more civil. He laments that the problems happened in the background rather than happening so that they could have been discussed and resolved. But, he concludes that forgiveness is the right attitude, and neither of the wayward friends should let the falling out having lasting effect on their lives. ]
You can fake it for a while, [ liking someone ] Bite your tongue and smile, Like every mother does an ugly child. But the stars are leaking out, Like spittle from a cloud, [ but the truth is shown from behind its ephemeral cover ] Amassed resentment counting ounce and pound. [ and the hostility revealed in its full measure ]
You entertaining any doubts, 'Cause you had to know that I was fond of you, Fond of Y-O-U, Though I knew you masked your disdain. I can see that change was just too hard for us, [ the change of structure in the band ] Hard for us. You always had to hold the reigns, [ always had to be in control ] But where I'm headed, you just don't know the way. [ but not fit to lead anymore ]
So affections fade away, Or do adults just learn to play The most ridiculous, repulsive games? [ was it time or foolishness that has created the indifference? ] All our favorite ruddy sons, [ vices ] And their double-barreled guns, [ with instruments of hostility ] You better hurry, Rabbit, run, run, run. 'Cause mincing you is fun, [ the apparent satisfaction people get out of demeaning each other ] And there's a lot of hungry hatters in this world. [ people who will consume you to their advantage; consider the traditional association of hatters as “mad;” and also the possible play on “hater” ] Set on taking it over, But brittle, thorny stems, They break before they bend, And neither one of us is one of them. [ neither one of them is willing to give in to the other ]
And the tears will never mend, [ they won't find any reconciliation ] ‘Cause you had it in for me so long ago. Boy I still don't know I don't know why and I don't care-- (Well, hardly anymore) If you'd only seen yourself hating me. Hating me, When I'd been so much more than fair. But then you'd have to lay those feelings bare, One thing I know has still got you scared, Yeah, all that cold ire And never once aired on a dare. [ they never vented the problems (so they could have been mended) ]
You had to know that I was fond of you, Fond of Y-O-U. So I took your licks at the time, A change like that is just so hard to do, Hard to do. Don't let it whip-crack your life, [ don't let it affect you in the long term ] And I'll bow out from the fight, [ he'll stop holding a grudge ] Those old pious sister's were right. [ the Christian idea of tolerance and forgiveness ] And the worst part is over, Now, get back on that horse and ride. [ the falling out should not be a crippling for either's life ]
You can fake it for a while, Bite your tongue and smile, Like every mother does »» HER «« ugly child. But » IT STARTS TO « leaking out, Like spittle from a cloud, Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound.
You're entertaining any » DOUBTS «, 'Cause you had to know that I was fond of you, Fond of Y-O-U, Though I knew you masked your disdain. I can see » THE « change was just too hard for us, Hard for us. You always had to hold the reigns, But where I'm headed, you just don't know the way.
So affections fade away, or do adults just learn to play The most ridiculous, repulsive games? »» ALL OUR FAVORITE «« ruddy sons, And »» THEIR «« double-barreled guns, You'd better hurry, Rabbit, run, run, run. 'Cause mincing you is fun, And there's a lot of hungry hatters in this world set on taking it over but brittle, thorny stems, They break before they bend, And neither one of us is one of them.
The line, "Do adults just learn to play the most ridiculous, repulsive games?" is a quote from the book, The Little Prince.
And "double barrelled" guns as well.
Fab song anyway, definitely one of the best from the new album. :-)
The narrator is breaking up with his girlfriend. The irony is that she, not him, was the one who knew what they had wasn't working. But for whatever reason -- she might have thought things would get better, or maybe she was looking out for his interests -- she hid that knowledge, and kept what they had going.
But the narrator finally comes to the conclusion that the girl had already reached: the relationship won't work. So he tries to act like he's the only one who wants it to end, and tries to comfort her by telling her to "get back on that horse and ride." As if there's someone or something out there, better than him.
amh1010,
Interesting take.
I know that lyrics are open to many interpretations, but I don't see him singing to a girl at all, but to an old friend who he had a hurtful falling-out with. I guess we all filter lyrics through our own personal life experiences, and come to see them in that light.
I think of this song as a continuation of the song "Mine's Not A High Horse." The last lyric in this song, "...now get back on that horse and ride" may not just be a snide parting comment, but also a hint to a connection between the two songs. It's certainly the same subject matter in both.
Here, it seems he had a friend who was dominant and controlling, ("you always had to hold the reigns", "so I took your licks at the time"), and now with some distance and reflection, he just needs to vent his frustrations about the experience ("the stars are leaking out like spittle from a cloud, amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound").
But just like the message in "Mine's Not A High Horse", ("...will you remember my reply when your high horse dies?") I think the message is the same in both songs.
Because what was his "reply" in the first song?
"One finger parallel to the sky."
Of course I'm probably wrong, but that's how I hear it.
I had always assumed this was a sort of break-up song - guy singing of girl.... just the other day I convinced myself that this was written from the view of one male friend who is gay, that has come out to another male friend who is strait.
"I could see that change was just to hard for us.... You always had to hold the reigns, but where I'm headed you just don't know the way."
The rest of the lyrics just fall into place with that sort of relationship, no?
The friend may have enjoyed a certain dominance over him. At first his friend faked accpetance but "ammassed resentment" takes over, perhaps since he was "fond of y-o-u"... then a falling out between them. In the end, the writer accpets that the relationship is irreconcileable and moves on.
This goes above and beyond the actual lyrics --it's just my take:
I hear it as being about two otherwise straight guys who briefly had a "more than friends" relationship during their youth at a Catholic boarding school. As adults, the other guy completely denies the relationship ever happened and has completely rejected the narrator as a way of sweeping the whole thing under the rug. The narrator has also moved on with his life, but he misses the friendship and is both angry and a little contemptuous at how the other guy reacted to the whole thing.
I'm not suggesting this actually happened to James Mercer, it is just what the lyrics suggest to me --maybe because it's so rare to hear a song about the intense emotions that can still exist in a purely Platonic friendship.
The line appears to be "every mother-doesn't-love-me child" and not "every mother's ugly child". It makes sense with the former but not the latter.
"Though I knew your mask your disdain, I can see that change was just too hard for us,"
First the complete lyrics as I hear them:
First the complete lyrics as I hear them:
"Turn On Me"
"Turn On Me"
The Shins 1 You can fake it for a while, bite your tongue and smile like every mother does an ugly child. But the stars are leaking out, 5 like spittle, from a cloud-- amassed resentment, counting ounce and pounds. You entertaining any doubts? 'Cause you had to know that I was fond of you (Fond of Y-O-U), 10 though I knew you masked your distain. (La-la-la-da-da.) I could see that change was just too hard for us. (Hard for u---s.) You always had to hold the reins. 15 Where I'm headed...
>
1 You can fake it for a while, bite your tongue and smile like every mother does an ugly child. But the stars are leaking out, 5 like spittle, from a cloud-- amassed resentment, counting ounce and pounds. You entertaining any doubts? 'Cause you had to know that I was fond of you (Fond of Y-O-U), 10 though I knew you masked your distain. (La-la-la-da-da.) I could see that change was just too hard for us. (Hard for u---s.) You always had to hold the reins. 15 Where I'm headed you just don't know the wa-y.
16 So affections fade away, and do adults just learn to play the most ridiculous, repulsive games? All the favored, ruddy sons 20 and your double-barreled guns. (You better hurry, Rabbit, run-run-run.) 'Cause meeting you is fu-n. And there's a lot of hungry hunters, and this one said, "I'm taking it over." 25 Like brittle, thorny stems, they break before they bend. 27 And neither one of us is one of "them."
28 And the tails will never mend 'cause you had it in for me so long ago-- 30 boy, I still don't know; I don't know why, and I don't ca-re (Well, hardly anymore). If you'd only seen yourself hating me (Hating me--) 35 when I've been so much more than fai-r. But, then, you'd have to lay those feelings bare. One thing I know still got you scared: You're all that cold ire and never once aired out the dead.
40 You had to know that I was fond of you (fond of Y-O-U), so I took your licks at the time (da-da-da-da-dum). And a change like that is just so hard to do. 45 (Hard to do--.) Don't let it whip crack your life, and don't bow out from the fi-ght. Those old, pious sisters were right: The worst part is over. 50 Now get back on that horse and ride.
Now, for my interpretation: There are two childhood friends. But, like most such friendships, their relationship is based more on association than deep emotional compatibility. The simile of the mother kindly biting her tongue about the ugliness of another mother's child might indicate this association had its origin in the friendship of the speaker's and addressee's parents. At any rate, now that the two are adults, the insincerity of their affections is just too apparent. To extend the metaphor of the mother noting the weight of her friend's hideous baby, all the while wishing to escape from this creature and hating her friend for subjecting her to such an ordeal. So each moment of interaction between the two friends has become increasingly tiresome to the point of both parties nearly exploding.
The speaker, then, clarifies that he was genuinely fond of the addressee, though his "friend's" attention toward him was more like belittling disgust. Inverting the social standing of each was too much of a shock for the latter however. Apparently the ugly wimp who always tagged along with him has now made good in life and he (the addressee) has a hard time accepting that the person he always felt was inferior to him is now, in fact, his superior. He (the addressee) felt he always had to be in charge, but now that the person he once thought was his lacky is now the one in charge, he has no clue how to progress in both their friendship and his own life.
Now the speaker cuts in, reflecting that friendships do break down over time, and that adults are just like children with more contemptible pass times (and modes of social interaction). All the "golden boy," all-American types (favored, ruddy sons) with their traditional aggression (the double-barreled guns)--we can fill in the blanks here of how cliche this archetype personality is, so the speaker turns his attention back to the addressee, telling him to run, as a sarcastic gibe about the addressee's being in the proverbial rat race that alludes to John Updike's Rabbit Series (a generally tragic series of realistic novels about an American everyman who achieves success after a lot of struggle, only to have his son piss it away once he retires.)
We might wonder, too, if the speaker's comment, "meeting you is fun," is another sarcastic gibe, implying the addressee has attempted to use his connection to his childhood friend to underhandedly achieve some pecuniary gain in his own professional life. The speaker, then, reminds his one-time friend that there are a lot more skilled and cunning players in his realm, the speaker's being one of them. In fact, those he is obliged to favor in his own career are so good they "break before they bend," meaning they're almost inhumanly tough--unlike both the speaker and addressee. Presumably, one particular other person the speaker has already awarded whatever favor the addressee is seeking was just too tough for the speaker, so he already gave away the whatever before his friend asked for it.
Of course, the "tails will never mend" means the addressee's reaction to his losing out will always be a point of resentment. But, really, the since he actually always disliked the speaker, the speaker wonders what difference that makes. (Though he does admit he still somewhat cares for some reason.) The speaker apparently did try to save the addressee's feelings in some way, while he reflects, the addressee reacted to his decision with obvious hatred. If only the addressee could have seen himself, maybe he wouldn't currently be trying to maintain his mock friendship and toadyism. But, then, he's also have to admit to himself, really, what a terrible, conniving jerk he is.
The "One thing [the speaker] knows still got [the addressee] scared" is the hatred and frustration he's kept bottled up in himself for so many years. This high amount of antipathy, the speaker reflects, has kept the addressee from being happy. And the addressee, the speaker knows, fear that in clinging to old grudges and not "airing out the dead" (or clearing the proverbial skeletons from his closet) he is wasting his life.
Finally, the lyrics end on a happy note: The speaker reiterates that he genuinely always cared for the addressee, which is why he quietly endured the addressee's abuse "licks" for so long. Again, the speaker grants that the fact that addressee can no longer cast him as inferior could have blown his friend's mind. And he admonishes his one-time friend not to let this shock destroy him or make him quit his own struggles. Just because the speaker can't offer whatever the addressee came for, the speaker seems to say, that doesn't mean good things aren't still out there for the addressee. In ending, the speaker recalls a memory of "old, pious sisters" he shares with the addressee, probably referring to nuns at a Catholic School or at Sunday School. We can only conjecture here what lesson he's referring to, as it might be correction of pride or insincerity, but in confronting the truth, at any rate, "the worst part" is always in bringing it to the fore, after which catharsis can set in. So, the speaker seems to advise the addressee, with this new-found truth of the two never having actually been friends, courageously confront the world again (like a cowboy getting back on his horse).