Anna Molly

This is gonna be super long but it's Incubus!

My interpretation is he's wondering if the right woman for him really exists in the world, possibly being reflective like him from loneliness. And if she does exist, they need to get together and "make a mess," considering how he feels if he met someone of the same character it'd be a "mess." He pictures how she might look and be. He relates how happy he'd be with "I'll call out your name up into the air, not one of the others could ever compare." The word could instead of would because right now she's just a thought and in comparison to these thoughts of the right person, no one he has ever been with in life even compares. Also with the fate lines, he doesn't care about fate, even if what they'd have is better, just that he wants her to stay with him. Or the staying line could mean his thoughts of that woman. The attic reference pertains to the mind, meaning his thoughts of her bring light to a dark or dreary mind. I know all the fans are thinking "what the fuck?" with the lyric "in the back of my eyes" but it's also meaning his brain, because behind the eyes there lies brain matter. "A proof of the prize" is sort of hard to explain. I think it means how alive the thoughts make him feel are proof that this person who may or may not exist is the prize. The ships reference is really interesting. He mentions a thousand ships as if he's been watching the harbor, seeing as he lives in a "city by the sea," for a long time, or feeling really sad for a really long time. He watches the world go by while feeling empty inside. The cloud hanging over him is loneliness, a thousand ships sail him back from distress, again meaning a long time. The wounded satellite lyric means he's receptive but fearful, weary of those trying to reach him, only she could fix him and make him right. That cloud that hangs over hinders his happiness of these thoughts in the second verse, and the ships bring him back from that pain because the ships are lively in a harbor, always coming and going. If there's a fire, a light, a liveliness that this woman brings to him in thoughts, whether she is or isn't real, then that's all he needs. He doesn't care about the in betweens, if all he has are his thoughts then that's what he'll take...

I think "Anna-Molly" is another way of saying "Anomaly." I'm putting it that way. That would most definitely work seeing as anomaly means something not easily classified, and the satellite bit would tie in because it also has something to do with planetary distance as seen from the sun.

The "wounded satellite" lyric is briliant, very clever. It also sums up the entire song. He's broken and yet his whole existence still revolves around this girl he's not with / hasn't met / doesn't exist.

sorry if my interpretation is a wee bit different but here goes.

incubus is known for their love of ...substances, and molly is the street name for pure mdma. many bands talk about certain drugs in songs and refer to them as a woman to stay incognito. not that i'd know anything about molly ;) but here's my take:

"a cloud hangs over" ...boredom, depression? "wonder if she might be out there and sober as well" ...obvious. "girl it's time we met and made a mess" ...also obvious. "a fire in the attic, proof of the prize" ...attic = mind, mdma produces a warming effect. "wish you were here I'm a wounded satellite" ...satellite as in feeling fragmented, as molly makes you feel whole and one with everything. "put me back together, make me right" ...molly is compared to a years worth of therapy in one dose. "Not one of the others could ever compare" ...no other drug can compare to the clarity induced by mdma. "there is a light... there is a fire defragmenting the attic." ...an inward light can been seen on molly, and it is defragmenting his mind. basically taking all the pieces of his mind and connecting them together to become a whole. "Fate? Or something better? I couldn't care less, just stay with me for a while" ... he's having an epiphany... doesn't want the effects to end.

anyone? anyone?

Its totally about how he is searching for the one girl that is perfect for him. There is a play on the word anomaly, which means inconsistency or deviation from the norm. He has been with lots of girls that have not worked out for him. He is searching for the anomaly, or the one that sticks out from the rest.

I'm not sure if this is right, but it seems like there might be a connection to me. In the song they sing Anna Molly pretty strangly. I think they are trying to make it sound like "Annabel Lee" as in the poem by E. A. Poe. Theres also a couple of lyrical connections like "This city by the sea" In the poem by poe, the second line is "In a kingdom by the sea" What are your thoughts on this?

I saw these guys live at Cricket Ampitheatre in Chula Vista, California last summer, and ya know how some bands sound great recorded but when u hear 'em live they're all pitchy and not that good? well, Incubus is one of those bands who sounds pitch-perfect recorded and pitch-perfect live. anyway, Anna Molly is one of the best songs I've heard live, and Incubus is one of the best bands I've heard live, right next to Styx, Def Leppard, Rancid, and Rise Against.

Thanks IncubusRulesAll, well done. This song is exactly what i want to hear from incubus... I'm too excited for the new disc, it's gonna be a long way to november.

I agree with IncubusRulesAll. If I might add when he mentions the ships in the sea he is speaking about all the girls in his life. where his life is like the sea and didnt use the word world or ocean because a sea is more narrowed to a certain place, where his life is not open to every girl, just the ones around him. The crowd that hangs over might be his peers pressuring him to find that special one he longs for and "mutes" his real thoughts but the "ships"("girls" in my view) help him think about the special one and what his goal is and to, if i could say, "mute" his peers pressure.

Ohhhhh, I didn't even think about the ships=girls thing! Good point there.

I'm not surprised at the sound of this new song really.. (In my opinion, the song's "feeling" is reminiscent of Pantomime for some reason) It's slightly relaxing/powerful at the same time. I thought, however, they'd come out with something a little "harder" for their first single BUT I have to say they grow every single time they make a new cd. This album is without a doubt going to be amazing and I am extremely excited!!! Looks like the interpretations so far have been thorough as far as I can tell... so I just wanted to concur that Incubus rules all. p.s. Brandon Boyd is a genius.