Andrew Bird – Fiery Crash

Song MeaningGeez, folks... especially you, elsey- you people are reaching...

The song's about fear of flying and the superstitious compulsion that we have to play out the worst case in our minds to keep it from happening.

Lou Dobbs, CNN etc.- this just airport imagery...

"Breeding superstition
A fatal premonition
You know you got to envision
The fiery crash

..It's just a formality
Why must I explain?
Just a nod to mortality
Before you get on... a plane."


Beautiful stuff, though...

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  @zeze22

General Commentfor me, i always interpreted this song as 'the tragedy is what sells', 'the bad news is what makes good news', or in this case a fiery crash...the media loves to blast us with the terrible news. it reminds me of walking through an airport and CNN reporting on an airplane crash...i thought it was interesting that i always have that fear of the plane going down in the back of my head at all times because those are the only ones we hear about on the news-- not the thousands of normal flights that occur every day.

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  @mrfinch

Song MeaningThis section, “Lou Dobbs and the CNN team, On every monitor screen, You were caught in the crossfire, Where every human face, Has you reaching for your mace” reminded my of Jon Stewart’s appearance on the show Crossfire. They manufacture a sort of ridiculous hatred toward each other as they argue their points. IE, it makes you just want to mace everyone on the show. Not sure how this might fit in with the rest of the song. Maybe that we are not understanding the possible impact of our actions whether we are angry enough to mace people or getting on a plane. Either way, there could be a fiery crash.

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  @clovus
  0

  '...a sort of ridiculous hatred toward each other..." Exactly. We become fearful and suspicious of one another based on the theater we call the news. It's played out most dramatically at the airports. But if you knew you were going to die in a fiery crash and the strangers stuck in that tin can in the sky with you were the last people you'd ever see on earth, would you feel kinder toward them? Be nicer to them? Think more of them?

  Flag abirataon December 15, 2012  

MemoryFINAL DESTINATION! :D

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  @thesaurosie

General CommentI'm about 95% sure this about post 9/11 travel paranoia. I don't think the other answers are wrong, but the reference about every face having you reaching for your mace feels very Flight 93 to me. Thoughts?

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  @scoopohio

General Commenti hear the "close your eyes and you wake" bit like i would if hearing someone on a road trip who fell asleep in the passenger seat say "i closed my eyes in detroit and woke up in wisconsin". just like how a very large passage of time or distance can be covered while you're completely unconscious of it. just a thought. or maybe just how easy it is to nod off and wake up in a compromising position somewhere public.

in all honesty, i think it's Bird's take on how our society works through looking at how we act in airports. if you look at the gist of it, it's life in an airport. but if you look at "every face has you reaching for your mace", sort of goes to illustrate the fact that everyone's gotten so hostile to those they don't know.

as for the fiery crash, it's kind of a call to wake up a little. it could be the last time you do anything if your plane goes down, and as often as it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean it still couldn't. some people live their entire lives afraid to fly because of the one in a million chance that their plane goes down. it never happens, so say the ones who end up in a crash.

it might just be a reverse psychology ploy to alleviate travel fear. you figure the people who worry the most are those most afraid to go down, but if you can be okay with envisioning your flight crashing and burning, you're either gonna be okay in flight, or you'll be a lot more ready to handle it if it does happen. ("just a nod to mortality").

our lives are pretty fragile, as strong as we'd like to think we are, and when we put our hands in the forces of something that can be a bit unpredictable, it's kind of important to respect the fact that you don't have control of any of that.

i think you ought not immediately try to read into it, but look at what he's given you. look at how antisocial we are in airports. and think about what it does to think about your plane going down, how that changes your idea of things. most people get comfortable with flying because they just won't think about that.

here's another thought: "to save our lives you've got to envision a fiery crash"...perhaps he means save a bit more figuratively. get people to wake up from their stupor. remember 9/11? remember how the whole of New York City actually banded together and became a community where people talked to eachother and helped eachother with sincerity? what happens when any group is faced with tragedy? they almost automatically break out of their little worlds and interact with those around them. they become people in community, with real lives, acknowledging the real life that surrounds. perhaps it's Bird asking us to give those lifeless stiffs in the airport a bit of a wake-up jolt, just to get their blood running and their minds racing.

just an idea, but that's my take on it.

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  @eisey

General CommentThis is most obviously about being in an airport. I think it's kind of about two things though. First and foremost it's about being superstitious or wary about flying in general and second it's about worrying about the little things in life without taking into account your mortality, the fact that you aren't here forever and you should probably enjoy what time you have on the Earth, Lou Dobbs on every monitor screen getting you angry or not.

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  @BuckWilder

General CommentMy take is that its not as figurative as it sounds. Its just that to save yourself, you're going to always have to imagine the worst case scenario, before it ever happens. Andrew Bird's take on 'Better to be safe than sorry'. So its like, "If this plane does go down? I'll know what i want to do, and what to do, to give me the upper hand in survival" Dramamine puts you too sleep. If you have a phobia its better to sleep through it, right? So the idea of close your eyes and wake up, just gives me the idea of how it just seemed like you closed your eyes. And when you wake up, something terrible could have happend. (As in, waking up in the midst of the crash) Just another factor in the idea of preparing for the worst.

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  @Forerunnerrocker

My InterpretationGetting ready to fly, you see some people pounding dramamine (for motion sickness- Wikipedia) with irrational fervor. You don't feel like that anymore, but still have jitters come and go throughout the trip. You get on the plane, and a little folding card stares at you a few feet away in your cramped seat. It has little pictures of the worst possible disasters you can experience. Landing in the water, windows shattering in midair, an airliner on fire. "Jesus, I don't need this" Then comes the flight attendant, reciting your obligations in case of emergency. This never really happens, don't worry. It's just a formality. Just make sure you mask yourself quickly or you and your kid will die. But if you sit near the emergency exit, you have it even worse. You have to be the one to open it in time or everyone burns alive. If you can't handle it, switch seats. If we crash, it's all up to you. Make sure you have all the moves down. It's a tough job, but save our lives, you have to envision the fiery crash. But seriously, it's no big deal. Just trying to be safe. Then you take off and cruise- it's really not bad at all. In fact you doze off till just before landing. A voice comes over the speakers, you don't hear everything, but it hardly matters. You made it. You're gonna be fine.
I think this is very existential in it's meaning, and needs little interpretation. Bird expertly shows us the intensity of our emotions, and the frailty we can feel, by describing one airline trip. Our fears, our imagination, our superstitions, are a powerful force in our everyday lives, even when we don't see it.

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  @sevenslimysnails
  0

  @sevenslimysnails Fantastic comment. Enjoyed the first person view run-through of the song. A couple of nice insights that made one or two of the more vague references clear to me. Thanks for sharing

  Flag MuuCowOfDeathon January 13, 2015  

General Commentamazing.

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  @elleon