Tall Tales Taste like Sour Grapes

Um, you should try listening to the song instead of just 'being the first to post on it' because no one here is going to give you a cookie or anything like that. LoL, anyways, this song is amazing. In my opinion, this song is about humanity accepting things for what they are without fighting for what they believe in. The chorus reads:

"tell me, tell me a story, tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone, so turning, turning a deaf ear, so that i don't hear, them throwing stone."

To me, this seems like a person with a view that he/she can be lied to so they don't have to worry about facing the troubles of their lives. When you are a kid, you aren't told things about divorce, war, fighting, rape, murder, etc. because your parents want to protect you from all of these horrible realities that are sad but true.

Also when he sings:

"to get a word from the wise, would be a welcome surprise, keep an ear to the ground, so to drown out the sound of the failures that make me whole"

To me, this seems like this person is open to hear a message of truth, but he's keeping one of his ears to the ground so that he doesn't have to hear about these harsh realities that are part of life. It seems that this song is saying that the world is filled with people committing injustices, but sometimes it's better to drown out all those bad thoughts by avoiding them altogether.

Just one minor correction:

It's actually "The devil's in the air and I''m spitting out prayers while the RUBBERNECKS all get their fill."

I'm pretty sure this is right. I bought the CD and this is what it says inside the booklet.

As for the song meaning, I agree with cyllan.

I dig this group a lot and this song in particular. I like your interpretation Raspo even if I have a slightly different one :p Fair to Midland's lyrics are a bit cryptic anyway... I hear a song about the gossips, disinformation bullshit and media and the only ways for a sane man to keep his head straight even though we're all products of this disinformative environment. We have to stand by ourselves and and seek the truth through the background noise. In the end, it's just a great new band and I hope they'll keep on writing TONS of good stuff !

I have two interpretations for this song. One of them Raspo already covered, so heres my other. I kind of think it could be about people who spend their lives worrying about celebrity gossip rather than pay attention to their own lives. "dragging names through the mud, and still bitting his tongue " That could be talking about paparazzi that just spread celebrity gossip and "drag names through the mud". "the devil's in the air and i'm spitting out prayers while the ravenous all eat their fill" that could be darroh hoping that people will stop giving a crap about celebrity lives and focusing on their own, or more on whats going on around the world.

" tell me, tell me a story, tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone, so turning, turning a deaf ear, so that i don't hear, them throwing stone." That could be from the perspective of one of the people who pay attention to the gossip, and all they want to do is hear more gossip, rather than worry about their own lives. the "turning a deaf ear so that i dont hear them throwing the stone" part could be either the people ignoring their own lives for the gossip..OR it could be the celebrities trying to ignore what people have been saying about them.

"too much hog wart, not enough hearsay, always made the front page, you could use a fine tooth comb," This I think is darroh talking about how celebrity gossip makes more news than actual...news.

"to get a word from the wise, would be a welcome surprise," he's saying it'd be great to get some real news...one of my favorite lines in this song along with "The devil's in the air and i'm spitting out prayers"

" keep an ear to the ground, so to drown out the sound of the failures that make me whole" I think they're saying here that people are immersed in celebrities failures to make them feel better about themselves.

" these walls don't talk, even when somebody knocks, these walls don't stand, for anyone else but themselves, these walls don't fall, even when gravity's failing us all" I guess these could be the walls people put up when they focus too much on the gossip and not their friends or family?

So yep, thats my other interpretation. Raspo nailed my first thought haha. Great band, hope I can see them sometime soon. They're my second fav.

This song is about a person who is being talked about by others. He knows people are criicizing him behind his back, but no one will actually come forward and talk to him about the things that are being said. Since no one will come forward and talk to him about what is being said, he is choosing to ignore all of the talk. He's even tried asking a particular person about what is being said about him, but the other person won't give up any of the information.

I think he is speaking people who tend to gossip and spread rumors. He wants some one to tell him not to worry and avoid those types of people. I get a mental picture of him being in his house thinking of all these inconsiderate people...he's not wanting to even answer his phone thinking it might be someone asking him if all these stories are true. He talk of "these walls".. Him not answering the door, and just trying with all his might to turn a deaf ear so he might not hear these lies.

This song is about capitalism and corporations

In my opinion, the song is a personal struggle with religion, maybe Christianity? When he says, "tell me a story, tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone" I think he is seeking reassurance and calling on a higher power. "To get a word from the wise would be a welcome surprise", maybe he means he isn't content with simply believing and needs something more. The part, " These walls don't talk, even when somebody knocks these walls don't stand for anyone else but themselves, these walls don't fall, even when gravity's failing us all " I think is the dead giveaway, because it's explaining how one's personal beliefs are more powerful than any force of nature.

First of all, Kitt-E, go up your dose of rittalin or something. Alright, now that thats aside, I think this song is about a person who got in a scandal of some sorts, and someone involved is blabbing about it:

"Dragging names through the mud, And still biting his tongue."

But he's holding back a few names. People love this scandal, and maybe the person is one of the last named, so he's praying he wont be named after all. But, is.

"The devil's in the air and i'm spitting out prayers while the ravenous all eat their fill."

He probably has a good group of friends, who's.. "Tell me not to worry, or pick up the phone."

And they're protecting him and holding firm, not blabbing about what he did, even when people pressure him. But they're only holding out because they'll get pulled into the scandal if they talk. Everyone else is starting to blab. "These walls don't talk, even when somebody knocks, These walls don't stand, for anyone else but themselves, These walls don't fall, even when gravity's failing us all."

Oh well, thats what I got from it.

Obviously this song is about spreading rumors or just badmouthing things/people and not wanting to hear it. Dragging names through the mud could also mean muckraking. Basically it's saying gossip(the devil, tall tales, hogwash, stone-throwing) is everywhere(in the air, within shouting distance, on the front page), but he is not one of those "rubbernecks" buying into it, no matter how popular. He says to "keep an ear to the ground" because he does not want other people to hear the gossiping about himself. Tell me a story... not to worry (not wanting to worry about other people/ their "problems") or pick up the phone (spread the rumors to others).

The song most likely represents the shift of focus to pop culture from knowledge and faith.

It's obviously a religious song as well with references to the devil, praying, and the church itself (these walls). It promises that within the walls of the church, one will be saved from gossip and verbal abuse.