What gives this mess some grace
Unless it's kicks, man
Unless it's fiction
Unless it's sweat or it's songs

What hits against this chest
Unless it's a sick man's hand
From some mid-level band
He's been driving too long

On a dark windless night
With the stereo on
With the towns flying by
And the ground getting soft

And the sound in the sky
Coming down from above
It surrounds you at times
And it's whispering, oh

What pulls your body down
That is quicksand
So we climb out quick, hand over hand
For your mouth's all filled up

What picks you up from down
Unless it's tricks, man
When I been fixed, I am convinced
That I will not get so broke up again

And on a seven day high
That heavenly song
Punches right through my mind
And pumps through my blood

And I know it's a lie
But I still give my love
And my heart's all alive
For your hands to pluck off, oh

What gives this mess some grace
Unless it's fictions
Unless it's licks, man
Unless it's lies or it's love

What breaks this heart the most
Is the ghost of some rock 'n' roll fan
Exploding up from the stands
With her heart opened up

And I wanna tell her, your love isn't lost
Say, my heart is still crossed
Scream, you're so wonderful
What a dream in the dark

About working so hard
About growing so stoned
Trying not to turn up
Trying not to believe in the light on your own
La, la, la, la, oh, oh, oh, oh



Lyrics submitted by smileforthecamera

Unless It's Kicks Lyrics as written by Will Robinson Sheff

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

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Unless It's Kicks song meanings
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  • +4
    General Comment

    I think tinydancer has been most accurate so far in deciphering the meaning. In an interview of Will Sheff I read recently, he spoke of fandon:

    "I think that in a lot of ways the album is about fandom. Or that's one of the things that it's about. And it's motivated out of fandom. I'm a tremendous fan of pop music, and art, and all of this stuff. I think there's kind of a tragic element to being a fan, where you believe it. You know what I mean? You believe these people are your friends. I've often felt as a child growing up that I was closer to writers that I had never met or that were dead than I was to my friends-- well, I really didn't have that many friends-- but the people that I was hanging out with and seeing everyday. There's something very beautiful about that, but there's also something really pathetic about it. I've been on both sides of it, because I know, also, that sometimes people will come up to me and they'll talk to me and many of the fans are very, very sane.

    But there is a kind of fan that will come up to talk to you and they're crazy and it becomes clear after a little bit [laughs], and you start to realize that they have an idea of you in their head that has nothing to do-- well, it actually has something to do-- with who you are, but it isn't who you are. And all you are is a star in their solar system...symbols and things that are personally significant to them but would be inscrutable to anyone else...Being a groupie is, in some ways, just an extreme form of fandom. I think that everyone has experienced, on some level, the emotion that motivates you to be a groupie. Groupies are also regularly disrespected, but all it is is somebody who loves something so much that they get involved with it sexually. Or maybe it doesn't even have to do with sex. I have felt a sense of fandom for things that I have loved that is so intense that it starts to bleed into spirituality, bleed into sexuality, and bleed into all kinds of areas of your life that love for a simple rock album should not be occupying."

    raconteuron August 21, 2007   Link

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