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The Mesopotamians Lyrics
We've been driving around
From one end of this town to the other and back
But no one's ever seen us (No one's ever seen us)
Driving our Econoline van (And no one's ever heard of our band)
And no one's ever heard of our band
We're the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
Then they wouldn't understand a word we say,
So we'll scratch it all down into the clay
Half believing there will sometime come a day
Someone gives a damn
Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sand
We're the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
The Mesopotam-ish sun is beating down
And making cracks in the ground
But there's nowhere else to stand
In Mesopotamia, (No one's ever seen us)
The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one's ever heard of our band)
The land where we invisibly rule
As the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
This is my last stick of gum
I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan
Hey, Ashurbanipal,
I'm a Mesopotamian
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
We're the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
"Hey, man, I thought that you were dead
I thought you crashed your car"
"No, man, I've been right here this whole time playing bass guitar
For the Mesopotamians"
We're the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
We're the Mesopotamians
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
From one end of this town to the other and back
But no one's ever seen us (No one's ever seen us)
Driving our Econoline van (And no one's ever heard of our band)
And no one's ever heard of our band
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
So we'll scratch it all down into the clay
Half believing there will sometime come a day
Someone gives a damn
Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sand
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
And making cracks in the ground
But there's nowhere else to stand
In Mesopotamia, (No one's ever seen us)
The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one's ever heard of our band)
The land where we invisibly rule
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan
I'm a Mesopotamian
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
I thought you crashed your car"
"No, man, I've been right here this whole time playing bass guitar
For the Mesopotamians"
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
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"Hey, man, I thought that you were dead I thought you crashed your car" "No, man, I've been right here this whole time playing bass guitar For the Mesopotamians"
Sounds to me like a pretty obvious shout-out to Paul McCartney, going so far as to mention the supposed method of how he died. Why that's there, though, I have no idea. Great song, though.
Neither Paul McCartney nor any of the rest of Beatles died of a car crash, right?
Neither Paul McCartney nor any of the rest of Beatles died of a car crash, right?
Sorry, just saw TMBG in Fairfield, CT, and I'm overanalyzing everything
Sorry, just saw TMBG in Fairfield, CT, and I'm overanalyzing everything
none of them did, no.. but I remember when I was little, my dad told me about all these silly jokes/rumors about how the Beatles messed with people and said "Paul's dead" or something like that REALLY quietly in the back of a record.. i dont really remember..
none of them did, no.. but I remember when I was little, my dad told me about all these silly jokes/rumors about how the Beatles messed with people and said "Paul's dead" or something like that REALLY quietly in the back of a record.. i dont really remember..
BUT yeah, this song could be using the Mesopotamians as a joke.. refering to them as cornerstones in human civilization, like the Beatles were corner stones in the rock n roll genre.. and the song has a HUGE retro (Beatles-ish) feel for some reason.. might be a happy accident...
BUT yeah, this song could be using the Mesopotamians as a joke.. refering to them as cornerstones in human civilization, like the Beatles were corner stones in the rock n roll genre.. and the song has a HUGE retro (Beatles-ish) feel for some reason.. might be a happy accident reference
Right. The Mesopotamians are explicitly identified with the Beatles. So there might be an implied commentary on the laughable antiquity of music from that era, in comparison with the light-as-air, smart, untroubled, post-modern music of groups like TMBG. The David Cowles cartoon version on YouTube certainly plays up the idea of a kind of absurdly outmoded, disintegrating, irrelevant past. This is a really great song.
Right. The Mesopotamians are explicitly identified with the Beatles. So there might be an implied commentary on the laughable antiquity of music from that era, in comparison with the light-as-air, smart, untroubled, post-modern music of groups like TMBG. The David Cowles cartoon version on YouTube certainly plays up the idea of a kind of absurdly outmoded, disintegrating, irrelevant past. This is a really great song.
I think it's like an extended metaphor portraying the Mesopotamian civilisation as a band... not sure what else after that
This is a clear parody of pop "introduction" songs where the band describes themselves.
In addition, it's comparing how we look on history to how we look back on old music.
It's an educational song... no deep meaning. It helps you remember the main Mesopotamian leaders with a catchy tune.
This song always reminds me of my amazing sixth- and seventh-grade social studies teacher, who taught us about the Mesopotamians and the Indus valley civilization.
LMAO @ "Except for Ashurbanipal who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan."
It's an educational song... no deep meaning. It helps you remember the main Mesopotamian leaders with a catchy tune.