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Budapest by Blimp Lyrics
On the corners of boulevards I call your name
Now and again they play our tune
In the grip of a tiny hand over a flame
Pale as the phases of the moon ...
In the cafes and shopping malls I see your face
turn into mist on evening dew
but a book and a photograph just aren't the same
there is a train that's leaving soon
...Budapest by Blimp
Over pillars and palaces I'll hold your hand
Until the fog is lifted
May be better you hold me close than understand
How far away I've drifted
In the face of a tragedy too bleak to know
The death of some grand illusion
All the treasure we pilloried, splendour we stole ...
They never told you that in school
Könnyebb volna tán feledni, (Perhaps it would be easier to forget)
Mint távozásom érteni. (Than to understand my departure)
Múltból egy kiszakított lap. (A torn page from the past)
E ködből indul egy vonat. (A train is leaving from this fog)
...Budapest by Blimp
...Que je voudrais vous presenter, messieurs et dames
Regardez bien, je vous en prie
Here's a map and a diagram, a shrivelled page
Ripped from the book of history
See the priceless antiquity frozen in time
Built on the ashes of the Jews
And for your curiosity, beauty sublime
Signed in the blood of Zulus
Not really a goosestep, more of a limp
...Budapest by Blimp
Now and again they play our tune
In the grip of a tiny hand over a flame
Pale as the phases of the moon ...
In the cafes and shopping malls I see your face
turn into mist on evening dew
but a book and a photograph just aren't the same
there is a train that's leaving soon
...Budapest by Blimp
Until the fog is lifted
May be better you hold me close than understand
How far away I've drifted
In the face of a tragedy too bleak to know
The death of some grand illusion
All the treasure we pilloried, splendour we stole ...
They never told you that in school
Mint távozásom érteni. (Than to understand my departure)
Múltból egy kiszakított lap. (A torn page from the past)
E ködből indul egy vonat. (A train is leaving from this fog)
Regardez bien, je vous en prie
Here's a map and a diagram, a shrivelled page
Ripped from the book of history
See the priceless antiquity frozen in time
Built on the ashes of the Jews
And for your curiosity, beauty sublime
Signed in the blood of Zulus
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I'll go out on a limb here...most of Dolby's stuff is fun, mindless stuff, but I think this song is about a relationship against the backdrop of the collapse of Communism in Hungary.
Bear with me...
Budapest is the capital of Hungary, which in 1988 (when the parent album, Aliens Ate My Buick was released), was a country undergoing the painful collapse of communism. I think that's the "fog" that is lifting in the song, and the "grand illusion" that is dying.
Other points of contact...the ashes of the Jews could refer to the extermination of Jews by Stalin, the limp / goosestep refers to the feebleness of the government at the end.
@cbehrens I love this comment. Love your interpretation. Being a jewish hungarian descendant, I can totally relate to it. Thank you! The lyrics are indeed deep.
@cbehrens I love this comment. Love your interpretation. Being a jewish hungarian descendant, I can totally relate to it. Thank you! The lyrics are indeed deep.
At 4:10 he sings; How far away I've drifted In the face of a tragedy too bleak to know The death of some grand illusion (at 4:18-20 you hear the distinct sound of a bong being hit off of (bubbling noises,during this stanza). I love the way he overtracks(layers) so many sounds throughout his music. Truly a genius!
I'll go out on a limb here...most of Dolby's stuff is fun, mindless stuff, but I think this song is about a relationship against the backdrop of the collapse of Communism in Hungary.
Bear with me...
Budapest is the capital of Hungary, which in 1988 (when the parent album, Aliens Ate My Buick was released), was a country undergoing the painful collapse of communism. I think that's the "fog" that is lifting in the song, and the "grand illusion" that is dying.
Other points of contact...the ashes of the Jews could refer to the extermination of Jews by Stalin, the limp / goosestep refers to the feebleness of the government at the end.
I always took Budapest by Blimp to be about a love left behind. But rereading it recently (including the Hungarian lines), I wonder if it could be about an ancestor or family member forced to flee from war or persecution. Maybe it has elements of both. Or maybe it\'s just a romantic historical fantasy. Any which way, it\'s quite an evocative song.
Dolby makes points in his songs. There just hidden. He was a great writer. The only problem with this song is its to long.