I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Oh, Santa
I've been waiting on you
That's funny kid
Because I've been coming for you
Oh, Santa
I've been killing just for fun
Well, the party is over kid
Because I, because I got a bullet in my gun
A bullet in your what
(Santa's got a bullet in his gun, you know it)
(Santa's got a bullet in his gun)
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
I've been a clean living boy
I promise you, did every little thing you ask me to
I can't believe the things I'm going through
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the block they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
Oh, Santa
It's been a real hard year
There just ain't no getting around this
Life is hard but look at me I turned out alright
Hey, Santa
Why don't we talk about it, work it out
Believe me, this ain't what I wanted
I love all you kids, you know that, hell
I remember when you were just 10 years old
Playing out in the desert
Just waiting for a sip of that
Sweet Mojave rain
In the sweet Mojave rain
The boy was on his own
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
I've been a clean living boy
I promise you, did every little thing you ask me to
I can't believe the things I'm going through
Hey, Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the block they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
They had it coming, so, why can't you see
I couldn't turn my check no longer
The sun is going down and Christmas is near
Just look the other way and I'll disappear forever
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the street they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
Believe me Santa, Santa
I've been waiting on you
That's funny kid
Because I've been coming for you
Oh, Santa
I've been killing just for fun
Well, the party is over kid
Because I, because I got a bullet in my gun
A bullet in your what
(Santa's got a bullet in his gun, you know it)
(Santa's got a bullet in his gun)
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
I've been a clean living boy
I promise you, did every little thing you ask me to
I can't believe the things I'm going through
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the block they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
Oh, Santa
It's been a real hard year
There just ain't no getting around this
Life is hard but look at me I turned out alright
Hey, Santa
Why don't we talk about it, work it out
Believe me, this ain't what I wanted
I love all you kids, you know that, hell
I remember when you were just 10 years old
Playing out in the desert
Just waiting for a sip of that
Sweet Mojave rain
In the sweet Mojave rain
The boy was on his own
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
I've been a clean living boy
I promise you, did every little thing you ask me to
I can't believe the things I'm going through
Hey, Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the block they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
They had it coming, so, why can't you see
I couldn't turn my check no longer
The sun is going down and Christmas is near
Just look the other way and I'll disappear forever
Don't shoot me Santa Clause
No one else around believes me
But the children on the street they tease me
I couldn't let them off that easy
Believe me Santa, Santa
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Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song is sooo weird...
but I love it! :)