Tokyo Moon

In Tokyo Moon, I think the songwriter has strung together an assortment of evocative images and details that are effective in establishing an atmosphere and suggesting certain themes. And I definitely think he’s reflecting on his experiences, so in a sense, there is a story within the song. I don’t, however, think his goal with this song is to tell that story to the audience in a straightforward, concrete way. Instead, I think his goal is to express emotions and insights connected to these experiences. In other words, he’s not telling us what happened so much as telling us how he feels about what happened. My point, here, is that we the audience don’t need to know exactly what happened for the song to work. We only need to feel a connection to the experience, a resonance. In order to do this, we probably have to build some sort of narrative in our mind. For instance, I suspect that this guy had a history of relying on drugs to cope with stress, and that he’s trying to move on from that, to face life’s challenges without that crutch. I suspect he was involved in a break up, that he grew apart from someone who was once central to his life. I suspect the break up disrupted nearly all aspects of his life, everything from his living situation to his network of friendships to his sense of self. I suspect it happened while he lived in Tokyo. But who knows? I don’t. I don’t know if there’s literally a museum involved. I kind of doubt it. It makes more sense to me that the apartment you shared with a partner feels like a museum when the relationship ends, as it captures a moment in your history. And I don’t know what to make of the experiments he mentions. Maybe relationships are like experiments to him, something we undertake simply to see what we will learn. Who knows who Rachel is. The ex? A mutual friend? Maybe there’s no break-up at all, and the song is all about drug abuse and recovery. Again, I don’t know, and again, it doesn’t matter, at least to me, because regardless, the song makes me feel profound feelings. It’s beautifully satisfying to imagine what the moon in Tokyo looks like for this haunted figure.

This is my first post, So ill try and get off to a good start.

"The results are pending" as though experimentation and experiences have yet to occur as we are introduced to drugs and not that they cause "ends" but rather they are a more stable means of ending problems..Drugs are said to allow people to drop their guard and be themselves...and so a shy boy (narrator/3rd person/passed tense) I imagine may have finally talked to/asked out a girl perhaps Rachel...done what he could have done all along...

"so catch a fall", To reolize your making a mistake and stop yourself and call your mother is something many people may do...and think the sheir fact that they responded to the problem...by talking to someone... is enough..."your reflexes are proof in our eyes" so they can go back (to drugs)....."Sing the song", proceeding or going on.(back to drugs as mentioned).

Spread the dust....spreading out the debris or damage so YOU no longer notice it... and of course go back to talking with girls and dancing "talk with your foot".

Now it gets a bit tougher... So rachel packed it all away and I think it was a museum...experiments were conducted that day....Tokyo moon is out of reach.....

Museums featured cherished 'important' items that are put on display for people. rachel has put away things of the same nature, that were on display. Things that may have been fake or for show, or maybe she has put away things that were of value (to narrator)...either way she is showing a new side of herself, true colors...something that is negative. Experiments were conducted that day...as in people in love will try different things to see if they can fix their issues....unfortunately, the fantasy that he once had of the girl....or "the tokyo mood" was out of reach and falling out of love can take you from the world you were in (breach) and the narrator has essentially had a falling out and is distraught. It breaches your friends worlds because either your friends may be mutual with that of the girl...or you may ask personal questions from your friends about their relationships to see where you went wrong. the next verse is pretty straight foward...you sit around watching things you thought were stupid while having a girlfriend, only to see so many similarities between what happend with your relationship, and the ones shown on television after the brake up....so you do stupid little everyday things to prove to yourself your still compitant and smart. When your a kid (1988), doing your laces up was an accomplishment ;)

So you stay in a slump (sickness) and even though you know exactly what caused it, whats wrong and how to fix it, you ask people for a diagnosis or advice..Catch a cold, Blow your nose, insist your doctor knows what you don't know....fret not my friends...colds go away...

hope I have been helpful

i always thought it was "catch a fly and blow your mind". not the call your mom bit. it makes sense to me with the reflexes bit, but i could be wrong.

Just to clear it up: "so catch a fall call your mom" is really "so catch a fly with all your might."

"communicate with girls talk with your foot" = "communicate with girls talk with your crotch."

"and so you thing the caffeine drink just to watch some television things" = "stayed up late, with a caffeine drink, just to watch some televisual things."

I always thought this song was talking about a girl (Rachel) who was in love with a drug addict. In the end he breaks her heart by always putting drugs first. And to move on, Rachel goes to a museum, and while looking at the art or whatever, she leaves all her feelings there, that she had for this guy.