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The Grey Estates Lyrics
Darling please, let's get out of here
On a train to who knows where
I've got a feeling that I can't explain
We had to leave this place, we won't go back again
Getting tired of landscapes, we're just floating
Rolling past the grey estates
What put the fire in your stomach out
What moved its hands all across your mouth
Out through the window let the neon sing
In place of telegraphs that don't mean a thing
And we crawled off to our destination
Rolling past the grey estates
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
So let the needle on the compass swing
Let the iron in your heart's blood ring
Strike up the band as the ship goes down
And if it's loud enough, they will raise the sound
Of one hundred thousand sad inventions
Let them rot inside the grey estate
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
I'm half awake and the world is ending
All across the border just a minute away
I'm half awake and the world is ending
Across the border just a minute, just a minute away
On a train to who knows where
I've got a feeling that I can't explain
We had to leave this place, we won't go back again
Getting tired of landscapes, we're just floating
Rolling past the grey estates
What moved its hands all across your mouth
Out through the window let the neon sing
In place of telegraphs that don't mean a thing
And we crawled off to our destination
Rolling past the grey estates
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
Let the iron in your heart's blood ring
Strike up the band as the ship goes down
And if it's loud enough, they will raise the sound
Of one hundred thousand sad inventions
Let them rot inside the grey estate
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
Rushing through
A new world, a new world, a new world
It's just a minute away
All across the border just a minute away
I'm half awake and the world is ending
Across the border just a minute, just a minute away
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"And your world" = "A new world."
Almost positive.
you know i remember reading somewhere that this album was full of Marxist references and while there are many references to anti-war, anti-god, and materialistic outlooks, i haven't seen anything distinctly communist, except maybeeeee this song??
An estate is private property and all of one's property. it being colored grey probably adds a negetive connotation to it too. in this song, the protagonist and lover are attempting to get away from the grey estates because he references "rolling past them" as they attempt to get to this "new world." Also, "and if it's loud enough it will erase the sound of one hundred thousand sad inventions. let them rot inside the grey estates." So the protagonist is willing to give up most worldly assests , particularly private property and all the technical advancements of the modern world. This is a bit of a stretch but is possible...
jjc886 - I think you are right about this apart from the Marxist connotation. There's a common theme running through Wolf Parade and especially Dan's songs about a dissatisfaction with modernity, technology and city life. From what I can make out, its a plea to escape the city (The Grey Estates) and the one hundred thousand sad inventions (all our modern trinkets and gadgets we surround ourselves with and are marketed in a way that we feel we can't live without them) and get the hell out - 'a new world is just a minute away'. So pretty much in agreement with you, however I think a direct link to Marxism is a little tenuous.
I always thought "Grey Estates" could also mean escaping the hell of suburban conformity. Perhaps too literal.
@jjc886 - I know what you're talking about. The content wasn't Marxist, but the music was written in a communal fashion. I don't think Dan's songs are especially communist. The unrest with the modern life is an idea that stretches back to D.H. Lawrence.
But I agree, this song seems to be about an escape from the modern world (another good Dan song).
See e.e. cumming's "pity this busy monster, manunkind"
full of impulse. so few comments. great song.