In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Orville and Wilbur
cold cut the anchor's from their ankle,
carving propellers from whale fins
in the back of a bicycle shop...
and thus begins the tale
of the thumb trigger cloud kill.
At last the Wright's reinvented the horse with wings,
another invention only fit for a mannequin.
Early time machine's
will have tended to leave you
left screaming
on a dinosaur's dish.
In da Vinci's "Bike Accident',
an outerspace whodunit?
monkeys play Magellan
as the next ex-Edison,
standing out in the crowd with a unicycle.
Physics of a unicycle...
twice the remarkable.
Hum diddle liddle liddle
Hum diddle la
Someone's splitting atoms in the flag, barbed wire
Up in the sky where the war planes fly
Dead in the clouds with the gods' cold lie
cold cut the anchor's from their ankle,
carving propellers from whale fins
in the back of a bicycle shop...
and thus begins the tale
of the thumb trigger cloud kill.
At last the Wright's reinvented the horse with wings,
another invention only fit for a mannequin.
Early time machine's
will have tended to leave you
left screaming
on a dinosaur's dish.
In da Vinci's "Bike Accident',
an outerspace whodunit?
monkeys play Magellan
as the next ex-Edison,
standing out in the crowd with a unicycle.
Physics of a unicycle...
twice the remarkable.
Hum diddle liddle liddle
Hum diddle la
Someone's splitting atoms in the flag, barbed wire
Up in the sky where the war planes fly
Dead in the clouds with the gods' cold lie
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does anyone know what yoni is saying in the background? i know it's in the teeth behind kisses, and another clouddead song. so far all i've been able to understand is "up in the sky where the delta planes fly..." and the rest is too hard. help?
It's also in Son of a Gun. This is what I could make out after having listened to it countless times.
Hum diddle diddle diddle hum diddle la someone's putting atoms in the flag for war, and up in the sky where the war planes fly, dead in the clouds hear the Gods cold lie.
But there's one part where it changes the words to,
Hum diddle diddle diddle hum diddle la someone's putting atoms in the flag car drive, and up in the sky where the delta planes fly, dead in the clouds hear the Gods cold lie.
Don't quote me on it but that's what i've been hearing.
Alright. Here's what I've got. I'm really confident in this as I think I can find a meaning in it, too.
Hum diddle liddle liddle Hum diddle la Someone's splitting atoms in the flag, barbed wire Up in the sky where the war planes fly Dead in the clouds where the gods cold lie
And I think the "someone's splitting atoms in the flag, barbed wire" line refers to the American flag. The 'split atoms' are the stars and the 'barbed wire' is the stripes.
The only line I'm not sure on is the last one, as I don't really see what it means, but out of all the times I've heard the verse (Son of a Gun, The Teeth Behind Kisses and Physics of a Unicycle) it's what seems to match the most.
@DrROCKZO It's Dead in the clouds with the gods cold lie.