Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Tenuous at best was all he had to say
When pressed about the rest of it, the world that is
From proto-Sanskrit Minoans to Porto-centric Lisboans
Greek Cypriots and and harbor-sorts who hang around in ports a lot
Here's where things start getting weird
While chinless men will scratch their beards
And to their minds a sharpened axe
Is brushed upon the Uralic syntax's
Love of hate acts as an axis
Love of hate acts as an axis
First it wanes and then it waxes
So procreate and pay your taxes
Tenuousness
Less seven comes to three
Them, you, us plus eleven thank the heavens for their elasticity
And as for those who live and die for astronomy
Know when to stand or when to sit
Can't stand to stand can't stand to sit
Now who would want to know this
Click
Click
Click
Who wants to look upon this
Who wants to look upon this
Pray tell
Who wants to look upon this
Who wants to look upon this
Pray tell
Pray tell
Tenuousness
Less seven comes to three
Them, you, us plus eleven comes just shy of infinity
And as for those who live and die from numerology
When pressed about the rest of it, the world that is
From proto-Sanskrit Minoans to Porto-centric Lisboans
Greek Cypriots and and harbor-sorts who hang around in ports a lot
Here's where things start getting weird
While chinless men will scratch their beards
And to their minds a sharpened axe
Is brushed upon the Uralic syntax's
Love of hate acts as an axis
Love of hate acts as an axis
First it wanes and then it waxes
So procreate and pay your taxes
Tenuousness
Less seven comes to three
Them, you, us plus eleven thank the heavens for their elasticity
And as for those who live and die for astronomy
Know when to stand or when to sit
Can't stand to stand can't stand to sit
Now who would want to know this
Click
Click
Click
Who wants to look upon this
Who wants to look upon this
Pray tell
Who wants to look upon this
Who wants to look upon this
Pray tell
Pray tell
Tenuousness
Less seven comes to three
Them, you, us plus eleven comes just shy of infinity
And as for those who live and die from numerology
Lyrics submitted by TDeMello, edited by gromerthenotshabbyrhino
Tenuousness Lyrics as written by Andrew Wegman Bird
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Techno Ted
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Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
i was at Andrew's portland maine show tonight (head is still spinning!) and he played this song.
afterwards he explained that hobis-hots was a word in a made-up language that he and his friend had created when they were young...that most of the words they made up were just swears and insults and such...but that it rhymed with greek cypriots, which he "was really very determined to get into a song"
cool story! I totally though it was "harbor sorts". I cannot wait until I can see Mr. Bird live:D
I have come to interpret this song as being about what I am choosing to call mental masturbation. Another way of putting this is the pursuit of knowledge as a means to becoming fulfilled, and the song highlights both the futility of this and its necessary place in the natural progression of things.
[I'm going stanza by stanza here] The intro creates an association between the song's namesake (which means "what a drag!") with intellectuals.
The next bit describes such an intellectual with some pretty powerful imagery, like someone who has been thinking (scratching their beard) so much that they have become exhausted (their chin has been rubbed off!), and equating the brutal friction of sharpening an ax to 'brushing up' on some of the oldest syntax's (as though its that simple) makes our model intellectual into a self-parody.
The next part shows the implications of such perpetuating inquiry, illustrated as a waxing and waning axis where you are nothing but a small gear that must serve your societal function of procreating and paying taxes to keep the machine running.
This next stanza is the most abstract, as it introduces some neurological references. The meaning of the numbers may be interpreted many different ways, but I think Bird was simply using them as arbitrary poetic sounding figures that make it seem like he's spelling out some equation, and he can do this without having to back it up ("...get[ting] away with murder..." as Bird himself has put it) because of the elasticity of the heavens. This elasticity image also reminds me how malleable the substance of imagination is. "Those who live and die..." self explanatory if you've been following along my opinion.
The rest of the lines before the repeating stanza are used to further paint the picture of click compulsive thinking, click uneasiness, tic and the harrowing products of scientific advancement.
I'd like to know that the move from astronomy to numerology produces a historical timeline of human inquiry within the song, to follow up on the origins of language which introduce the song. If there were an order to fields of study, communication then looking to the heavens then counting things seems logical.
the coprophagia and 'know when to stand and when to sit' reminds me of dog training. "click click click" for training a pup. - just a thought on that
That totally makes sense. Very clever... My dog eats poop.
I think he’s talking about the history of humanity and what the world has become. know when to stand and sit sounds like obeying your superiors. I thought “who would want to know this/ click click click/ who wants to look upon this pray tell” sounded like hes talking about facebook.
Also gonna Add if Andrew Bird revised his songs like he did here, It would not be long before hit hit mainstream and got the recognition he deserves. Dont think so? Look at Mumford and Sons. People are craving these tunes.
I try to picture all of these things in my head, I like that when this guy sings... one thing I also think he was trying to relate was the educational pressures applied on all in this day and age. Though we don't always discuss them I think a lot of our hang-ups come from that developmental stage when we are pressed into learning all of these bizarre facts and facets of the human experience. In this day and age all of this information is so easily accessible at that. I think that's where the "click, click, click..." comes in. It's that our lives are so mechanical and removed from our own organic considerations- and not talking about food- but I mean every facet of our lives without having to answer to the mechanisms of daily life, all of which are an extension-via the chain of cultural development- of all those ancients that he discusses in the opening stanzas. We wouldn't be where we are now without the exact occurrence of history as it happened- the flow of events became a chain and now we are here, regardless of how obscure and inconsequential it all may seem, it played a role. So it begs the question eventually how much consequence do you bear? And does that really matter at all?
thanks for posting nothing!
Ports = quotes
Them, you, us plus eleven comes just shy of infinity
This song is so damn catchy. I want to dance whenever it comes on.
alright, here's what i got:
firstly, it's clearly "Porto-centric Lisboans".
secondly: "Harbisots" isn't actually a word, even if it does sound like he's singing that.
my guess is: "and harbor-sorts who hang around in ports a lot, all night."