Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
So the saying says
An elephant never forgets
Standing in the concrete cave
Swaying side and sing
They walked over the ocean
And their dreams they dreamed awake
Until the lights grew dim
Until the cop cars came
Everybody tells me this is crazy, yes I know
But I'm a man man man man man man man eater
But still you're surprised when I eat ya
You know they call them killer whales
But you seem surprised
When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank
Where you can't turn around
It took half your leg and both your lungs
And I craved I ate hearts of sharks, I know you know it
I'm a man, man, man, man, man, man, man eater
But still you're surprised when I eat ya
It will end again in moonlit song
It will end again in moonlit song
An elephant never forgets
Standing in the concrete cave
Swaying side and sing
They walked over the ocean
And their dreams they dreamed awake
Until the lights grew dim
Until the cop cars came
Everybody tells me this is crazy, yes I know
But I'm a man man man man man man man eater
But still you're surprised when I eat ya
You know they call them killer whales
But you seem surprised
When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank
Where you can't turn around
It took half your leg and both your lungs
And I craved I ate hearts of sharks, I know you know it
I'm a man, man, man, man, man, man, man eater
But still you're surprised when I eat ya
It will end again in moonlit song
It will end again in moonlit song
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More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
From Neko's website:
AS THE SAYING SAYS "AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS" STANDING IN THE CONCRETE CAVE SWAYING SAD AND INSANE
THEY WALKED OVER THE OCEAN IN THEIR DREAMS THEY DREAM AWAKE UNTIL THE LIGHT GREW DIM UNTIL THE COP CARS CAME EVERYBODY TELLS ME THIS IS CRAZY YES, I KNOW IT
I'M A MAN-MAN-MAN, MAN-MAN-MAN-EATER AND STILL YOU'RE SURPRISED WHEN I EAT YOU
YOU KNOW THEY CALL THEM "KILLER" WHALES?! BUT YOU SEEM SURPRISED WHEN IT PINNED YOU DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK WHERE YOU CAN'T TURN AROUND IT TOOK HALF YOUR LEG AND BOTH YOUR LUNGS "WHEN I CRAVED I ATE HEARTS OF SHARKS, I KNOW YOU KNOW IT"
I'M A MAN-MAN-MAN, MAN-MAN,MAN-EATER AND STILL YOU'RE SURPRISED WHEN I EAT YOU
IT WILL END AGAIN IN BULLETS, FRIEND
"I know you know, that I'm a man, man, man Man, man, man eater But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya"
--I think this song is about (wild) animals that attack humans and how surprised we (humans) are that such an attack took place, as if we think we're immune to such attacks.
"It will end again in bullets from.... It will end again in bullets from...."
--I interpret this to mean the killing of the animal once it attacked a human. Some animals are too strong to fight off (elephant, whale) so you have to shoot/kill them in order to save the person it's attacking.
cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/index.html
I would prefer to think that this song is less directly about animals than it is about people. Basically, why is anyone surprised when people (using animals as a metaphor here) act in ways entirely expected by their very nature? It's almost a "buyer beware" type of mentality.<br /> <br /> My first assumption about this song is that when she sings "I'm a man-eater..." she's speaking from a human female perspective and not a Lioness, but I suppose the metaphor works both ways...
I don't necessarily think the song is about this but the following lines make me think of it:
We know They call them killer whales But you seem surprised When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank Where you can't turn around It took half your leg, and both your lungs And I craved I ate hearts of sharks I know you know, that I'm a man, man, man Man, man, man eater But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya
Those lines make me think of how people do things they know are bad for them, but they crave it, and do it anyway. Things like smoking or heavy drugs, or even just things like obesity. I know smoking a pack of cigs a day is probably going to end up with negitive effects for me, but i crave them and keep buying them. Well should I be suprised then when that happens?
i think the song's a little more abstract than actually being about wild animals... a maneater is basically "an irresistable woman who chews and spits out men after using them for some sort of gain -- be it sexual, financial or psychological." neko warned this guy that she's no good for him and yet he didn't listen and fell for her anyway. she has no apologies and points him to her previous warning. the "ending in bullets" is basically the harsh ending of the friendship/relationship.
I thought this song was about relationships, but it's not. This song was skillfully crafted by a clever artist to carry the double meaning, but make no mistake... this song is about animal cruelty.
Also, this song means (at least to me) that people sometimes mess around with wild animals, & forget what wild animals are actually capable of doing, so they are surpised when a wild animal attacks them.
& the title "People Got a Lotta Nerve" is saying how dare people have the audacity to be surpised when they knew that the animals are wild.
I have know clue if what I typed makes sense....
Call me crass, but I wish I'd thought of this song when that animal trainer was killed by the Sea World orca whale the other day.
We know they call them killer whales But you seem surprised when it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank.
People continually forget what animate objects can do, people included.
I thought the same thing!
People anthropomorphize wild animals, or give them human characteristics. We like to think they think and feel like us. We exploit them for our gain. They are neglected and abused, and their natural instincts are ignored, leaving them frustrated and desperate. Then they act like wild animals and harm or kill people, and they are disposed of ie. the bullets. This goes for the elephants and orcas that we keep in small spaces and make do tricks for our entertainment, or the squirrels and opossums that we find as orphans and raise, the wolf-dog hybrids that people take so much pride in. What if you once had the world and now were kept in a tiny cage? The animals are wild and we can enslave them, but we shouldn't be surprised by their wild behaviors.
Paul Morstad and Julie Morstad animated and directed an amazing video to accompany this song.
This song is definitely both of the above two explanations.