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Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh! Lyrics
The buffalo have given up on the world.
And Apollo? Apollo is kissing all the valley girls.
We climbed up the cross on the mountain on New Year's Eve:
It was just god, the blizzard, the dream-weaver and me.
My god I miss the way we used to be.
Here's a photograph for you to hold.
It's my picture right before I got old.
It's a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction.
That was the crime we committed in the night...
Apollo, I heard your sister is equated with the moon,
but I think your sister is just another run-around Sue.
And where have you been, Erato?
Because it's been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire,
where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love.
That was back before she changed her name.
Will we ever find our way into Cassandra's gaze again?
Like the days before Anna changed her name?
Here's a photograph for you to hold...
It's a picture of the prize, you hunter...
And Apollo? Apollo is kissing all the valley girls.
We climbed up the cross on the mountain on New Year's Eve:
It was just god, the blizzard, the dream-weaver and me.
Here's a photograph for you to hold.
It's my picture right before I got old.
It's a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction.
That was the crime we committed in the night...
but I think your sister is just another run-around Sue.
And where have you been, Erato?
Because it's been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire,
where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love.
That was back before she changed her name.
Will we ever find our way into Cassandra's gaze again?
Here's a photograph for you to hold...
It's a picture of the prize, you hunter...
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this might relate to the Anna Oh! business? ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_O
I'm definitely hearing "crime we committed in the NIGHT"
i concur. there's no way he says name
i concur. there's no way he says name
i'm hearing name so that makes 2 and 2. i'll see if anyone else says anything for a tiebreaker. any cracks at some of the other difficult lines?
i'm hearing name so that makes 2 and 2. i'll see if anyone else says anything for a tiebreaker. any cracks at some of the other difficult lines?
I think its night too...it fits better
I think its night too...it fits better
I also think that the line "i was just caught in the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me" should be "it was just god, the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me"
I also think that the line "i was just caught in the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me" should be "it was just god, the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me"
we climbed up the cross (?) on the mountain on new year's eve it was just God, the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me
my god, i miss the way we used to be so here's a photograph for you to hold it's my picture right before i got old it's a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction that was the crime we committed in the night
At the recent Vancouver (30/6/09) show Spencer explained some of these lyrics in an interlude.
They come from an incident years earlier with two of his friends, Hadji (formerly of Wolf Parade) and Steve Snard (?).
One night in Montreal they had been smoking weed and wandering, when they came across a huge landmark cross. The three of them decided to climb it (god, the blizzard, the dreamweaver & me), setting off alarms in the process (the "crime"). I'm pretty sure he said this happened on a Christmas eve although the song references new years'.
This song moves me.
Taktak's mention of the Montreal Cross makes perfect sense. Being a Montrealer as well as Spencer Krug, I got the reference immediately.
"Anna Oh!" is probably a reference to Bertha Pappenheim, an important client of Sigmund Freud's and a major case study in hysteria, who was referred to in Freud's writing under the pseudonym "Anna O."
The whole Bertha Pappenheim/Anna O. thing doesn't fit. This song, in fact, this entire album is full of themes about getting older and settling down, and this Anna O. thing has nothing to do with that. Spencer is far more prone to writing metaphors about his personal life than he is to making obscure historical references. The lines about Anna and the repeated "Anna, Anna, Anna, Oh! Why'd you change your name?" to me seem to be a clear reference to Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days. In that song, he expresses unhappiness/regret that this woman (friend? ex-lover?) has enslaved herself to settling down/married life. This song, full of nostalgia, talks about the times when Anna would play guitar and ends with the "why'd you change your name?", (meaning, why did you get married/settle down). But this borrowed thought from Up on Your Leopard has more sadness in this song (there was more frustration/anger in the other) as he is using that event as a metaphor for a larger happening: he is not merely talking about losing "Anna" to marriage but how him and (i'm assuming) his friends are losing their youth and missing those times in the past. You can even see how that metaphor comes to be in these lines:
"because it's been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love that was back before she changed her name"
If any, I think this line sums it all up: "my god, i wish the way we used to be"
While I give credit to those of you who have shed some light on the mythological references, I think mostly he is using them almost as pseudonyms for his friends.
I'm really glad you posted this & I totally agree with what you're saying, too.
I'm really glad you posted this & I totally agree with what you're saying, too.
Do you think maybe he used Anna O as a metaphor because this married life/settling down he lost her to is like sanity?
Do you think maybe he used Anna O as a metaphor because this married life/settling down he lost her to is like sanity?
I think its funny that you figured this out by thinking about the artist and the canon of the album rather than relying solely on the song like most people are. Your first step to discovering a lot of what this song has to say was asking yourself "What do we expect of Spencer and what have we come to expect from this album". I'm very impressed.
I think its funny that you figured this out by thinking about the artist and the canon of the album rather than relying solely on the song like most people are. Your first step to discovering a lot of what this song has to say was asking yourself "What do we expect of Spencer and what have we come to expect from this album". I'm very impressed.
i admittedly need a lot of help/suggestions on this one.
Direct from the Sunset Rubdown website:
Direct from the Sunset Rubdown website:
The buffalo have given up on the world. And Apollo? Apollo is kissing all the valley girls. We climbed up the cross on the mountain on New Year’s Eve: It was just god, the blizzard, the dream-weaver and me.
The buffalo have given up on the world. And Apollo? Apollo is kissing all the valley girls. We climbed up the cross on the mountain on New Year’s Eve: It was just god, the blizzard, the dream-weaver and me.
My god I miss the way we used to be. Here’s a photograph for you to hold. It’s my picture right before I got old. It’s a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction. That was the crime we committed in the night…
My god I miss the way we used to be. Here’s a photograph for you to hold. It’s my picture right before I got old. It’s a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction. That was the crime we committed in the night…
Apollo, I heard your sister is...
Apollo, I heard your sister is equated with the moon, but I think your sister is just another run-around Sue. And where have you been, Erato? Because it’s been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire, where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love. That was back before she changed her name. Will we ever find our way into Cassandra’s gaze again?
Like the days before Anna changed her name? Here’s a photograph for you to hold… It’s a picture of the prize, you hunter…
Anna, Anna, Anna, Oh! Why’d you change your name?
the buffalo had given up on the world and apollo, apollo is kissing all the valley girls we climbed up the cross (?) on the mountain on new year's eve it was just God, the blizzard, the dreamweaver and me
my god, i miss the way we used to be so here's a photograph for you to hold it's my picture right before i got old it's a picture of a buffalo that we rode (?) into extinction that was the crime we committed in the night
apollo, i heard your sister is equated with the moon i think your sister is just another Runaround Sue i say where have you been, where have you been, Erato? where have you been, where have you been, Erato?
because it's been a long time since we sat around the willow tree fire where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love that was back before she changed her name did he ever find out where to her side was fame?
like the days before anna changed her name well here's a photograph for you to hold it's my picture right before i got old it's a picture of a buffalo that we rode into extinction that was the crime you committed in the night that was the crime you committed in the night so here's a photograph for you to hold it's my picture right before i got old it's a picture of a prize (?)
you hunter, you hunter, oh you hunter
Anna, Anna, Anna, Anna, oh, why'd you change your name?
i'm pretty sure about most of that. Runaround Sue is the name a song from the 60s - i'm not sure why it's there but i'm pretty sure that's right and he definitely doesn't say "fool." Erato is one of the Greek muses, and she is generally shown carrying an instrument that Apollo invented, so that makes sense. The last major change I made was "where Anna played guitar and the rest of us fell in love" instead of "we're on the flaming tower and the rest of us headed home" which I'm positive about. And then there were some pronoun changes. The only lyrics i'm not sure about are "we climbed up THE CROSS," but that seems kind of right, "that we RODE into extinction" which could be roll like you had it, but mostly "did he ever find out where to her side was fame?" which i'm positive is wrong but I have no idea what it is.
this one is really tricky. you are definitely right about him not saying fool and it does sound like fool so i'll go with what you have. I found out that Apollo's sister Artemis is often equated with the moon so that makes sense
this one is really tricky. you are definitely right about him not saying fool and it does sound like fool so i'll go with what you have. I found out that Apollo's sister Artemis is often equated with the moon so that makes sense
I'm going to trust your judgement on Erato cause I knew mine was wrong anyway. I agree with the Anna playing guitar line too, I can hear that. The last line of that part stumps me too but I'm pretty sure I can hear the first part as being "Did he ever find out where...
I'm going to trust your judgement on Erato cause I knew mine was wrong anyway. I agree with the Anna playing guitar line too, I can hear that. The last line of that part stumps me too but I'm pretty sure I can hear the first part as being "Did he ever find out where to..."
I also just realized that at the end he says Anna only three times and the fourth time is actually an Oh, like in the title. I also just discerned the female vocals, but there is part where she sounds like she's just saying na na na's but it could be Anna, i'm not sure.
The last line of the first verse is what is really confusing me. I can kind of hear what you put, but I can hear him say "in the blizzard" and not just the blizzard. It could be "God in the blizzard, caught in the blizzard, guided the blizzard." I'm just not sure.
I meant that it does sound like SUE, not fool, my bad.
I meant that it does sound like SUE, not fool, my bad.
A Runaround Sue is a girl who sleeps around, or otherwise cuts short a possible relationship in favor of a one-night stand.
A Runaround Sue is a girl who sleeps around, or otherwise cuts short a possible relationship in favor of a one-night stand.
I feel like "Anna" is a reference to something I just don't get. But it doesn't matter, I love it anyway.
The other themes, growing old, the moon (artemis), etc etc are recurring... such a great albuM!1!
I think it sounds more like "crime you committed in the name" as well