Bloodbuzz Ohio

Stand up straight at the foot of your love I lift my shirt up Stand up straight at the foot of your love I lift my shirt up

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees I never married but Ohio don't remember me

Lay my head on the hood of your car I take it too far Lay my head on the hood of your car I take it too far

I still owe money to the money to the money I owe I never thought about love when I thought about home I still owe money to the money to the money I owe The floors are falling out from everybody I know

I'm on a bloodbuzz, yes I am I'm on a blood buzz I'm on a bloodbuzz, God I am I'm on a blood buzz

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees I never married but Ohio don't remember me

I still owe money to the money to the money I owe I never thought about love when I thought about home I still owe money to the money to the money I owe The floors are falling out from everybody I know

I'm on a bloodbuzz Yes I am I'm on a blood buzz I'm on a bloodbuzz God I am I'm on a blood buzz

the single only just came out today but I think thats it. the entire band grew up in Cincinnati, OH (even though they all met in Brooklyn) so maybe it has something with all of them leaving?

The 'blood buzz' to me, is that kind of overwhelming feeling you get when you go back home - it's all so familiar, but so different, hugely exciting to be back but also horribly sad. It's about going back home - he never married (as in, he never found a new place to call home, never fully settled elsewhere) but even so, Ohio's not his home anymore (Ohio don't remember me). 'I still owe money to the money to the money I owe' All the stuff that was left behind, unresolved? 'The floors are falling out from everybody I know' How much it's all changed?

the bloodbuzz is definitely talking about going home to ohio, to one's family. i don't think the money is a literal thing. i feel that it refers to that guilty feeling of debt that never goes away around your family. he didn't think about love, he thought about debt and guilt and everybody falling apart. the family blood buzz is a warm feeling, but also an uncomfortable humming, like that of bees.

I think of this song as somewhat of the opposite of 'Theory of Crows' from their debut. This song focuses more on the dread of returning home. Being 'Carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees' reminds me of a person running away from a swarm of bees. Metaphorically this relates to running from creditors and a myriad of other issues why he has to be returning home. Upon returning home, its realizing that not only things have changed, but his original running away has not gone completely forgiven, and has accumulated 'interest' in a sense, to the point where he owes time on top of the time he missed, a debt that he might well never get even on.

There's a great article and segment from NPR's Marketplace interviewing Matt about this song and the album.

Basically he said that it was never ment to be a political song, It was just about being in debt and owing "money to the money to the money I owe" (interest) and getting stuck in that downward spiral that so many Americans get caught in with credit card, medical, education and other debt.

"it's so easy in this country to go from being fine to suddenly being ruined." (Matt)

hence: "The floors are falling out from everybody I know."

About Ohio: "I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees I'll never marry but Ohio don't remember me"

Matt says that this is how they identify with their home state. They see Ohio as a microcosm of all of America (how divided it is, socially, economically, politically).

And according to Matt the term "bloodbuzz" doesn't really mean anything, its just a cool word, but it could be interpreted as a love/hate relationship with their state and frustration with conflicting views (see above).

'Lay my head on the hood of your car/I take it too far' sounds like he's taking a drive back home to ohio, and the 'bloodbuzz' refers to his family blood ties. (like when you're in that 'holiday mode' with all your family there and you get that warm, fuzzy, buzz) the line 'The floors are falling out from everybody I know' could be him revisiting old friends and relatives and realizing their lives suck now. 'I still owe money to the money to the money I owe' could refer to owing money to his parents? still trying to work it out...

Simply beautiful.

I think the beginning, when he says, "Stand up straight at the foot of your love I lift my shirt up" is about when he gets back home, he is presenting his real/old self. "Stand up straight", he faces it bravely, even though he's scared/nervous, because going back home can be hard. "At the foot", meaning he still feels like a child. "Of your love", he can be vulnerable because there is love and acceptance. "I lift my shirt up", he doesn't literally lift his shirt, it's saying he is exposed. Metaphorically naked around his family because they know him. He can't hide.

That's all I've got for the first part. I think most people who are talking about going home and the "buzz" that you get, whether good or bad, are basically correct.

Great song

i have to make a music video for this song and IT IS TROUBLING

I definitely think it’s about the a drug addiction. Most likely heroin. I think his love is to the drug rather than a person. He was taken to his favorite place by the swarm of bees (which is the feeling of being high).

Laying his head on the hood of the car, is when he overdoses (takes it too far).

The money he owes is to his dealers. He never thought about love when he thought about “home” — home is being high. The floors fall in on him every time he injects — it is his illusion. Ohio — Hmm.. Do you think Ohio is a metaphor for getting HIGH? The place he goes when he is high? Ohio literally won’t remember him, because he was he was never there — it’s a metaphor, not a literal place.

Going to the concert tonight at the Beacon Theatre in NY. Can't wait!