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.
Trudging through the morning
The tramp with the trampoline under his arm
Shifts past your whiskers
So stark is the charm while the barking alarm
Waits coiled 'til the corner is turned
And the bicycle wheels all struggle to move 'round
In your muddy mind, blatantly caked and
Unwilling to wind uncooperative time
So she sits on the springs 'til the muck goes dry
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the
What came first, the chicken or the dickhead?
Split sleep reaps rewards from ill-fitting thoughts
And twilight forced you to go on a walk
Your legs start running and your leg gets caught
Canopy 19 is perfectly placed for the reasonably frightening
Fall from the aftertaste, you'll have to slip away
I am unhappy to say
Behold as the crook in the hammock plays
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
Behold as a crook in the hammock plays
Cruelly with the base and the scales
And fiddles with the feet on a balancing act
Gagged, bound and crafting a tale
Trailing wrapped in a gasp
Cruelly with the base and the scales
And fucking fiddles with her feet on a balancing act
She was gagged, bound and crafting a tale
Trailing wrapped in a gasp
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
The tramp with the trampoline under his arm
Shifts past your whiskers
So stark is the charm while the barking alarm
Waits coiled 'til the corner is turned
And the bicycle wheels all struggle to move 'round
In your muddy mind, blatantly caked and
Unwilling to wind uncooperative time
So she sits on the springs 'til the muck goes dry
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the
What came first, the chicken or the dickhead?
Split sleep reaps rewards from ill-fitting thoughts
And twilight forced you to go on a walk
Your legs start running and your leg gets caught
Canopy 19 is perfectly placed for the reasonably frightening
Fall from the aftertaste, you'll have to slip away
I am unhappy to say
Behold as the crook in the hammock plays
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
Behold as a crook in the hammock plays
Cruelly with the base and the scales
And fiddles with the feet on a balancing act
Gagged, bound and crafting a tale
Trailing wrapped in a gasp
Cruelly with the base and the scales
And fucking fiddles with her feet on a balancing act
She was gagged, bound and crafting a tale
Trailing wrapped in a gasp
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast
The shadow of a snake pit on the wall
Lyrics submitted by life_aint_chess, edited by kayleycastle, Vanessa91699
Pretty Visitors Lyrics as written by Alex Turner
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I believe that the 'pretty visitors' don't really symbolise anything and that it is more in the literal sense of the superficial hipsters who arrive at their concerts just because of the band's hype in the beginning. They then wanted more and more so their flailing arms became the 'shadow of a snake pit'. This is seen again in 'The Jeweller's Hands' with the lines "You thought you'd never get obsessed; You thought the wolves would be impressed".
These are just my views on the song but the album as a whole seems to echo this.