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Well Lyrics
Light floats down day river on uh red raft o' blood
Night blocks out d' heavens like uh big black shiny bug
Its hard soft shell shinin' white in one spot well
It's uh hard place dat I'm livin' but I'm doin' well well
The white ice horse melted like uh spot uh silver well
Its mane went last then disappeared the tail
My life ran thru my veins
Whistlin' hollow well
I froze in solid motion well well
I heard the ocean swarmin' body well well
I heard the beetle clickin' well
I sensed the thickest silence scream
Then I begin t' dream
My mind cracked like custard
Ran red until it sealed
Turn t' wooden 'n rolled like uh wheel well well
Thick black felt birds uh flyin'
With capes of solid chrome
With feathers of solid chrome
'n beaks of solid bone
'n bleach the air around them
White 'n cold well well
Till it's shown in pain
The hollow cane clicked like ever after
Its shadow vanished shinin' silence
well well
Night blocks out d' heavens like uh big black shiny bug
Its hard soft shell shinin' white in one spot well
It's uh hard place dat I'm livin' but I'm doin' well well
The white ice horse melted like uh spot uh silver well
Its mane went last then disappeared the tail
My life ran thru my veins
Whistlin' hollow well
I froze in solid motion well well
I heard the ocean swarmin' body well well
I heard the beetle clickin' well
I sensed the thickest silence scream
Then I begin t' dream
My mind cracked like custard
Ran red until it sealed
Turn t' wooden 'n rolled like uh wheel well well
Thick black felt birds uh flyin'
With capes of solid chrome
With feathers of solid chrome
'n beaks of solid bone
'n bleach the air around them
White 'n cold well well
Till it's shown in pain
The hollow cane clicked like ever after
Its shadow vanished shinin' silence
well well
Song Info
Submitted by
annazoff On Oct 27, 2009
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To me, this spoken word song (really more of a poem recitation) is about a person who is casually asked "how are you?" and he responds to the question in the usual manner: "I am doing well"." He is not really doing well but doesn't want to bring this up in casual conversation. In fact, modern life has tormented him to the point where he feels despair - not unlike the figure in Edvard Munch's "The Scream". The dreamlike images may even be images (real or imagined) from the painting itself or just feelings evoked by the painting. The click beetles referenced are the type who lay their eggs to feast on the carcasses of the dead, a reminder of the inevitability of death. The birds flying with capes of solid chrome are symbols of militarization, industrialization and mechanization that crush the human spirit and rob of us of our ability to live out an idyllic existence - eating from the "tree of life".
At the conclusion of the song, the first well is what he reflexively first said in response to the question "how are you". The second well is saying ...well, there really is more to it than that and either I don't want to bring you down by telling you how I am really feeling, or I can't put it into words.