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Fly Paper Lyrics
I'm going to steer clear of everyone.
I am no near deer, queer for anyone.
Flitty me flies high above connections
because the fly that was dried in the glue, yes he made one.
And if I as a crow see some pizza foil on a trash heap
and the sun glints off its silver skin so it leaps just like a fish
and I react like a seagull I'll still pull out in mid-dive
in case it's a trap set by rats...
I know, I know, that's just how I am
It's trouble up, trouble down:
I've steered myself so clear of everything
if I was a black bear I'd hibernate all through the year.
But I'm from a race that kept on lapping me so long the crowd went home
and left me limping around the track watching my rear view mirror.
And things look so much better after they have passed me by.
I feel like Charlie Heston riding on a horse on the beach
but I'd rather be an ape if it helps me take the last fruit
off of the very last tree 'cause it's out of my reach
I am no near deer, queer for anyone.
Flitty me flies high above connections
because the fly that was dried in the glue, yes he made one.
And if I as a crow see some pizza foil on a trash heap
and the sun glints off its silver skin so it leaps just like a fish
and I react like a seagull I'll still pull out in mid-dive
in case it's a trap set by rats...
I know, I know, that's just how I am
I've steered myself so clear of everything
if I was a black bear I'd hibernate all through the year.
But I'm from a race that kept on lapping me so long the crowd went home
and left me limping around the track watching my rear view mirror.
And things look so much better after they have passed me by.
I feel like Charlie Heston riding on a horse on the beach
but I'd rather be an ape if it helps me take the last fruit
off of the very last tree 'cause it's out of my reach
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I feel like this is about a guy who wants to go through life passively (the bear, watching life pass him by) because he's become cynical about the world. He might have some sort of phobia or anxiety about people. The fly in the title is the main analogy for this- he says that he avoids "making connections", stating that the fly did so with the fly paper and died. Also, the seagull and tin foil example shows a suspicious mind, and he clearly states that he "steers clear of everyone". But the final verses show that he realizes that he must interact with people, comparing the difficulties of life to the racetrack. He would like to be the noble figure of Charlie Heston on the beach, but he knows that he must become the ape to survive in a modern and social environment. Whew, that was longer than I thought it'd be.
Agree with everything you say, except for the last part. "I feel like Charlie Heston riding on a horse on the beach but I'd rather be an ape if it helps me take the last fruit" is a reference to the Planet of the Apes, in which Charlton Heston's character gets chased by apes on horses. The apes are the bad guys, obviously, but our guy doesn't mind. It would be easier.
Agree with everything you say, except for the last part. "I feel like Charlie Heston riding on a horse on the beach but I'd rather be an ape if it helps me take the last fruit" is a reference to the Planet of the Apes, in which Charlton Heston's character gets chased by apes on horses. The apes are the bad guys, obviously, but our guy doesn't mind. It would be easier.