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.
I heard about this frog
It's a very tiny frog
But it's also very special
You can only find it in the jungle
So far away from me
But if you find it and if you touch it
Your world can change forever
If you touch its skin
You can feel your body changing
And your vision also
And blue becomes red and red becomes blue
And your mommy suddenly becomes your daddy
And everything looks like a giant cupcake
And you keep laughing and laughing and laughing
Nothing is ever quite the same really
And after you finish laughing
It's time to turn into a frog yourself
It's very funny to be a frog
You can dive into the water
And cross the rivers and the oceans
And you can jump all the time and everywhere
Do you want to play with me?
We can be a whole group of friends
A whole group of frogs
Jumping into the streets
Jumping into the planet
Climbing up the buildings
Swimming in the lakes and in the bathtubs
We would be hundreds, thousands, millions
The biggest group of friends the world has ever seen
Jumping and laughing forever
It would be great, right?
It's a very tiny frog
But it's also very special
You can only find it in the jungle
So far away from me
But if you find it and if you touch it
Your world can change forever
If you touch its skin
You can feel your body changing
And your vision also
And blue becomes red and red becomes blue
And your mommy suddenly becomes your daddy
And everything looks like a giant cupcake
And you keep laughing and laughing and laughing
Nothing is ever quite the same really
And after you finish laughing
It's time to turn into a frog yourself
It's very funny to be a frog
You can dive into the water
And cross the rivers and the oceans
And you can jump all the time and everywhere
Do you want to play with me?
We can be a whole group of friends
A whole group of frogs
Jumping into the streets
Jumping into the planet
Climbing up the buildings
Swimming in the lakes and in the bathtubs
We would be hundreds, thousands, millions
The biggest group of friends the world has ever seen
Jumping and laughing forever
It would be great, right?
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those of you who say this song is about drugs, you are perceptive at least, but you are wrong. well that is a bit of an exaggeration. you are not wrong. you are simply not dealing with the lyrics on a substantive enough level. in my opinion, and i could be wrong, though i do not feel i am, the song is about how seeing the world as would a child is the true key to happiness and understanding. yes, you can throw some Alduous Huxley at me and try and bring it back around to drugs. "If the Doors of Perception were cleansed, man would see the world as it truly is: infinite." And despite the truth in that famous quote drugs are only one (and a very worldly and banal one at that) of the many ways mankind can "cleanse the doors of perception. The truest existence for any man or woman is innocence in perception and genius in thought...
I REALLY appreciate your comment. I do believe you are right and agree with much of what you say! My perspective has changed a bit since four months ago and I'm seeing m83 tonight so I figured I'd look up the lyrics to this song and hey hey...a good comment. Still though. The question bears. How does one obtain this consciousness without drugs? Meditation? Lucid dreaming? Just live and not worry about it? Examining children? What method do you use?
Interesting take on the lyrics, LifeIsCinema. I'm not sure if I agree 100%, but I agree somewhat. Of coures, i find that all songs can have multiple interpretations, and this song is no exception.
@LifeIsCinema I am in agreement with you!!!! To say that this song is merely just about drugs would be very sad and so limiting. When I listen to this song I feel it sort of rise and like whirl through me in a kind of transcendent beauty that's un-nameable really. It's playful and pure and charming. It manages to capture a beautiful pure essence of delight wonder enchantment. The essence of childhood. Like NEW PURE JOY.<br />
@AccountKiller1 You are quite the high IQ indiivdual. Thank you for educating us pleebs.
This song makes me feel absolutely incredible. Happiness overload. It makes me want to be with my friends and makes me feel good about being alive. I can't even explain it.
i lost my Husky ,Achilles in January 2013. he was a big M83 fan. when i hear this in my head i change the frog to a husky and it's a celebration of the way Achilles walk through my and my friends life how when But if you find it and if you touch it<br /> Your world can change forever , <br />
First off, "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire" is "Tell Me a Story" in French.
All I can think about when the frog is being described is Hypnotoad from Futurama. I think it's fairly obvious that this song is about drugs. Specifically, a hallucinogenic trip. The music in this song is very bubbly and flowing. The tempo makes it feel like you are going on a journey, and gradually builds throughout the song. The imagery in the song is representative of the drug theme.
"you can feel your body changing" "and blue becomes red and red becomes blue" "and everything looks like a giant cupcake" "and you keep laughing and laughing and laughing" "nothing is ever quite the same really"
The narration by the little girl makes the song feel like a fairy tale, and her narration represents the childlike feeling a lot of people describe from doing hallucinogens. The last stanza is very happy and optimistic and I think it expresses people's view of the world during and sometimes after tripping.
Great Song.
it's a bedtime story
acid or not
This song is pure genius. The way the melody and the beat build up, with an amazing intro where the story is told. Pure genius.
In an interview with SPIN magazine, Anthony Gonzalez said this about the album:
"It's a double album. It's mainly about dreams, how every one is different, how you dream differently when you're a kid, a teenager, or an adult."
So while I agree, at first listen it does sound like a psychedelic trip being explained by a child. But with the idea of dreams in mind, perhaps it's more innocent than that. The imagination of a child, which is an infinite thing, in a dream, which is an infinite world.
@austin1149 I really like this comment...yes.. I agree.
Acid. Definitely acid.
This song is about taking psychedelics and becoming childlike again. Specifically about a particular substance DMT: The Spirit molecule that is on the back colorado river toad. The river toad also has 5-meo-DMT, Bufotenine and n-n-DMT. When you play with the frog it excretes these juices from its back. It is definitely not about LSD. These things do not happen on LSD. Believe me. This is a classic case of a DMT trip. DMT is the chemical released when you are born, go into REM sleep, and die. It is released through your pineal gland. When you take it you see beings from other dimensions of existence. You are no longer an atheist if you have done DMT. Please research DMT or watch the documentary DMT: The Spirit Molecule to understand M83. It is the only way you will understand what is really going on right now...Please do it. rickstrassman.com/index.php en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyltryptamine thespiritmolecule.com/
-Terrence Mckenna
this is a good analysis. but as i said in my comment below it is too limited. I have done DMT and it is a very powerful and real experience but it is no key. no answer. the answer lies in so much more. to understand M83. one needs to understand their own psyche and design for themselves a life of pursuit of truth and peace of mind in the understanding of the flow of that truth into your consciousness. i am the happiest person i know or ever have known today because i have found these answers. i was not shown them by DMT. DMT did reveal many truths to me, but not the fundamental essential truths of our reality and how to live one's life. To attribute so much power to any one physical substance such as DMT is weak minded and extremely limiting of the vastness and awesomeness of our universe. one can open their third eye but not with DMT alone...
Spot on! Thanks for posting!<br /> <br /> I must admit, at first I thought it was about Kambo, the skin secretion of the Phyllomedusa bicolor frog. But your explanation is more logical, as Kambo is more of a detox and not primarily a psychedelic drug. :)
I joined this community just to comment and read the other comments on this song. It saddens me to read so many people seem to focus on drugs when interpreting this song. I have absolutely nothing against drugs mind you-(LOL)- But-- I could not stop smiling when I found this song!!!!! To me.. it's like this ABSOLUTE PURE JOY. I've never heard anything like it really! It manages to CAPTURE the essence of Childhood. I still feel like a child so much in a way--the sincerity and innocence-- Purity of intention,purpose and thought--no hidden motives or agenda in any way shape or form. I have it in my heart always-- --and when I hear this I smile so much because it actually puts me back there in full force... It also makes me cry my effing heart out!!!!! I've rarely heard anything so magical. I wish M83 would make a WHOLE album like this!!!!!! I don't know if it would be possible to sustain the magic for an entire album...probably not I guess.... just like childhood itself ..... fleeting
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_toad
The Colorado River toad's venom contains psychoactive substances that can cause hallucinations. There is an urban legend that you can get high by licking it, but that usually results in poisoning.
The 'venom' of the colorado river toad is DMT, the strongest hallucinogen know to man. It's generally smoked (although toad hunting would be an equally effective) and to say that "you can get high" is the understatement of our existence. What is our existence might you ask? Go chase a toad and you'll find out. And like it says, "nothing is ever quite the same really."