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Hail Bop Lyrics
Always look at the white sky and you lose your head in the clouds
Wanna step onto them and float down to the ground
You appear from the hillside and there's a funny look in your eye
Between a rock and a hard place and I will either do or say die
Spins the phrases together 'til something starts to make sense
Talk of the future ignoring the present tense
Start shining the night sky you light up like a solar flair
Won't just burn up on contact as we enter the atmosphere
Hail to the bop believe me
Took your time to come back and see me
I've been waiting here so long and now you've taken off again
Wanna step onto them and float down to the ground
You appear from the hillside and there's a funny look in your eye
Between a rock and a hard place and I will either do or say die
Talk of the future ignoring the present tense
Start shining the night sky you light up like a solar flair
Won't just burn up on contact as we enter the atmosphere
Took your time to come back and see me
I've been waiting here so long and now you've taken off again
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Good song. It would appear to be about comet Hale-Bopp that passed the earth in 1997. The image of a comet always makes for a poetic metaphor for a love that shines brightly and then is gone, not to return again for a very long time. (see Kohoutek by R.E.M., for example)
ya its definitely about the Heaven's Gate Cult that commited mass suicide in 1997, believing that their souls would leave earth and board a space ship that was trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.
I don't think it's about the comet exactly, rather I think it's used as a metaphor. I think the song is actually about a relationship with a person who, physically and/or emotionally, isn't around a lot, and the comet is a metaphor for this person. The repeated final verse seems to be spelling this out rather plainly: "Took your time to come back and see me / I've been waiting here so long and now you've taken off again"
With lines like "Always look at the white sky and you lose your head in the clouds" and "Talk of the future ignoring the present tense", the first two verses seem to me to be about falling in love and failing to recognize or care that a meaningful long-term relationship with this person will be painful or impossible. "Between a rock and a hard place and I will either do or say die" could be about realizing you are falling or have fallen in love with someone and having to choose between leaving them now or dealing with the consequences of staying with them later.
The lyrics don't reference the suicide cult directly, but it could be a metaphor for "saying die", ie. choosing to stay with the person for now despite knowing they won't be around later.
Needless to say, this one hits really close to home for me. :(
It's about a football player who keeps getting concussed but loves the money, fame and fortune so much he can't quit, even keeps secret the doctor's warning that he will suffer irreversible damage from continued 'bops' on the head, Hail Bop means he starts to enjoy the crowd noise when he's lying on the field and finally comes around and gives the OK signal with thumb and forefinger, and he loves the roar of the crowd as he straps on his helmet and returns to the game. Or not.
Sounds like a passionate Ode to Devo - Distorted, hooky guitar; Trippy synth carrying the melody line; Offworld lyrics with repetitive, dynamic, melodic vocals.
Very reminiscent of Mongoloid and Beautiful World.
Love it, Love it, Love it!