Passion Pit – Take a Walk

General Commentdoes anybody else think he's talking about 3 different people?
1st verse, is the poor immigrant who scraped enough money together to bring his family over so they could all be together, and now that they're in, they've gone off to do their own thing.
2nd verse is the upper class CEO who's business partner lost all their money when the market crashed, and now he's on the hook with the investors, the media, and the government.
3rd verse is the average middle class guy who's in debt up to his eyeballs, is being over taxed because the poor cant pay and the rich can get out of it, he's getting older and afraid his wife doesn't find him attractive anymore, and who doesn't want his friends to know how bad off he is.

i think this song is looking at the spectrum of socio-economic statuses and saying that sometimes, we all just have to get away from our problems to realize what really matters to us.

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  @cmikk
  -1

  That's an interesting interpretation but I still think it is one person who worked hims way to the upper or upper middle class from nothing. The last verse when he says "we can rip the socialists apart and all their damn taxes," is a good indication He's an upper middle class or upper class person.

  Flag randmcnallon July 24, 2012  

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  I think you are right on. This was my impression after the 2nd verse. Clearly the things theya re each talking about are seperate levels of society. Someone who sells carnations doesnt worry about a pension. And I think in the third verse, its LOAN not SON. That really strightens things out, but it could be SON too, sort of a middleclass issue of bad kids.

  Flag djDanimalon August 28, 2012  

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  I think that it's not about multiple people but rather one man. I think it's clear in the opening lines.
  
  "All these kinds of places
  Make it seem like it's been ages"
  
  The different stages in his life have took a toll on him.
  and
  
  "But never thought I'd be alone to try"
  
  suggesting that in the end he did loose everything, his kids and wife included.
  

  Flag DavidDylanon January 07, 2014  

Song MeaningThe singer/keyboard player Michael Angelakos has confirmed in a May 2012 interview that it is in fact about certain people in his family, and how he feels connected to them:

"It's about very specific family members, the male hierarchy, and how the men in my family have always dealt with money. I've always been really fond of a lot of my family members and not so fond of others," he laughed. "All these men were very conservative; socially very liberal but for some reason, they all came here for capitalism, and they all ended up kind of being prey to capitalism. And I'm not making any political statements or anything, but it's ironic and it's sad."

"I was more or less interested in analyzing my own family, and that was my way of talking about myself, because I'm a product of these men; I'm their blood. And that was a new way for me to express something."

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  @bbt

Lyric CorrectionWhat's a "camation"? Anyway here are the real lyrics:

All these kind of places
Make it seems like it’s been ages
Tomorrow some new buildings will scrape the sky
I love this country dearly
I can feel the ladder clearly
But never thought I’d be alone to try

Once I was outside Penn Station
Selling red and white carnations
We were still alone
My wife and I
Before we married, saved my money
Brought my dear wife over
Now I work to bring family state side


But off the boat they stayed awhile then scattered across the coast
Once a year I’ll see them for a week or so at most

I took a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, oh-oh-oh
Take a walk, 0h-oh-oh
I take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk

Practise isn’t perfect
But the market cuts the loss
I remind myself that times could be much worse
My wife won’t ask me questions
There's not so much to ask
And she’ll never flaunt around an empty purse

Once my mother in law came
Just to stay a couple nights
Then decided she would stay the rest of her life
I watch my little children
Play some board game in the kitchen
And I sit and pray they never feel my strife

But then my partner called to say the pension funds were gone
He made some bad investments, now the accounts are overdrawn

I took a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, oh-oh-oh
Take a walk, 0h-oh-oh
I take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk

Honey, it’s your son
I think I borrowed just too much
We had taxes, we had bills
We had a lifestyle to front
And tonight I swear I’ll come home
And we’ll make love like we’re young
And tomorrow you’ll cook dinner
For the neighbors and the kids
We could rip apart those socialists
And all their damn taxes
But see I am no criminal
I’m down on both bad knees
I’m just too much a coward
To admit when I’m in need

I took a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, oh-oh-oh
Take a walk, 0h-oh-oh
I take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
I took a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
I took a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk

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  @kieranr
  0

  NULL

  Flag bostonkid9on March 02, 2015  

General CommentI submitted corrections - but the lyrics I'm looking at now are messed.

Pretty sure the song's linear. Immigrant-makes-good, and works his way up from 'selling flowers at Penn station' to the big Wall St. world of high-finance. Every time in his life he comes across a challenge he needs to sort out, he "takes a walk". He brings his extended family over from a foreign country (not sons and daughters - we're talking uncles and brothers etc.) who - once here - scatter to the four corners of the globe to seek their own fortune, and just aren't there when our main character falls on hard times and needs some support of his own.

He brings his wife over and things are going well for the most part - he raises a family - tries to keep up with the Joneses - and for awhile is living the suburban upper-middle-class ideal. His wife is "from the old country" and doesn't start to complain once things obviously start going askew and doesn't complain (doesn't "flaunt her empty purse") and despite the fact things are falling apart, he wants to preserve the aura of normalcy to the point he has her invite the neighbours over and cook and "complain about the socialists" over the dinner table in conversation because that's what self-made, wealthy, American business people do -- despite the fact he himself now needs a bit of that 'socialist' help himself.

Each time he voices a personal hurdle he 'takes a walk'. As things stack up (including the mother-in-law moving in for yet another mouth to feed) he still has his 'old country' pride and can't bear to admit to himself that he can no longer keep up his lifestyle, and can't bear to destroy the illusion he thinks his wife and kids and friends love more than they love him. So, again, he 'takes a walk' - only this time it's a final walk that winds up a last step off the top of a very tall building (check out the official video - which bears this out.)

This song...floored...me. Haunted, almost. There's lots of pop sh*t out there but this one rings true in unsettling ways, and if you let your imagination drive for a few blocks...it'll probably seem just as 'real' as anything you'll find out there on any street in America.

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  @ChanceWolf

General CommentSuch a terrific song. Literally it's about an immigrant and his money troubles and how it affects his familial life and life in general, and how he deals with it. More metaphorically, it's just about how one deals with all quandaries in life - by "taking a walk", perhaps the simplest and most universal human action, something that brings us back to our roots, brings us closer to the true essence of life, away from materialistic and societally driven desires. Something that cleanses us and gives us perspective in a beautifully wholesome way, like a deep breath of fresh air. Something that clears the mind and gives someone time to reflect. It's amazing - that one line makes the song - when he says, "iii took a walk," it's just seems like its an answer to life or something, like he's got it all figured out via song.

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  @kayjay734
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  Oh - and the beat that comes on when he says that line is (obviously) so fitting - it makes you want to walk purposefully to it. Just a great song to take a walk to!

  Flag kayjay734on May 20, 2012  

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  @kayjay734
  
  It IS a great song. So nice to see a pop artist take a sympathetic look at a character typically lampooned as "the man".

  Flag pdiddyon September 28, 2015  

Song MeaningI think this song is about the pressure and responsibility of being a male in society today, and the hardship of not being able to see the family because he spends all his time working. The person in the song is clearly struggling but he doesn't want to admit that he needs help.

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  @Jammyone

General CommentThis tells the story of a man who comes to the United States. He works hard to bring his family here, make a living, and start a family. However, his family leaves and his wife becomes more concerned with their life style than his (and their) happiness. As time goes on, the burden of supporting this life style gets greater and greater. As the stress builds on him, he prays that his children won't ever have to feel this way as they grow older.

Then the recession hits in 2008 and he takes a major loss. It becomes clear to him that their life cannot be supported but he fears that he will lose his family again (remember the rest of his family left when they came to the country). He's too afraid to confront his wife so he gets deeper and deeper into financial trouble. He gets involved in bad business plans and ultimately commits corporate crimes in hopes of preserving his family and their lifestyle.

The last section of the song describes how he's goes through life pretending that everything is alright when he knows he is destined to fail. "

You'll see I am no criminal ~ I'm down on both bad knees"
This is my favorite line. His fear of losing his family steered him into this problem. He has no intentions of hurting other people. Now he's falling on two bad knees (the product of working his whole life to preserve his American Dream) because he has nowhere but heaven to turn to for help.

The irony of the American Dream.

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  @cghsoccer
  -1

  This interpretation is clearly correct.

  Flag nachosgrandeon November 08, 2012  

General CommentStepping back. The framework is a look at his family and what they went through. This song, however, is great is because of the theme. It's about how the leader of a family or his own life takes burdens on themselves.

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  @Rooster2004
  0

  This is my song this week, i love it.
  "I can feel the ladder clearly" could be the corporate ladder, and climbing it. Coupled with imagery of buildings rising.
  "selling red and white carnations" I thought at first to be a euphemism for dealing drugs, but that doesn't seem to fit. I'm still wondering about the symbolism.
  Every time I listen I hear the verse:
  "Honey, it’s your son
  I think I borrowed just too much
  We had taxes, we had bills
  We had a lifestyle to front
  And tonight I swear I’ll come home
  And we’ll make love like we’re young"
  Maybe just carelessness on the part of the writer, but i doubt it, given the complexity of the rest of the song. I'm looking at "Honey, it's your son...we'll make love like we're young" anybody else see what I'm getting at?
  
  In all, the song is about a man who is working towards a better life for his family, but he faced challenges and some of his expectations were not met. Disillusionment plays a role, as he realizes that coming to the US did not instantly solve all his problems. He still has family members living with him (mother in law), children to raise, a wife who is very focused on "having a lifestyle to front", like she is living beyond their means. He deals with it all by separating himself and taking a walk. Beautiful.

  Flag Haron June 02, 2012  

  0

  Oops, meant to post that as a general comment

  Flag Haron June 02, 2012  

General CommentIf you look at the passion pit website, the song is almost certainly about the vocalist's (Michael) grandfather and father, about immigration to America.

Written by: Brent DiCrescenzo cited from passionpitmusic.com/info

"Aside from the sarcastic “Love Is Greed,” all the songs on Gossamer are one-hundred-percent true. I know this because I’ve compared the lyric sheet to a 3,672 word life story Michael emailed me. ...

Unlike some songwriters, Michael does not write in character. He compares the album to a collection of John Cheever stories. “It’s non-fiction, but dramatized. It’s euphoric pain,” he tells me.

The record is more intimate than that. Listening and reading along, I feel as if I am reading his chart. I am eavesdropping. I am putting him inside one of the TSA’s full-body millimeter wave scanners.

Ah, I think, “Take A Walk” must be about his father and his father’s father, his Papou, who sold old roses and owned a candy kitchen, using his savings to bring his village to America."

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  @poopiebear

General CommentI think it's about how contagious this materialistic, money-driven society we live in is. An immigrant saved up all his money to bring his family here and talks about how lonely it was without them. Once they get here, their and his values change and they don't see one another except for maybe once a year. His wife is maybe ashamed that they're having money problems, they're trying to look like they have a lot of money, like a keeping-up-with-The-Joneses kind of thing. I think the walking is him remembering what is important - getting back to basics. He sees his family and realizes that he does it for their sake, so they don't have to suffer the way he has. In the end, he lost a bunch of money and there's possibly some kind of Ponzi scheme involved (criminal?). He's saying he didn't intend to hurt anyone, he was just too proud to ask for help when he started to drown, and it just spiraled out of control.

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  @cutewhensedated