Bit By Bit Lyrics
Bit by bit, I'm gonna build my house in the wildest thickets
I'm gonna get away from all those mouths and my shit
I'm gonna say good-bye to all the la-di-da-di-da-di-da-di-da
Some cop sticking up my wagon
To the branch of a poplar tree and saunter off
With a buck and a wildebeest
We're getting lost, we're getting lost, we're getting lo-o-o-o-o-o-st
Some cop sticking up my wagon
Fuck off all you people on the ground, yeah
No I won't bring too much of anything
Maybe a little slicker for the rain
Maybe just a good book and a heart to break
I'll make a mistress of a little Wiccan thing
Bit by bit, I'm gonna build my house in the wildest thickets
I'm gonna get away from all those mouths and my shit
I'm gonna say good bye to all the la-di-da-di-da-di-da-di-da
Some cop sticking up my wagon
Chop chop we gonna build a cabin, up top on a pretty little mountain
Fuck off all you people on the ground, yeah!
This song reminds me of the movie, Into The Wild, where the hero left civilization to live and thrive alone in nature. He was a firm believer of Thoreau's book, Walden so he donated all his money and left everything that he owned to live in solitude.
I'm sensing strong misanthropy in this song. I think the singer's pretty straightforward when he sings "Fuck off all you people on the ground, ya!" He's like, sick of all the shit people tell or do around him so he's gonna bundle up all his property (like his books) and go live alone in the mountains or on a treetop.
It sounds to me like all of the stress of city life piled onto the singer, and they had enough.
"I'm gonna get away from all those mouths and my shit" Information overload and other problems.
"I'm gonna say good-bye to all the la-di-da-di-da-di-da-di-da" All of the things that people expect from everyone else in everyday life.
"Some cop sticking up my wagon" Perhaps a cop searching their vehicle, with the definition of "sticking up" being "to rob at gunpoint".
Aside from that, in case anyone's wondering, I believe that when they say:
"One by one(one by one), I'm gonna get my properties all bundled up(bundled up) To the branch of a poplar tree and saunter off"
They mean that they will be using a bindle, which is "a bundle carried by a hobo (usually containing his possessions), often on a stick slung over the shoulder".
The song is about being so disillusioned with society that you just want to say "fuck it" and run away to somewhere remote where nobody else can find you. "Out in the sticks" is a term used to refer to a place that's out in the middle of nowhere. The singers are saying they want to bundle up all their bags on a stick, like old timey hobos, and just bail.