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.
0-1-1-1-0-0-1-1
Crying zeros and I'm hearing 1-1-1s
Cut my somersaults and my backflip
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool summer
Kiss me
Hair, the way the sun really wants it to be
Whiskey soda, please, your G&T is empty
Chairs, inflatables, have sunk to the bottom
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool summer
Kiss me
Callie, let's dive, dive down (bum, bum, bum)
To the pool's bottom where we belong (bum, bum, bum)
Callie, we're sinking like a bleeding stone (bum, bum, bum)
All above crowd around, so fucking loud
Mister
Caspian's killer told me so
La-la-la-la, la-la
Heard it down on the radio
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
My pool, summer, summer, pool, summer vibes killed
In cold blood
0-1-1-1-0-0-1-1
Crying zeros and I'm hearing 1-1-1s
Lifeless back slaps the surface of the pool
Pool killer, killer pool, pool killer
Kiss me
Mister
Caspian's killer told me so
La-la-la-la, la-la
Heard it down on the radio
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool, summer vibes killed
In cold blood
La-la-la-la, la-la
(In cold blood, in cold blood)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
(In cold blood)
La-la-la-la, la-la
(Caspian's killer told me so)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
(Caspian's killer told me so)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
In cold blood
Crying zeros and I'm hearing 1-1-1s
Cut my somersaults and my backflip
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool summer
Kiss me
Hair, the way the sun really wants it to be
Whiskey soda, please, your G&T is empty
Chairs, inflatables, have sunk to the bottom
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool summer
Kiss me
Callie, let's dive, dive down (bum, bum, bum)
To the pool's bottom where we belong (bum, bum, bum)
Callie, we're sinking like a bleeding stone (bum, bum, bum)
All above crowd around, so fucking loud
Mister
Caspian's killer told me so
La-la-la-la, la-la
Heard it down on the radio
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
My pool, summer, summer, pool, summer vibes killed
In cold blood
0-1-1-1-0-0-1-1
Crying zeros and I'm hearing 1-1-1s
Lifeless back slaps the surface of the pool
Pool killer, killer pool, pool killer
Kiss me
Mister
Caspian's killer told me so
La-la-la-la, la-la
Heard it down on the radio
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
Pool, summer, summer, pool, pool, summer vibes killed
In cold blood
La-la-la-la, la-la
(In cold blood, in cold blood)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
(In cold blood)
La-la-la-la, la-la
(Caspian's killer told me so)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
(Caspian's killer told me so)
La-la-la-la, la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la
In cold blood
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
In Cold Blood Lyrics as written by Thomas Green Joe Newman
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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01110011 is the binary code for "s". In the video, we can see a mouse that is escaping from a snake, and snakes make the sound "sssss" so I think it may be a reference to that sound. Also, they say "hearing zeros and crying ones" wich can refer to the fear the mouse feels when it hears the snake.
@westernllama actually if you flip it around its "11001110" then if you add "10010100" (crying zeros tonight I'm hearing 111's is a loose description) you get 11001110 10010100 which is the code for ∆ in binary. The song starts with the band's name in binary, not an s for snake (though your explanation is very valid still)
Anyone else sees the Great Gatsby here?
Has anyone figured out what the binary means in the song "On Cold Blood"?
I have searched the interwebs high and low and haven't found anything in regards to interpretation. Thoughts? I love the album, especially this song!
Here is what I've found so far:
01110011 is the letter s or the # 73
11001110 (same binary backwards) is the symbol Î
Also, I'd like to add that the next line he sings after he sings that binary, is something along the lines of "I'm crying zeros and I'm nearing 111". Could that be 00000111? If so, that represents the letters BEL or the # 07.
@Modestexcuse It's binary for delta which is what alt-J produces on a Mac.
@Musicats78 <br /> But it isn't...I broke down the binary up above. <br /> <br /> Could you show me what you mean? There is no proof anywhere on the web, only people saying that's what it is. <br /> <br /> I see no way that it translates to the delta, unless it's coded or using parts of the binary in the lyrics. If so, what parts and how?<br /> <br />
@Modestexcuse You're totally right, 01110011 is binary for the character "s". This binary backwards (11001110) is the symbol Î, again, correct. It's also the first half of the raw binary expression of the UTF-8 symbol Δ (1100111010010100), which I can only assume is what alt-J was going for with this binary inclusion. <br /> <br /> I'm not really sure what the next lines mean though, "Crying zeros and I'm hearing 111's". I might venture to guess that maybe "crying zeros" could mean people are crying "no", because 0 as a boolean is "False"---but I could interpret this as "No", like a protest, which works in the context of the song. As for "hearing 111's", if we continue with the boolean theme, we could say that the people are crying "no", but the narrator, if they're the pool killer, is hearing "yes" ("1" "1" "1") in their head and murderin' for pleasure anyway. I don't know what the 111s would otherwise be...decimal 7?? Why? Or, and this is maybe the most plausible idea, it's a reference to "3WW", since "w" in binary is 01110111. So maybe he's hearing "worn words"?
@Modestexcuse yes the first binary backwards is 11001110 which is the Frist half of 1100111010010100. "Crying zero's tonight I'm hearing 111s" is a loose description of the last half of the binary (10010100 {notice there's three ones, broken up by zeros}). It's just a coded way to say ∆ (the band's name) in binary code