6 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
The Contrarian Lyrics
Hello, he lied
Like velvet this magician's sleight of tongue and hand
Hello, he lied
Beware, belie his smile
As warm and calculated as heroin
Beware the contrarian
Within everyone
A scale, a voice
Everyone but him
Core is black as pitch
Soul is out of tune
Advocate of none
Beware, belie his smile
Will cost you everything
Cloak and masquerades
Contempt for everyone
Hello, hello, he lied
Hello, he lied
Like velvet, this magician's sleight of tongue and hand
Hello, he lied
Beware his lies and smile
As warm and calculated as heroin
Beware the contrarian
Like velvet this magician's sleight of tongue and hand
Hello, he lied
Beware, belie his smile
As warm and calculated as heroin
Beware the contrarian
A scale, a voice
Everyone but him
Core is black as pitch
Soul is out of tune
Advocate of none
Beware, belie his smile
Will cost you everything
Cloak and masquerades
Contempt for everyone
Hello, hello, he lied
Like velvet, this magician's sleight of tongue and hand
Hello, he lied
Beware his lies and smile
As warm and calculated as heroin
Beware the contrarian
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Classic Maynard calling out the bad guys and leaving it up to us to pick them. Similar to how he did in Tool's Eulogy but also in many other songs. With APC's Eat the Elephant obviously having a lot of politically motivated content, this one feels Trump related to me. He's a well-documented liar. There are tons of those, but he's the loudest at this time. And he's very contrary. Anything Obama's white house did is the worst thing in the history of ever!! The heroin reference could refer to Trump's repeated mentioning of the war on addiction. A calculated move, because is he really going to do anything or is it just political posturing? I feel this tweet by Maynard the night in 2016 when Trump was elected is related: "We all deserve what comes next. Good luck."
@kcpee I don't believe it has anything to do directly with Trump. However I do know how much he aposes him. I do think this song, and much of the album have to do with the world's general atmosphere today. It's not necessarily directly political.
@kcpee I don't believe it has anything to do directly with Trump. However I do know how much he aposes him. I do think this song, and much of the album have to do with the world's general atmosphere today. It's not necessarily directly political.
"Good luck, you're on your own!" Hahaha!
"Good luck, you're on your own!" Hahaha!
I love the album as a whole, and do think that it's politically charged, more as a commentary on our current national climate socially, economically, politically, etc. but also dressed up with theatrical atmosphere to make it sound, for lack of a better adjective, sort of Smashing Pumpkinsy?... And I'd hate to say that anything coming out these days would have anything to do with DJT or his administration, but it really does sound like this song is about him... he is a contrarian, after all, and the descriptions given...
I love the album as a whole, and do think that it's politically charged, more as a commentary on our current national climate socially, economically, politically, etc. but also dressed up with theatrical atmosphere to make it sound, for lack of a better adjective, sort of Smashing Pumpkinsy?... And I'd hate to say that anything coming out these days would have anything to do with DJT or his administration, but it really does sound like this song is about him... he is a contrarian, after all, and the descriptions given in the lyrics just seem to lend to that idea. But uh... those lyrics up there, are we sure they're all correct? I'm hearing it like this:
Hello, he lied Like velvet, this magician's sleight of tongue and hand Hello, he lied Beware, belie his smile As warm and calculated as heroin Beware the contrarian
Within everyone A scale, a voice Everyone but him Core is black as pitch Soul is out of tune Advocate of none Beware, belie his smile Will cost you everything Cloak and masquerade, his contemporary one Hello, hello, he lied
Hello, he lied Like velvet, this magician's sleight of tongue and hand Hello, he lied Beware, belie his smile As warm and calculated as heroin Beware the contrarian
Pretty sure the line is “As warm and calculated as heroin,” not “As woman calculated...”
@Uranium You are correct. "As warm and calculated as heroin."
@Uranium You are correct. "As warm and calculated as heroin."
When I think about it more carefully, I begin to feel this one as many other of their songs has layers I am only scratching and catching glimpses of. Yes, of course, this associates with politicians, the dishonest ones as well. I got this one while I was thinking about Peterson-Zizek debate (prior to the event itself). I think I see Peterson as pro-humanity, while I see Zizek's view (of which I don't know very much about to be honest) as very cynical and a bit misanthropic (of course this is only my impression). So in the light of this a naive part of my mind interprets this lyrics as it is- the contrarian, one of us that contradicts, that spites the common beliefs (something I find in myself at times) and does that for destructive purposes, not creative. We should be aware and beware the people that are like that around us as well as the contrarian within us. On the other hand, I can't just outrightly discard ANYTHING Zizek is talking about. I am sure there are warnings and lessons all of us can learn from his thoughts. SO, at the other layer, 'beware' is maybe put ironically. It's easy to discard a contradicting opinion even when it's something we could actually benefit from.
It kinda looks like it’s a reference to people who are taking opposite side to anything just to watch the world burn. Or in other words – trolls. They advocate nothing, just smile and do it for the show. Maynard also says that we all have this temptation inside us to beware of but our internal scale (or conscience) keeps most of us in check.
The music in this song make me feel like it's being sung from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. The singer is lying to you. Manipulating you. Trying to control you so that you don't start listening to the "contrarian" trying to reveal the truth to you. Even the intonation of the singer leads me to this conclusion.
This song isn't just about Trump. It's all politicians. They all lie. And they will lead us into the boiling inferno of nuclear war. Look at Biden. The guy has lied about everything. Don't rely on politicians to get us out of this mess. WE must do it ourselves.
@Undertow82 It's ironic that you mention that they (politicians) all lie; one of the greatest lies is that both sides are the same. It's easy to throw up your hands and not pay attention, and that's exactly what they're hoping for. You're right that we can't rely on politicians to get us out of this mess - that we must do it ourselves. The first step is to pay attention to what is actually being said and done, then take a stand for something - anything - that makes this world a better place.
@Undertow82 It's ironic that you mention that they (politicians) all lie; one of the greatest lies is that both sides are the same. It's easy to throw up your hands and not pay attention, and that's exactly what they're hoping for. You're right that we can't rely on politicians to get us out of this mess - that we must do it ourselves. The first step is to pay attention to what is actually being said and done, then take a stand for something - anything - that makes this world a better place.
...
That's the whole point of the album. These songs aren't just an exercise in cynicism.