The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 and 3

The lines "I love you Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ I love you" are replaced in the booklet with a small explanation by Jeff. "...and now a song for Jesus Christ. And since this seems to confuse people I'd like to simply say that I mean what I sing although the theme of endless endless on this album is not based on any religion but more in the belief that all things seem to contain a white light within them that I see as eternal."

Just thought I'd let everyone know in case it helps anyone interpret it better.

[not about the meaning, but about my life changing experience when listening to it. Also written as an English essay (I'm not a native English speaker, this was written for my English course)]

(by Regiane K.S.) I was in a skype conf with some friends, one of them sends me part 1 and 2/3 of this song and says: "listen carefully, take off your headphones and turn on your soundsystem speakers, let yourself drown in this music". I was curious and did what he asked. It was so awe inspiring, i didnt even let the music end and i was listening to it again (part 1). It was as if i couldnt believe my ears. What type of person could sing that the way that guy did? The images cast in my mind, the feelings overflowed my heart. When i finnaly let the music go ahead to part 2/3 I shivered from head to toe... The moment the singer "sang" I Love You Jesus Christ... it was just too much. That was not singing, it was something transcendentally different. I broke down in tears, the emotion was too strong, i was gasping, crying, laughing, claping... I cant compare the experience to anything i've ever felt. My spirit swelled in my chest more and more at each syllable. From that moment on, I'm changed. I've grown. All thanks to Mr. Mangum.

You can love Jesus Christ and the things he preached and not believe that he was the son of god. He was also a historical figure. You can support his gospels and teachings and believe he was just a normal guy. The fact that he loves Jesus Christ could have absolutely nothing to do with faith.

'Synthetic Flying Machine' was Jeff's old band...

The rest of the song is about Jeff's earlier days in Seattle where he was not very happy...and also about his mother

This was the song that first turned me on the NMH. We used to hang out in a friends "house" that was actually a garage behind his parent's house in highschool. His dad was a theology major and the garage's downstairs was just wall to wall bookcases full of nothing but books about god. Being that athiest/agnostic I was me and the kid would get in lots of debates about everythough, though I believe he was an agnostic as well, he put this song on (I had never heard NMH) and I was like "Woah...what the hell is this!?" I think he expected me to be sarcastic or teasing but I think I first described it in my ignorance to all the lyrics as totally amazing (especially after hearing how Jeff Mangum really thought of Jesus in the album's insert) and the first thing I said was "This is so cool...it's about Jesus but it sounds like a Hindu chant or something! What a great mix"

Now...on to the real meaning (or what I have interpreted)

I think Jesus Christ is seen as human in this. Not as in half human half deity but really human. Jesus was just like us, like all humans, and all humans are like him, so perhaps he represents any individual in humanity...just a guess...

"Up and over we go Through the wave and undertow I will float until I learn how to swim Inside my mum in a garbage bin Until I find myself again again oh oh"

I loved how someone mentioned earlier about how the song for part three gets fast paced and they compare it to... dun dun dun... A BIRTH! That's because it is a birth! It could be litterally or metaphoricall, or after being a birth it could just be life as that very same process of being created and creating ourselves...look at the lines...

"Through the wave and undertow I will float until I learn how to swim"

This could be representative of just an egg or a sperm or something (to get real ridiculously literal, although this isn't the main point that's supposed to get across) but ALSO, think about it...you start out in life just a little kid who doesn't know what to do and everything is done for you and once you grow and learn a little bit you start to figure things out and be able to do stuff for yourself...before that...you're floating until you learn out to swim, and can control a bit of your own life.

"Inside my mum in a garbage bin Until I find myself again again oh oh""

"Inside my mum" makes this literal meaning of the birth process so literal...but the garbage bin part...woah. That brings us back to Jesus Christ...who was born in what? A stable? Where the animals lived? And his first bed was a manger? Basically a dog bowl. And it's kind of funny because think of this diety, the holy beautiful thing (that could either be jesus or just any baby before it is born and introduced to the flaws of world...it is still perfect) being born in to a world being described as a garbage bin, full of flaws and trash. Until I find myself again brings us to how life is just the birth over and over again, or learning and creating oneself and all the identities one might take and all the rough patched between those times when we know who we are.

"Up and over we go Mouths open wide and spitting still And I will spit until I learn how to speak Up thru the doorway as the sideboards creek With them ever proclaiming me me ohh"

"I will spit until I learn how to speak" parrallels the I will float until I learn how to swim, only floating verse swiming differs from spitting vs speaking because speaking means you are actually creating something else. You are putting together words and ideas. It's more of a complex action than action (swimming) alone. Or at least that's how I saw it.

Obviously the proclaiming him part brings us back to this be Jesus Christ. But you can think of way that it could be a metaphor, I'm sure.

"With them ever proclaiming me me ohh

Up and over we go The weight it sits on down and I don't know I will shout until they know what I mean "

When these parts are put together it's almost the crisis...Jesus's crisis as well as many people's crisis, of not exactly being understood. Those proclaiming him saying things about him, they don't know exactly what he means, perhaps...think of maybe he's not claiming to be the son of god, and they're saying this, and he's shouting, he's just trying to be understood.

And isn't that a universal problem? The attempt to be understood when everyone wants to take what you say how they want to take it?

"I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing and a synthetic flying machine machine"

Haha, I may talk alot of talk, but I honestly am not sure what this means. My only guess is synthetic flying machine is the resurection still being what everyone wants to believe but what he really means is that's synthetic, but I have no clue. It probably means something much better and clearer than that. The fact that it was originally titled that just throws me off completely.

Maybe I'm not supposed to get it and it's still the point that I'm sitting here trying to understand someone else when it's impossible and that's the whole point. Aren't we all just a bunch of hipocrites. Haha.

Another thing that is intersting is that King of Carrot Flowers part 1 is said to be based on Anne Frank who was Jewish and this part starts off with "I love you Jesus Christ" when the separation between those that believed and those that did not was what got her in to the situation she was in that caused her to possibly be Jeff's muse in the first place. Maybe Jeff really is just laughing as was said early, why we try to depict what he means when one of the points of this song is that "we" don't. Who knows...any thoughts?

Here's what Magnum wrote in the liner notes: (there are no full stops in the original)

"a song for a old friend and a song for a new friend and now a song for Jesus Christ and since this seems to confuse people I'd like to simply say that I mean what I sing although the theme of endless endless on this album is not based on any religion but more in the belief that all things seem to contain a white light within them that i see as eternal"

Cryptic, and possibly intentionally confusing. I think that there's a lot of darker imagery in this song and others on the album, with lines like "inside my mum in a garbage bin". Perhaps the first part of the song is about needing to put your faith in something (like Jesus), when you live in such a sad world.

Perhaps "my mother the garbage bin", is a reference to King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1, where Jeff says "And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder And dad would throw the garbage all across the floor". In that light, the line could mean that the mother is a receptacle for a lot of verbal, emotional, or even physical abuse from the father. He lays all his negativity, aggression, and disappointment (his garbage) in her. Also, did anybody else notice that this song had been originally titled "Up And Over We Go", and the next song is "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea". Meaning that if the song was left with it's first title, the album would have read UP AND OVER WE GO IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA. I don\t know if that holds any significance. Perhaps the two songs are related? Perhaps it gives more credibility to the theory of this album as a concept album? Either, I just found that to be an interesting fact.

I think Jeff really does love Jesus Christ. I mean, as an idea, anyway, what's not to love? He was a man who told people to love each other, was executed by the religious and political powers of his time and place, and went on to become incredibly famous. The fact that he became so famous for being such a good guy kinda says something good about humanity, I think.
Like Jeff, I grew up in a religious family in the Southern U.S. I'm an atheist now, but I really like that he did this. What shocked me was the realization that there isn't already a hymn that just plainly states what Jeff states, here. It makes all the other religious songs sound overly-elaborate and contrived.

Oh, and P.S. to the guy who reiterated C.S. Lewis' trashy argument about having to believe in the divinity of Jesus -- being the result of centuries of compilation and revision, the Bible is an unreliable source of information. I take the expressions of ideas that I like from it (such as loving your neighbor and not worrying about stuff so much and considering the lilies of the field) and take only an academic interest in the rest-- just like I do with any book.

i think it would be so funny if what jeff actually means by these songs are soooo far from what we "mortals" think....and hes just laughing in his room somewhere....cheers

i'm still amused, amazed and quite frankly boggled that so many people are so completely put off NMH as a band because of 'the king of carrot flower pt. 2.' but, i have to admit i understand them, religion is a hard thing to deal with when you're a hipster.

oh! oh! i also love how the transition between part 2 and part 3 is so amazingly seamless that, well, it becomes one song. yet it's two. like a kinder-egg minus one.