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Mote Lyrics
[Lee]
and you feel the spiral turning for you alone
and you feel so heavy that you just can't stop it
when you see your madness turns you into stone
a picture of your life she's like a rocket
all the time
could be if you're crazy it's alright
i see you moving in and out of sight
my friends tell you it'll all come through yes
from nowhere
to nowhere
come together
come through
have i lived now with a mote inside my eye
and i can't see you breathing as before
i am airless, a vacuum child
and i can't stand to reason at your door
in this time
could be if you're crazy it's alright
i've seen you moving in and out of sight
my friends tell me it'll all come through yes
from nowhere
to nowhere
come together
i'm down in the daytime out of sight
coming in from dreamland i'm on fire
i can see it's all been here before
dream a dream that lies right at your door
when the seasons circle sideway without a turn
and words don't speak just fall across the carpet
you're just in time to watch the fire burn
it seems a crime that you face it like you love it
all the time
and you feel the spiral turning for you alone
and you feel so heavy that you just can't stop it
when you see your madness turns you into stone
a picture of your life she's like a rocket
all the time
could be if you're crazy it's alright
i see you moving in and out of sight
my friends tell you it'll all come through yes
from nowhere
to nowhere
come together
come through
have i lived now with a mote inside my eye
and i can't see you breathing as before
i am airless, a vacuum child
and i can't stand to reason at your door
in this time
could be if you're crazy it's alright
i've seen you moving in and out of sight
my friends tell me it'll all come through yes
from nowhere
to nowhere
come together
coming in from dreamland i'm on fire
i can see it's all been here before
dream a dream that lies right at your door
and words don't speak just fall across the carpet
you're just in time to watch the fire burn
it seems a crime that you face it like you love it
all the time
Song Info
Submitted by
shut On Dec 24, 2001
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This song was at least partially written about a Sylvia Plath poem called the eye-mote. It is one of my favorites from Sonic Youth.
Its about getting stoned, read it. "and you feel the spiral turning for you alone and you feel so heavy that you just can't stop it when you see your madness turns you into stone a picture of your life she's like a rocket "
Thats just about the feeling "i'm down in the daytime out of sight coming in from dreamland i'm on fire i can see it's all been here before dream a dream that lies right at your door" Thats about coming down
"it seems a crime that you face it like you love it all the time" Duh
Directly from the Sonic Youth Song Database, the real lyrics:
When you see the spiral turning for you alone And you feel so heavy that you just can't stop it When this sea of madness turns you into stone A picture of your life shoots like a rocket All the time
Put "me" in the equation it's alright I've seen you moving in and out of sight My friends tell me it'll all cut through you From nowhere To nowhere Cut together Cuttin' through
I'm island-bound, a mote inside my eye And I can't see you breathing as before I am airless, a vacuum child And I can't stand to reason at your door In this time
[LP version repeats previous chorus minus final "cuttin thru".. most live versions feature this second chorus:]
If broken bottles shine like jewels If this decision points to you If what you say is ever true Then I'll be fine...
I'm down in the daytime out of sight Comin' in from dreamland I'm on fire I can see it's all been here before Dream a dream that lies right at your door
When the seasons circle sideways out of turn And words don't speak just fall across the carpet You're just in time to watch the fires burn It seems a crime but yr face is bright you love it All the time.....
nice find.
nice find.
Sometimes the live version also changes the first verse slightly:
Sometimes the live version also changes the first verse slightly:
When you see the spiral turning for you alone And you feel so heavy that you just can't stop When this sea of madness turns you into stone A picture of your life sinks like a rock
When you see the spiral turning for you alone And you feel so heavy that you just can't stop When this sea of madness turns you into stone A picture of your life sinks like a rock
I thought he says "Put me in the equation it's alright", not "could be if you're crazy it's alright"
That's what I thought too, poolhall. Maybe I'm not crazy...
Milhouse, this is a Lee Ranaldo song, not Thursotn.
Sonic Youth says that it's based on Sylvia Plath's poem Eye-Mote. There are even youtube videos of live performances where Sonic Youth refers to the song title as Eye-Mote rather than Mote.
This is one of my favorites.
also, i'm pretty sure he says "a picture of your life shoots like a rocket". anyhow, i always thought it sounded vaguely like it was about love lost, longing, regret and an eventual breakdown. i guess it could just be about a mote in thurston's peripheral vision! probably my favorite sonic youth song ever!
hmmm...i stand corrected. it could very well be about a mote that lee witnessed moving in and out of sight.
my take is that it's about the mote and about all the other things that milhouse counted up and about being horribly stoned all through this.