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Going for the Gold Lyrics
There's a voice on the phone
Telling what had happened
Some kind of confusion
More like a disaster
And it wondered how you were left unaffected
But you had no knowledge
No, the chemicals covered you
And so a jury was formed
As more liquor was poured
No need for conviction
They're not thirsting for justice
But slept with the lies
I keep inside my head
I found out I was guilty
I found out I was guilty
But I won't be around for the sentencing
Because I'm leaving
On the next airplane
And though I know that my actions are impossible to justify
They seem adequate to fill up my time
And if I could talk to myself like I was someone else
Then maybe I could take your advice
And I wouldn't act like such an asshole all the time
There's a film on the wall
Makes the people look small
Who are sitting beside it
All consumed in the drama
They must return to their lives
Once the hero has died
They will drive to the office
Stopping somewhere for coffee
Where the folk singers, poets, and playwrights convene
Dispensing their wisdom
Oh, dear amateur orator
They will detail their pain
In some standard refrain
They will recite their sadness
Like it's some kind of contest
Well, if it is
I think I am winning it
All beaming with confidence
As I make my final lap
The gold medal gleams
So hang it around my neck
Because I am deserving it
The champion of idiots
But a kid carries his Walkman on that long bus ride to Omaha
I know a girl who cries when she practices violin
Because each note sounds so pure
It just cuts into her
And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes
Now to me, everything else, it just sounds like a lie
Telling what had happened
Some kind of confusion
More like a disaster
And it wondered how you were left unaffected
But you had no knowledge
No, the chemicals covered you
And so a jury was formed
As more liquor was poured
No need for conviction
They're not thirsting for justice
But slept with the lies
I keep inside my head
I found out I was guilty
I found out I was guilty
But I won't be around for the sentencing
Because I'm leaving
On the next airplane
And though I know that my actions are impossible to justify
They seem adequate to fill up my time
And if I could talk to myself like I was someone else
Then maybe I could take your advice
And I wouldn't act like such an asshole all the time
Makes the people look small
Who are sitting beside it
All consumed in the drama
They must return to their lives
Once the hero has died
They will drive to the office
Stopping somewhere for coffee
Where the folk singers, poets, and playwrights convene
Dispensing their wisdom
Oh, dear amateur orator
They will detail their pain
In some standard refrain
They will recite their sadness
Like it's some kind of contest
Well, if it is
I think I am winning it
All beaming with confidence
As I make my final lap
The gold medal gleams
So hang it around my neck
Because I am deserving it
The champion of idiots
I know a girl who cries when she practices violin
Because each note sounds so pure
It just cuts into her
And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes
Now to me, everything else, it just sounds like a lie
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I don't think I ever interpreted this song in the way that a lot of people have. I felt that it was about a relationship Conor or whoever the song is about was involved in. He loved the girl he was with, but hurt her, perhaps by cheating or just treating her bad in general. He loved her all along, but fucked himself and someone he cared about so much over. That is why he is an idiot, guilty, etc.
I've loved this song for forever but I never knew what to write about it. It's like everything in the song is articulated so perfectly that nothing I say could possibly add to its greatness; it could only make it worse.
So I won't try to do that. I'll just write what I think it means.
The song is, essentially, part of the ongoing theme of the search for truth in bright eyes songs (False Advertising, No Lies Just Love, and yeah, this one too).
As an "independent" artist Conor probably feels that music should convey a certain feeling or say a certain thing, and should always have truth found within it. Music is just one of those things you shouldn't lie to, its too pure and will know instantly if you're being dishonest. Since Bright Eyes, rightly or not, has been accused of being an "emo" band, its understandable that Conor feels as though he's fabricating things or lying within (or to) his music. Basically, he's saying that music, when interwoven with people's different emotions and beliefs, can come off as lies, and so it is a "risky" thing to do.
I think it also goes back to the whole "can you put a price on music/art?" thing. Like Conor could be considered a lier or con artist (not actually saying that he is...) because he makes people pay for his music, when some would argue if he truly loved music, he would not need money as motivation to make it.
Anyway i feel like i've barely scratched at the surface of this song...there's just so much feeling in it...its impossible to listen to it and not feel something. Like everyone, I love the part at the end; "I know a girl who cries when she practices violin Because each note sounds so pure It just cuts into her And then the melody comes pouring out her eyes"
I wish I could be capable of feeling something so deeply.
im surprised no one's written anything about this song. i'll be the first then. i love this song. i really dont know what the literal meaning is but it means something different to me. good job weezerific:cutlery for gettin the words right.
does the "film on the wall" part have anything to do with Plato's Allegory of the Cave? I really enjoy this song, it's so pretty. Great lyrics.
"cause each note sounds so pure it just cuts into her and then the melody comes pouring out her eyes" i love that
they will recite their sadness. like it's some kind of contest. well if it is, I think I am winning it. all beaming with confidence as I make my final lap. the gold medal gleams, so hang it around my neck. cause I am deserving it, the....champion of idiots.....
This song is wonderful. If you ask me, the second verse is Conor's attempt to poke fun at himself and emo as a whole. I am tempted to say this is his best work, but god knows everything he writes is a masterpeice, but it sure is one of my favorites.
The last verse ("I know a girl who cries when she practices violin 'cause each note sounds so pure it just cuts into her and then the melody comes pouring out her eyes. Now, to me everything else, it just seems like a lie.") is one of my favorite lyrics ever. Beautiful song....
the whole champion of idiots part is very clever... on the album's booklet they have a drawing of conor in a crowd and he's wearing a joker's hat and a gold medal around his neck (champion of idiots)..... very clever.
I can't say anything about the song, you've all said it already. Amazing...