Hey, hovering sombrero,
Gently waving in the air above the meadow,
Softly floating in the sky outside the window.

Hovering sombrero, don't be shy,
Don't - don't be shy,
Don't be terrified.
When you take yourself for granted,
Feel rejected and unwanted,
Know you're never just a hat you know,
You're never only just a hat you know,
Hovering sombrero.

Time is flying like an arrow,
And the clock hands go so fast they make the wind blow,
And it makes the pages of the calendar go flying out the window one by one,
Till a hundred years are on the front lawn,
And the old familiar things are mostly all gone,
But the old sombrero just keeps hovering on.
Hovering sombrero, hover on.

Don't be burdened by regrets,
Or make your failures an obsession,
Or become embittered or possessed,
By ruined hopes remember --

When you take yourself for granted,
Feel rejected and unwanted,
Know you're never just a hat you know,
You're never only just a hat you know,
Hovering sombrero.
Hovering sombrero.


Lyrics submitted by corinnemic

Hovering Sombrero Lyrics as written by John Linnell John Flansburgh

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Hovering Sombrero song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    I've always assumed this song was about putting your life in perspective. When I was young and got upset I was told "is this going to matter in 5 years?" and the answer was almost always "no," and I'd stop worrying about it...eventually. The titular sombrero in the song seems to me to be the Sun. The lines:

    Time is flying like an arrow and the clock hands move so fast they make the wind blow and it makes the pages of the calendar go flying out the window one by one

    Till a hundred years are on the front lawn and the old familiar things are mostly all gone but the old sombrero just keeps hovering on hovering sombrero hover on

    jive with the thought of "things come and go, but the Sun is always there." The Sun may only do one thing, but it does it well and it does it all the time, and it will do it longer than we'll ever be here. "Don't be burdened by regrets Or make your failures an obsession Or become embittered or possessed By ruined hopes..." because one failing, or even many doesn't stop you from being important during your lifetime.

    The sun looks like a giant hovering sombrero, but it is much more. You may fail or be upset by a missed opportunity, but you're still much more.

    sindexon September 22, 2009   Link

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