People

People, a generic title, and to me ironic, when considering the highly personal and soul-seeking nature of this song.

''It's just the same for a man or a girl, The meaning of the world lies outside the world. People love people and they understand if you wanna renovate your background mind''

These four lines essentially define the song for me, inviting deep introspection, and a retreat to existential philosophy in order to defeat conflict. People are flawed true, but as Berman notes, not irreparably so. We need only to 'renovate our background minds' in order to alter the perceptions, (or more accurately the misperceptions), we have. Instead of allowing the mundane to crowd our minds, we need to seek a deeper, and more primordial aspect on life, one allowing the many moments we encounter to become the very monuments Berman sings of.. The rainbow from the garden hose IS the city and the city rain, The nature of such a journey is fragile however, with Berman encouraging the need to ‘scotch watch’ whilst ‘people travel to the moon’. The foundations are still too weak for us to 'crest too soon', and we need to take note of the fragility of such progression. Whilst such a pursuit is a step forward in exploration, Berman finally appears to consider the futility of such a quest, and the worryingly perpetual nature of common attitude. The slow and unsteady tempo of IV drips combined with a final decision to stay inside when, 'everybody's coming out tonight', suggest a begrudging abandonment of such naive, yet beautiful idealism. To put it bluntly, Berman cherishes his romantic and comforting dream, but realises he must always wake.

My favorite line here is: "people ask people to watch their scotch".

I've always thought he was just sort of pointing out something so simple and mundane that people do, that most would not even think of pointing it out at all. But the point is that it is only something you would understand if you ARE people, which makes it an excellent way to define what 'people' is. This is then juxtaposed with sending people to the moon, of of the great achievements that might also be used as a way to define 'people'.

hahahahaha what a feel good song fuckin awesome

Agreed, this song just puts me in a relaxed, fucking great mood.

pretty sure he says "come on baby -don't- stay inside"

Yeah it should be "don't stay inside". That's how it's written in the booklet of the album.

Yeah, you're right. In that case maybe he is clinging to this ideal. The romance remains intact.

In general, I think Cookie got it right. Berman, as he frequently does in his poetry, encourages us to change our perception of the world. He attempts to draw us into the wonders of the every day that we usually pass up. In general, he's asking us to sit, relax, and watch the grass grow a bit. The first line points this out: "Moments", the small specks of life can be large and important, "Monuments", if we simply live in a way that cherishes these moments as they are.

Along with this is the idea of People. He seems to hold them as something that can give or allow a sort of salvation to suffering. When he refers to "synchronize(ing) to animal time" I think he means reaching a sort of universal mind state among all people referred to in the opening lines.

Later on, the images he provides are all simple everyday things given descriptions of large proportions: "Suburban kids with biblical names", see "a rainbow from a garden hose".

Then he rips it open with the best verse I think he's, well, ever written:

People ask people to watch their scotch. People send people up to the moon. When they return, well there isn't much People be careful not to crest too soon.

It’s a warning. Here he brings an almost Buddhist tint to the philosophy: chasing greatness does not offer any lasting happiness. In either the case of the drunk or the astronaut, the trip ends sometime, and we are left with just memories of the past to hold to. I almost feel with the last line he's saying that momentary greatness can tarnish your ability to feel and be in the moment, but that can be left to interpretation.

To finish it up, he drops the cryptic lines and simply provides cheery narration, and I feel it's simplicity hits hard after all the vagueness and metaphor.

Above all, it's a perfect song and gets me out of bed in the morning. Berman is God.

Suburban Kids with Biblical Names!!!! i fit that description.