Zurich Is Stained

I always thought this song had to do with the time in a relationship when a couple is at the "maybe we should se other people" stage.

Zurich (Switzerland) is neutral, designating the neutral position of the relationship.

I am not one half of the problem...Just hold me back or let me run: This sounds very "end of the relationship."

The fountain where we sold it and held them hanging also sounds like "well, were breaking up, but it's just the type of thing that happens inlife."

Zurich.... Switzerland... watches. Waht's switzerland known for? Answer: Watchmakers, international banking and chocolate. Switzerland is the home of modern time pieces (hand held-"Hold" and grandfather and wall clocks "hanging" And hold me back or let me run... it's about time. You can't hold back time, it just runs on.

Next, the reference to mistakes not being traceable... swiss bank accounts are untraceable in the us and are where many known criminals hide their money.

Last, I think in general the reference to Zurich being stained is that it has this stigma bout being nuetral when it comes to alliances and extradition. And that all of Switzerland, but particularly Zurich, is tainted or "stained" as a den for theives and hustlers who hide out there with their money.

This song is incredibly ambiguous and I'm not sure exactly of the relevance of Zurich to this song, but I do know that not only is Zurich in Switzerland (it is the economic & banking capital in the northeast), but it is in the heart of the "German part" of Switzerland. German is spoken there and the local culture is very German.

I think this song is about abdicating responsibility even when one is responsible and slowly coming to grip with personal responsibility. The chorus suggests "it's not my fault," however the last stanza refers to "mistakes" with reference to a "we" (this would incriminate the speaker of this song).

Sip this from her furry tea cup (hope it's contents don't stain your teeth)....

Cabaret Voltaire was a Zürich nightclub founded in 196 by Hugo Ball, in the midst of the Great War. Some founding members were Marcel Janco, Richard Huelsenbeck, Tristan Tzara and Jean Arp. Events at the cabaret proved pivotal in the founding of the anarchic art movement known as Dada. Dada sprung out of WWI and the surrealist movement sprung from Dada. Malkmus sprung from the surrealist movement. Follow the gold nuggets people! It's not about Nazi's or the Holocaust - Jeaze! ... or is it?!?!

Tristan Tzara : "Any work of art that can be understood is the product of journalism."

"We [Dadaists] are often told that we are incoherent, but into this word people try to put an insult that it is rather hard for me to fathom. Everything is incoherent... There is no logic... The acts of life have no beginning and no end. Everything happens in a completely idiotic way. That is why everything is alike. Simplicity is called Dada. Any attempt to conciliate an inexplicable momentary state with logic strikes me as a boring kind of game... Like everything in life, Dada is useless... Perhaps you will understand me better when I tell you that Dada is a virgin microbe that penetrates with the insistence of air into all of the spaces that reason has not been able to fill with words or conventions."

Hhmmmm... H. R. Giger (painter/sculptor/designer) is from Zürich. He's popularly known for his designs in such works as 'Alien' and 'Killer Condom'. He worked with Lynch on 'Dune' but thought 'Eraserhead' was a much purer Giger-ian vision than 'Dune'. 'Eraserhead' certainly had a "stained" cityscape!

I feel I've gone too far.....

alright im an idiot damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit, i thought i might have had something going and im a fuckin idiot, cmon though, zurich sounds really german right? but uhh now my comment makes absolutely no sense at all. shit, damn swiss

as if stephen malkmus would write about the holocaust. i reckon its abou him having a wonderful experience with someone in zurich and then the person being a prick afterwards and ruining it or something like that

SM has a fascination with Nazi war criminals on the lam. See Extradition. Maybe you're onto something.

Someone said something about switzerland being neutral, and i think that would play in here. With neutrality, which one could see as goodness being stained...IDK but I like it. Plus its a great phrase. Whenever something goes wrong I'll say "Zurich is stained." Or if money is involved "Zurich is $tained"

http://pavemoresongs.blogspot.com/2007/07/zurich-is-stained.html

should shed a lil' light on it. maybe.

To me I feel like this song is about making decisions. in my opinion it could be about love

I can't sing it strong enough Because that kind of strength I just don't have With a watch, the light changed To "hold" then "hanging"

Someone lost hope in himself the watch symbolizes time and everchanging self hold and hanging are two different things holding is something where both parties hold together hanging is when only one party is hanging on to another

You think it's easy, but you're wrong I am not one half of the problem Zürich is stained, and it's not my fault Just hold me back or let me run

Deciding whether to stay home or move to Zurich In arguments, sometimes it feels like the person you are arguing with guilt trips you Zurich is stained, and it's not my fault could mean something irrelevant or running on a tangent to stay or letting go

So what does it mean, a mistake or two If it's the kind of mistakes no one can trace To the fountain where we sold it And held them hanging?

Everyone is prone to make mistakes and all we can ever do is learn and forgive There are times when we deny mistakes in order to defend our character we hide our faults through untraceable facts somewhere pretty like a fountain ever flowing water connecting held and hanging (two opposite words) now hold is past tense.