This song is a meditation on birth, creation, life, and destruction. Starting with the title - "Apple Bomb," we can see the two themes of creation (represented by an apple - a traditional mythological symbol for creation, as well as a symbol in the story of Adam and Eve, around which this song is based) and destruction (represented by a bomb).The first 7 lines obviously refer to the story of Adam and Eve, and the use of the word "mother" probably refers to the evolutionary/biblical purpose of the woman (Eve) as a mother. "Your mom" describes Eve as the mother of all humanity, including the listener, to which the line is directed. The 11th line, "Eaten fruit birthday suit decoded" is obviously a reference to how Adam and Eve realized that they were naked upon eating the forbidden fruit. Unfortunetly, lines 12 through 22 are still pretty cryptic to me, but judging by how the music gets louder and noisier when she sings the "Bomb bomb bomb" line (I suppose it's safe to call that the chorus), I can guess that the chorus is about the destruction that humans create. And the way it's sandwiched in between the pretty lines about Adam and Eve, and childbirth, and trees, and all that good stuff, I imagine that the band intended to create a dichotomy between creation (in this case - biblical creation, or creation by God) and destruction (by humans, i.e. with bombs). Also, the lines "You're my tree/And you're my three/When you burn" also have biblical significance - referencing both the burning bush ("When you burn") and the trinity ("You're my three"). As for the next three lines however, I'm really stumped, although I could take a huge leap and say that "number four" means humanity... that's just a complete guess though. The last few lines, starting with "Just like me/Final tree" probably refer to the similarity of all living things ("just like me") and how humans decided to cultivate plant life because they thought it was beautiful ("You're lovely/But you're lonely/I will clone thee").
Actually the Adam and Eve theme is a consistent one throughout just about the entire album, just look at this:
the title of the album is Apple O' (an apple being the key symbol in the story of Adam and Eve)
the song following "Apple Bomb" is titled "The Forbidden Fruit"
track number 12 is titled "Adam + Eve Connection"
the song "L'Amour Stories" contains the lyrics, "What's that core on the floor?/What the devil was that for?"
Kinda neat, huh?
Well, hope I could provide some insight.
By the way... I fucking love this song - it's the perfect balance between prettiness and noise. (most of Deerhoof's songs pull this off quite well, but this one is especially incredible )
This song is a meditation on birth, creation, life, and destruction. Starting with the title - "Apple Bomb," we can see the two themes of creation (represented by an apple - a traditional mythological symbol for creation, as well as a symbol in the story of Adam and Eve, around which this song is based) and destruction (represented by a bomb).The first 7 lines obviously refer to the story of Adam and Eve, and the use of the word "mother" probably refers to the evolutionary/biblical purpose of the woman (Eve) as a mother. "Your mom" describes Eve as the mother of all humanity, including the listener, to which the line is directed. The 11th line, "Eaten fruit birthday suit decoded" is obviously a reference to how Adam and Eve realized that they were naked upon eating the forbidden fruit. Unfortunetly, lines 12 through 22 are still pretty cryptic to me, but judging by how the music gets louder and noisier when she sings the "Bomb bomb bomb" line (I suppose it's safe to call that the chorus), I can guess that the chorus is about the destruction that humans create. And the way it's sandwiched in between the pretty lines about Adam and Eve, and childbirth, and trees, and all that good stuff, I imagine that the band intended to create a dichotomy between creation (in this case - biblical creation, or creation by God) and destruction (by humans, i.e. with bombs). Also, the lines "You're my tree/And you're my three/When you burn" also have biblical significance - referencing both the burning bush ("When you burn") and the trinity ("You're my three"). As for the next three lines however, I'm really stumped, although I could take a huge leap and say that "number four" means humanity... that's just a complete guess though. The last few lines, starting with "Just like me/Final tree" probably refer to the similarity of all living things ("just like me") and how humans decided to cultivate plant life because they thought it was beautiful ("You're lovely/But you're lonely/I will clone thee").
Actually the Adam and Eve theme is a consistent one throughout just about the entire album, just look at this:
Well, hope I could provide some insight.
By the way... I fucking love this song - it's the perfect balance between prettiness and noise. (most of Deerhoof's songs pull this off quite well, but this one is especially incredible )