Dime Lyrics

Lyric discussion by snugasagrub 

Cover art for Dime lyrics by Cake

Was just listening to the song, and an idea popped into my head. To me this song is about being happy with who you are -- Im not american but i gather that a dime isnt worth very much at all "not enough for a local phonecall..." but the song isn't depressing, this 'person' is happy with being who they are and are not going to let others get them down "Not to be dented by a car, by a plane, or anything Not yet invented" cars planes etc perhaps could be referring to people with more money or a higher status etc. He is happy to sit in the background... "In the hiss and rumble of the freeway sounds As the afternoon commuters drive their cars around There's a ringle-jingle near the underpass There's a sparkle near the fast food garbage And roadside trash" ...and live his life.

A dime is $0.10USD, so yeah, you really can't buy much with it. It's also the physically smallest of the American coins. There's also an undertone of devaluation that you may miss if you're not familiar with American currency - at one point, a dime WAS enough to buy clothing or make a phone call.

It's also relatively common to find them laying around. So, I don't really think that the implication is that this person is particularly left-behind or unnoticed. I think they're saying that there are lots of people out there, but a diamond in the...

Also, he shines. He looks cheap but he knows his value.