alright, i listened to this song (incidentally my favorite) about 100 times before deciding to sit down and try to figure out what it means, and here's what i got:
overall i think its about a guy who just got out of a bad relationship and doesn’t want to be hurt again; even though girls keep droppin him hints (blowing kisses), he still feels that theyre “too near when theyre nice.” when he tells himself that he will just go for someone’s love again, he “wades through the mud and returns wearing white,” meaning he went for it only to hesitate again (how can one wade through mud and return completely clean?). thus he remains, “hanging like clothes on a line,” “waiting like grapes on a vine.”
eventually, however, he realizes that he’s already been derailed (wheels are off the track), heartbroken (dripping everywhere), and deceived (pull the rug out), and thus he has nothing to lose. he gets a grip of himself (“pull me to the track, i’ll give this a try”), perhaps with the help of the girl, and in the end “scales the wall and goes five miles high”
looking back on this whole thing, he wonders “what made it so hard to decide,” and realizes that even though he may be beset by failure over and over again, if he wants something, he has to reach for it (“i guess i will always have to fight for a home”*)
tell me if you get the same vibe from this song; perhaps we’ll be able to decipher a shins (flake music) song after all. as to why its called ‘the shins’, the only thing i can think of is that flake music already knew when they titled this song that they were going to become the shins in a few months, and perhaps the lyrics are representative of their drive toward success and recognition? i have no idea
*these are the right lyrics, not “will the settled always have to fly for a home”
alright, i listened to this song (incidentally my favorite) about 100 times before deciding to sit down and try to figure out what it means, and here's what i got:
overall i think its about a guy who just got out of a bad relationship and doesn’t want to be hurt again; even though girls keep droppin him hints (blowing kisses), he still feels that theyre “too near when theyre nice.” when he tells himself that he will just go for someone’s love again, he “wades through the mud and returns wearing white,” meaning he went for it only to hesitate again (how can one wade through mud and return completely clean?). thus he remains, “hanging like clothes on a line,” “waiting like grapes on a vine.”
eventually, however, he realizes that he’s already been derailed (wheels are off the track), heartbroken (dripping everywhere), and deceived (pull the rug out), and thus he has nothing to lose. he gets a grip of himself (“pull me to the track, i’ll give this a try”), perhaps with the help of the girl, and in the end “scales the wall and goes five miles high”
looking back on this whole thing, he wonders “what made it so hard to decide,” and realizes that even though he may be beset by failure over and over again, if he wants something, he has to reach for it (“i guess i will always have to fight for a home”*)
tell me if you get the same vibe from this song; perhaps we’ll be able to decipher a shins (flake music) song after all. as to why its called ‘the shins’, the only thing i can think of is that flake music already knew when they titled this song that they were going to become the shins in a few months, and perhaps the lyrics are representative of their drive toward success and recognition? i have no idea
*these are the right lyrics, not “will the settled always have to fly for a home”