Totally agree with spinning sun, but have to disagree with Annie Rose. The lips admit to experimenting with all kinds of drugs in their earlier days and Steve Drozd (former drummer, current guitar player) was addicted to heroin.
One of the deepest things about this song for me is one of the same things i think was heavily prevalent on The Soft Bulletin, which is that the flaming lips seem to have an inability to believe in god, but love to write about the situations where people want a god the most, such as when a loved one dies. In this song, like on 'Waiting for a Superman' wayne uses a figure of authority who is unable to take the responsibility of being a god as his surrogate god for this situation.
The narrator of the song is with the girl that he loves hurt and dying in his arms, he's not even close to accepting it, but rather bargaining. Hes not praying, but wishing that he could switch places with her, willing to give his life to save hers, but realizes he must face the reality that he can do nothing. In his grief, he begins praying to the ambulance driver, who now has control over something he values more than his life. At first he's not so much asking for anything from the ambulance driver, other than the implied "please get here soon". He's just admitting things "i'm not a real survivor, because i'm wishing that i was the one that wasn't gonna be here anymore". But he crosses the line into asking more than just the human kind ear and speedy arrival when he asks the ambulance driver to "Tell me for everyone that dies
Someone new is born". he couldn't possibly know that, and the narrator is facing conflict in his spirituality that is dealt with more thoroughly (and discarded) in other Lips songs, such as "Vein of Stars".
Great song.
Totally agree with spinning sun, but have to disagree with Annie Rose. The lips admit to experimenting with all kinds of drugs in their earlier days and Steve Drozd (former drummer, current guitar player) was addicted to heroin.
One of the deepest things about this song for me is one of the same things i think was heavily prevalent on The Soft Bulletin, which is that the flaming lips seem to have an inability to believe in god, but love to write about the situations where people want a god the most, such as when a loved one dies. In this song, like on 'Waiting for a Superman' wayne uses a figure of authority who is unable to take the responsibility of being a god as his surrogate god for this situation.
The narrator of the song is with the girl that he loves hurt and dying in his arms, he's not even close to accepting it, but rather bargaining. Hes not praying, but wishing that he could switch places with her, willing to give his life to save hers, but realizes he must face the reality that he can do nothing. In his grief, he begins praying to the ambulance driver, who now has control over something he values more than his life. At first he's not so much asking for anything from the ambulance driver, other than the implied "please get here soon". He's just admitting things "i'm not a real survivor, because i'm wishing that i was the one that wasn't gonna be here anymore". But he crosses the line into asking more than just the human kind ear and speedy arrival when he asks the ambulance driver to "Tell me for everyone that dies Someone new is born". he couldn't possibly know that, and the narrator is facing conflict in his spirituality that is dealt with more thoroughly (and discarded) in other Lips songs, such as "Vein of Stars". Great song.