Modest Mouse writes their songs in a vague, obscure way so that individual listeners can interpret the lyrics however it best relates to them. It might have been my mindset that I was in when I first heard We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, but what I get out of this song is the culmination and ultimate end of a long, dragged out relationship.
“We were spitting venom at most everyone we know
If the damned gave us a roadmap then we'd know just where to go
Now let it drop
Let it all drop
Let it all drop
Oh, let it all fall off”
The first line is saying how their strained relationship is causing them to be bitter and take their frustrations out on people they know. The second line is saying that their relationship is headed to a proverbial “hell”, and hell is the place that horrible things/people go when they die, so their bad relationship is coming to an end, dying if you will. “let it all drop” is a way of saying let’s just end this thing, and let it drop to hell. Let it all fall off our mind and our shoulders.
“Well, you were talking soda pop
You talk it quite a lot
The opinions that I do not give
Are the opinions I ain't got”
Well you were talking Soda Pop, in my mind, signify talking sweetly. Soda is a popular drink commonly associated with childhood, so it could be that this person is constantly talking sweet things about the past, from the beginning of the relationship, or even from before they had started it. Kind of like, “I miss the good old days, before things got messed up.” The second part, is saying that the relationship is no holds barred. No punches are thrown, he says what he feels, regardless of how it will make the other person feel, a kind of brutal honesty.
“Oh, well
You were spitting venom at most everyone you know
If you truly knew the gravity
You'd know which way to go”
This is saying that the other person is constantly saying hurtful things to people she knows, that she is bitter and takes it out on other people. Might even mean that she is saying only bad things about Isaac to other people, rather than mention the good. They could be true things that she is frustrated about, or maybe even spreading lies. The second part is clearly a clever way of saying that the other person can go to hell.
“My ears were pressing firmly right against your mouth to hear
When you tried to spit the venom out, your words were not so clear”
This is saying that he’s listening to all the hurtful, bitter things that she is saying, and is realizing that her view on the relationship is mixed up, distorted, and out of touch with reality. He doesn’t see it that way at all. Maybe that she has been lying to others so much, she actually believes these lies herself.
“Now the drop”
This is the moment of the decision to end the relationship. Solidified in either his or her mind to drop it all. This is also signified by the change in tempo and beat in the song.
“Hold on to what you need
We've got a knack for fucked-up history
Hold on to what you need
We've got a knack for messed-up history”
This is saying that the person needs to hold onto what they need to take from this relationship, lessons learned, maybe the good memory, because it’s over, they’ve got too much of a fucked-up history to keep this relationship going. Its not worth it anymore, they tried, but they are obviously too bitter at one another and resentful of whatever the other person did to make it work.
“Well, we went downtown and we sat in the rain
Both looking one direction and waiting for a train
And thought over, thought over”
This is a metaphor for when they were at the lowest point in their relationship, sitting in the pouring rain, the most miserable of times, looking for a train, or some sort of outside “ride” to take them somewhere else, in the direction they want their relationship to head.
“I don't know you kept track
I didn't know there was a score”
He is realizing that all she is doing is recapitulating all the bad things in the relationship, and keeping score might signify that she keeps saying you were way worse to me than I was to you, or that she was keeping some sort of tally, weighing the good times and bad times against each other, and the bad times win.
“Well, it looks like you're the winner
I ain't going to play no more
It's over
Game over”
Signifies the final exasperated point of conceding, saying, “ok, you’re right. This is messed up, and I’m tired of hearing it. I quit. Game over.”
“Well, we walked real stiff
And our canes tapped the ground”
This signifies that all the love is gone, they aren’t playful anymore, just stiff, rigid, bitter people. The mention of canes clearly is a metaphor for them being blind. They can’t see the answer to their problem is really just to end it.
“You hit me with yours and said
"You're going to stare me down"
It's over
Oh, it's over”
This is the other person, who is just as blind as him, asking him to do something he cannot do. Blind people cannot stare one another down, just like two people who can’t be together anymore can’t last in a relationship. It’s over.
“You can say what you want
But don't act like you care”
The other person is telling him that she wants it to work, but is more or less going through the motions. She wants it to end just as much as he does now, but there is still a strong emotional attachment after all the time they spent together. All her “venom spitting” that she did is proof that she isn’t happy and needs to acknowledge that.
“It takes more than one person to decide what's fair
It's over
Think it over”
It’s not fair to either of them to continue in this relationship if he doesn’t want it, but it’s also not fair to end it if one of them still wants it to continue. He’s trying to explain that to her. “You want it to end just as much as me, so it’s already over, think about it.”
“You were spitting venom at most everyone you know
If the damned gave you a roadmap then you'd know just where to go”
He’s telling her that you kept speaking of how much you hated this, how bad of a person she’s become, it’s over, and you can go to hell.
“So we carry all the groceries in
While hauling out the trash
And if this doesn't make us motionless
I do not know what can”
This signifies bringing new things into your life, and getting rid of the old used up stuff. Moving onto new experiences, and throwing out old ties, because the trash started as groceries at one point, and they used them, turning the leftovers to trash, and now bringing fresh things into there life, new ingredients. The final end. Bringing the motion of their relationship to a complete halt.
“So as to say
"What a rotten thing to say!
Such an awful thing to say!
I didn't mean to bite you, sorry"
What always did
What always did
What always had to slang”
This is a final goodbye, the apology for fucking things up. “I’m really sorry we’re ending up this way, I had good intentions, but I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you.” The only way to make things right is to rectify the situation by ending it.
“Cheer up, baby
It really wasn't always quite so bad”
Telling her that they did have some good times, and remember those if you can.
“For every bit of venom that came out
The antidote was had”
In nature, the antidote for venom is usually produced from the venom itself. This is a perfect way to end the song. When they were “spitting venom” at each other, it poisoned the relationship to a point were it had to be ended. The antidote to the venom, to the bad relationship, was the venom itself. By constantly spitting venom, it made the relationship get to a point where it had to end, which was the final solution to their problems. A kind of catch 22.
Modest Mouse writes their songs in a vague, obscure way so that individual listeners can interpret the lyrics however it best relates to them. It might have been my mindset that I was in when I first heard We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, but what I get out of this song is the culmination and ultimate end of a long, dragged out relationship.
“We were spitting venom at most everyone we know If the damned gave us a roadmap then we'd know just where to go Now let it drop Let it all drop Let it all drop Oh, let it all fall off”
The first line is saying how their strained relationship is causing them to be bitter and take their frustrations out on people they know. The second line is saying that their relationship is headed to a proverbial “hell”, and hell is the place that horrible things/people go when they die, so their bad relationship is coming to an end, dying if you will. “let it all drop” is a way of saying let’s just end this thing, and let it drop to hell. Let it all fall off our mind and our shoulders.
“Well, you were talking soda pop You talk it quite a lot The opinions that I do not give Are the opinions I ain't got”
Well you were talking Soda Pop, in my mind, signify talking sweetly. Soda is a popular drink commonly associated with childhood, so it could be that this person is constantly talking sweet things about the past, from the beginning of the relationship, or even from before they had started it. Kind of like, “I miss the good old days, before things got messed up.” The second part, is saying that the relationship is no holds barred. No punches are thrown, he says what he feels, regardless of how it will make the other person feel, a kind of brutal honesty.
“Oh, well You were spitting venom at most everyone you know If you truly knew the gravity You'd know which way to go”
This is saying that the other person is constantly saying hurtful things to people she knows, that she is bitter and takes it out on other people. Might even mean that she is saying only bad things about Isaac to other people, rather than mention the good. They could be true things that she is frustrated about, or maybe even spreading lies. The second part is clearly a clever way of saying that the other person can go to hell.
“My ears were pressing firmly right against your mouth to hear When you tried to spit the venom out, your words were not so clear”
This is saying that he’s listening to all the hurtful, bitter things that she is saying, and is realizing that her view on the relationship is mixed up, distorted, and out of touch with reality. He doesn’t see it that way at all. Maybe that she has been lying to others so much, she actually believes these lies herself.
“Now the drop”
This is the moment of the decision to end the relationship. Solidified in either his or her mind to drop it all. This is also signified by the change in tempo and beat in the song.
“Hold on to what you need We've got a knack for fucked-up history Hold on to what you need We've got a knack for messed-up history”
This is saying that the person needs to hold onto what they need to take from this relationship, lessons learned, maybe the good memory, because it’s over, they’ve got too much of a fucked-up history to keep this relationship going. Its not worth it anymore, they tried, but they are obviously too bitter at one another and resentful of whatever the other person did to make it work.
“Well, we went downtown and we sat in the rain Both looking one direction and waiting for a train And thought over, thought over”
This is a metaphor for when they were at the lowest point in their relationship, sitting in the pouring rain, the most miserable of times, looking for a train, or some sort of outside “ride” to take them somewhere else, in the direction they want their relationship to head.
“I don't know you kept track I didn't know there was a score”
He is realizing that all she is doing is recapitulating all the bad things in the relationship, and keeping score might signify that she keeps saying you were way worse to me than I was to you, or that she was keeping some sort of tally, weighing the good times and bad times against each other, and the bad times win.
“Well, it looks like you're the winner I ain't going to play no more It's over Game over”
Signifies the final exasperated point of conceding, saying, “ok, you’re right. This is messed up, and I’m tired of hearing it. I quit. Game over.”
“Well, we walked real stiff And our canes tapped the ground”
This signifies that all the love is gone, they aren’t playful anymore, just stiff, rigid, bitter people. The mention of canes clearly is a metaphor for them being blind. They can’t see the answer to their problem is really just to end it.
“You hit me with yours and said "You're going to stare me down" It's over Oh, it's over”
This is the other person, who is just as blind as him, asking him to do something he cannot do. Blind people cannot stare one another down, just like two people who can’t be together anymore can’t last in a relationship. It’s over.
“You can say what you want But don't act like you care”
The other person is telling him that she wants it to work, but is more or less going through the motions. She wants it to end just as much as he does now, but there is still a strong emotional attachment after all the time they spent together. All her “venom spitting” that she did is proof that she isn’t happy and needs to acknowledge that.
“It takes more than one person to decide what's fair It's over Think it over”
It’s not fair to either of them to continue in this relationship if he doesn’t want it, but it’s also not fair to end it if one of them still wants it to continue. He’s trying to explain that to her. “You want it to end just as much as me, so it’s already over, think about it.”
“You were spitting venom at most everyone you know If the damned gave you a roadmap then you'd know just where to go”
He’s telling her that you kept speaking of how much you hated this, how bad of a person she’s become, it’s over, and you can go to hell.
“So we carry all the groceries in While hauling out the trash And if this doesn't make us motionless I do not know what can”
This signifies bringing new things into your life, and getting rid of the old used up stuff. Moving onto new experiences, and throwing out old ties, because the trash started as groceries at one point, and they used them, turning the leftovers to trash, and now bringing fresh things into there life, new ingredients. The final end. Bringing the motion of their relationship to a complete halt.
“So as to say "What a rotten thing to say! Such an awful thing to say! I didn't mean to bite you, sorry" What always did What always did What always had to slang” This is a final goodbye, the apology for fucking things up. “I’m really sorry we’re ending up this way, I had good intentions, but I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you.” The only way to make things right is to rectify the situation by ending it.
“Cheer up, baby It really wasn't always quite so bad”
Telling her that they did have some good times, and remember those if you can.
“For every bit of venom that came out The antidote was had”
In nature, the antidote for venom is usually produced from the venom itself. This is a perfect way to end the song. When they were “spitting venom” at each other, it poisoned the relationship to a point were it had to be ended. The antidote to the venom, to the bad relationship, was the venom itself. By constantly spitting venom, it made the relationship get to a point where it had to end, which was the final solution to their problems. A kind of catch 22.