I have given this song a lot of thought over the years, as it is one of my all time favorites by Rasputina. I see the first half of this song as talking about the destruction of the environment by man. Climate change, increasingly violent weather and toxins in the atmosphere etc. Here are some interpretations of specific lines that people have had questions about:
"A microphone will listen for thunder
The telephone will dial the number
To deliver a, a clearer picture
Of weird wet weather"
This is simply a representation of the science of weather detection and also it foreshadows a coming storm. I'm reminded of the microphones and seismic detection instruments that listen for earthquakes in the ocean to detect tidal waves.
"Overhead two sky titans
They collide in slow motion
While over the Ice Tongue, fluid flows
A 1000-foot thick chunk of sediment is exposed
Your own special home"
The Sky titans are talking about huge clouds colliding slowly in the sky. This paints a picture of a looming storm or some type of imminent bad weather.
An ice tongue is something that forms on coastlines when a glacier suddenly shifts / melts into the ocean. Talking again about climate change and its effects on the environment. The chunk of sediment is of course what's left behind once the ice melts.
When the second movement of the song begins things change... And the following lines are, in my opinion, the whole point of the song.
"The Infidel Is Me
Am I the infidel?
I thought it was supposed to be someone else
But I see now it�s me
I am my own worst enemy"
This is saying. Oh my God, I'm one of them. I'm just as responsible as everyone else for the destruction of the planet. I drive cars, I fly in planes, I support the companies that destroy the planet, I buy their products. I have become everything I hate i.e. "I am my own worst enemy".
It gives me chills ever time I hear it because it's so true.
The rest of the song is about how she wants to reject all these trappings of waste and excess and lead the resistance against the animal we have created.
The line "but you're not there...." is talking about someone that she loves, who will not join her by rejecting all the environmentally harmful things that we do to the earth. Then she goes on to say:
"why don't you in from the cold, to make an unlikely alliance with me." Saying please, join me.
Overall it's a beautiful song and much like the rest of the album, it deals with a sort of "dooms day" topic. This album is sort of a farewell to civilization as we know it
I have given this song a lot of thought over the years, as it is one of my all time favorites by Rasputina. I see the first half of this song as talking about the destruction of the environment by man. Climate change, increasingly violent weather and toxins in the atmosphere etc. Here are some interpretations of specific lines that people have had questions about:
"A microphone will listen for thunder The telephone will dial the number To deliver a, a clearer picture Of weird wet weather"
This is simply a representation of the science of weather detection and also it foreshadows a coming storm. I'm reminded of the microphones and seismic detection instruments that listen for earthquakes in the ocean to detect tidal waves.
"Overhead two sky titans They collide in slow motion While over the Ice Tongue, fluid flows A 1000-foot thick chunk of sediment is exposed Your own special home"
The Sky titans are talking about huge clouds colliding slowly in the sky. This paints a picture of a looming storm or some type of imminent bad weather.
An ice tongue is something that forms on coastlines when a glacier suddenly shifts / melts into the ocean. Talking again about climate change and its effects on the environment. The chunk of sediment is of course what's left behind once the ice melts.
When the second movement of the song begins things change... And the following lines are, in my opinion, the whole point of the song.
"The Infidel Is Me
Am I the infidel? I thought it was supposed to be someone else But I see now it�s me I am my own worst enemy"
This is saying. Oh my God, I'm one of them. I'm just as responsible as everyone else for the destruction of the planet. I drive cars, I fly in planes, I support the companies that destroy the planet, I buy their products. I have become everything I hate i.e. "I am my own worst enemy".
It gives me chills ever time I hear it because it's so true.
The rest of the song is about how she wants to reject all these trappings of waste and excess and lead the resistance against the animal we have created.
The line "but you're not there...." is talking about someone that she loves, who will not join her by rejecting all the environmentally harmful things that we do to the earth. Then she goes on to say:
"why don't you in from the cold, to make an unlikely alliance with me." Saying please, join me.
Overall it's a beautiful song and much like the rest of the album, it deals with a sort of "dooms day" topic. This album is sort of a farewell to civilization as we know it