Everyone posting here is saying that this song is about either taking LSD or signing with a record company. Have you ever considered that it could be a bit of both?
I personally think this song is comparing signing with a record company to taking acid.
"I just shook the handshake
I just sealed the deal
I'll try not to let them
Take everything they can steal
People always told me
Don't forget your roots
I know I can feel them underneath my leather boots"
This is basically MGMT saying that they signed to a record company and that they're scared of selling out.
They don't want to "forget their roots" and they'll try not to let the record company "steal" and change them & their songs.
"You toss all the mornings lost to the clouds and you watch it go
Your fair weather friends on a parachute binge get lost when the wind blows
The handshake's stuck on the tip of my tongue
It tastes like death but it looks like fun"
I think here they're saying that they won't have any real friends (fair weather friends: friends who are only there for the good times) and they will all leave them when "the wind blows". In the next couplet they say "The handshake's stuck on the tip of my tongue, It tastes like death but it looks like fun" They are now comparing signing to a record deal with acid. It's stuck on the tip of their tongue. They are tempted to take it, and sell out and become famous and rich, because it looks like fun. When they say "it tastes like death" I think they mean to say that it's actually not as fun as it looks.
"I was a loner
I was just waiting by myself
When you, warped temptress
Rose to bring me happiness and wealth"
I think here the "warped temptress" is the record deal. It "rose to bring him happiness and wealth." (But it didn't actually bring him happiness)
"You convinced yourself that you want it, but you don't know
You keep trying to wash the blood from your hands, but it won't go
We're gonna keep you on the run"
I think the first line is pretty self explanatory. In the second they're talking about people who sold out and they keep trying to "wash the blood from their hands" (I think the blood symbolizes guilt and their crime, like a murder) but it won't ever go away. By "we're gonna keep you on the run" I think they mean that they will try to run away from the temptation.
"We got the handshake under our tongue"
Reference to LSD but could also mean that he won't swallow the deal and accept it, and that he's hiding it under his tongue and he'll spit it out when no one's looking. But still, he's not sure if he really wants to.
Well that's my interpretation. I don't necessarily think I'm right, everything is up to interpretation.
Also, I just realized that this is actually a very long post. Thanks for reading it (if you did) :)
@Xtramints Actually, about that last part, the acid hits you more quickly sublingually or under your tongue than if you swallow it. If that's the true meaning, it sounds like he took the deal however reluctantly. You can spit it out at that point, but you're already dosed.
@Xtramints Actually, about that last part, the acid hits you more quickly sublingually or under your tongue than if you swallow it. If that's the true meaning, it sounds like he took the deal however reluctantly. You can spit it out at that point, but you're already dosed.
Everyone posting here is saying that this song is about either taking LSD or signing with a record company. Have you ever considered that it could be a bit of both? I personally think this song is comparing signing with a record company to taking acid.
"I just shook the handshake I just sealed the deal I'll try not to let them Take everything they can steal People always told me Don't forget your roots I know I can feel them underneath my leather boots"
This is basically MGMT saying that they signed to a record company and that they're scared of selling out. They don't want to "forget their roots" and they'll try not to let the record company "steal" and change them & their songs.
"You toss all the mornings lost to the clouds and you watch it go Your fair weather friends on a parachute binge get lost when the wind blows The handshake's stuck on the tip of my tongue It tastes like death but it looks like fun"
I think here they're saying that they won't have any real friends (fair weather friends: friends who are only there for the good times) and they will all leave them when "the wind blows". In the next couplet they say "The handshake's stuck on the tip of my tongue, It tastes like death but it looks like fun" They are now comparing signing to a record deal with acid. It's stuck on the tip of their tongue. They are tempted to take it, and sell out and become famous and rich, because it looks like fun. When they say "it tastes like death" I think they mean to say that it's actually not as fun as it looks.
"I was a loner I was just waiting by myself When you, warped temptress Rose to bring me happiness and wealth"
I think here the "warped temptress" is the record deal. It "rose to bring him happiness and wealth." (But it didn't actually bring him happiness)
"You convinced yourself that you want it, but you don't know You keep trying to wash the blood from your hands, but it won't go We're gonna keep you on the run"
I think the first line is pretty self explanatory. In the second they're talking about people who sold out and they keep trying to "wash the blood from their hands" (I think the blood symbolizes guilt and their crime, like a murder) but it won't ever go away. By "we're gonna keep you on the run" I think they mean that they will try to run away from the temptation.
"We got the handshake under our tongue" Reference to LSD but could also mean that he won't swallow the deal and accept it, and that he's hiding it under his tongue and he'll spit it out when no one's looking. But still, he's not sure if he really wants to.
Well that's my interpretation. I don't necessarily think I'm right, everything is up to interpretation. Also, I just realized that this is actually a very long post. Thanks for reading it (if you did) :)
Could not have said it better myself.
Could not have said it better myself.
@Xtramints Actually, about that last part, the acid hits you more quickly sublingually or under your tongue than if you swallow it. If that's the true meaning, it sounds like he took the deal however reluctantly. You can spit it out at that point, but you're already dosed.
@Xtramints Actually, about that last part, the acid hits you more quickly sublingually or under your tongue than if you swallow it. If that's the true meaning, it sounds like he took the deal however reluctantly. You can spit it out at that point, but you're already dosed.