Nara Lyrics

Lyric discussion by hokealogenous 

Cover art for Nara lyrics by alt-J

It's a song about being homosexual and facing discrimination, and wanting to run away, to "be a deer in Nara". (incidentally, Nara is in this case city in japan where deer are treated as godlike creatures). The song also mentions sources of homophobia, such as:

  • Alabama, an extremely conservative US state,
  • Alvan E. Bovay (the founder of the Republican party), and
  • "Hallelujah", a nod to a religious source of prejudice, as a conduit of protest toward needless and unrequited hate. Their lyrics "I've discovered a man like no other man" and "unpin your butterflies Russia" (reference to Russia's vehement discrimination of homosexuals, as evidenced by the recent Olympic Games, with "butterflies" representing the LGBT community) really drive home that point.

Very interesting Hokealogenous. Can I add this to your comment : "Love is the warmest colour" may be based on the graphic novel (and movie adaptation) "Blue is the warmest colour" ("La Vie d'Adèle" for the film) about to lesbian lovers.

@hokealogenous

Well I used to like how this song sounded but now that I know it's all propaganda the song is ruined.

@SpiderSoldier

There's a difference between propaganda and shouting out for rights. Propaganda tries to force you into believing something. This song does none of that, it simply points out what is wrong. And if you want to stop listening to a song that you thought sounded good before, then that's your prerogative, but this is NOT propaganda