waiting for your phone calls all to end
i'm sitting watching wind blow
watching time go
watching cars go by
i'm waiting for these memories to begin
out the window, so far down
would i start to regret it
or would i smile and watch it slowly fall?
don't seem like they can reach me here
the clamor of jack-hammers seems so faint
the way you treat me like the only
slightly brings me down a lot
i don't think i'll ever be the same
out the window, so far down
would i start to regret it
or would i smile and watch it slowly fall?
As has been stated many times, this song is about dealing with his record executive. But I think the story does not end there.
In the first verse, he's waiting. He's growing impatient with the nonsense and bureaucracy and the entire process. He's so annoyed that he wants to quit and do something else with his life - a rash decision like throwing his guitar out the window.
In the chorus, he contemplates whether he would actually enjoy watching the career he has worked toward crumble.
This is all pretty simple and I think everyone can probably agree up to this point. However, the second verse is where he tries to calm himself down, reassess his anger, and take a step back from the situation.
In the second verse, he mentions garbage trucks and taxi cabs being unable to reach him. If he weren't in this office right now, he would have a different career altogether - one which would place him way down there (literally and figuratively) with the banal and riff-raff. He's inconvenienced by the situation he's dealing with, but he's also starting to realize that he has things pretty good "up" on the 32nd floor.
And that brings us to "the way you treat me lightly only slightly brings me down a lot". It's a beautiful line full of contradiction and emotion. He wants the person to pay attention to him; he wants to throw a temper-tantrum about it. But he's realizing that this life he's living, even though the current situation is enraging, is what he wants, and there are certain compromises he must make.
"I don't think that I'll ever be the same." It's a humble realization that there are people and processes bigger than you, that you can't have a big head and demand attention all the time, and that you are small no matter how big you think you are.
I like your interpretation quite a lot, but not so much the way you reassure yourself that everyone agrees with it (sort of like your description is simply the "correct" one).
I like your interpretation quite a lot, but not so much the way you reassure yourself that everyone agrees with it (sort of like your description is simply the "correct" one).
I agree that the guitar is a self-referential metaphor, but it is common to anyone who would be performing a song written for guitar -- not to people with high-rise recording contracts in particular.
I agree that the guitar is a self-referential metaphor, but it is common to anyone who would be performing a song written for guitar -- not to people with high-rise recording contracts in particular.
Antidecontstructionalist arguments aside, I think any work of art deserves to be interpreted beyond the confines of the artist's personal contexts.
Antidecontstructionalist arguments aside, I think any work of art deserves to be interpreted beyond the confines of the artist's personal contexts.
As I say though, I like your interpretation a lot, and I...
As I say though, I like your interpretation a lot, and I think your narrative really fits the poem well.
Hmm, well I think that this song is about somebody deciding to let something go, probably an ex-lover. He's questioning wether or not he should, because he won't know how he'll feel afterwords. Thats just my take. Good song.
At a recent concert, John mentioned that he wrote this song while in New York and I think he said he was waiting for some record execs to have the time to talk to him. I think his guitar symbolizes his music and he wonders if he quit the biz, would he regret it or be happier because of it. One of my favorite CAKE songs -- fantastic guitar work in the beginning.
He refers to his relationship with his girlfriend with his love for his guitar. "waiting for your phone calls all to end"...maybe he is annoyed...he thinks if he threw his guitar out the window would he regret it or not care much at all...if he left his girl would he regret it or not care. ya know? I like the line "slighty brings me down a lot" lol.
"The way you treat me like the only Slightly brings me down a lot"
I can't figure out if it's "like the only" or "lightly only"; are these lyrics 100% confirmed? I can see both ways making sense ("the way you treat me lightly" could mean not being taken seriously, and "the way you treat me like the only" could mean being treated well).
Either way, I just love those words, and I don't know why. "Only slightly brings me down a lot" sounds like he's trying to downplay the problem. Which makes me think of when someone asks you if you're okay and, though you're not, you say you're fine, and it sort of comes out like, "Yeah I'm fine, except, well, not at all really"
I find these lyrics exquisite. There are no traditional end-of-the-line rhymes, but the patterns of internal vowel sounds and "R" sounds are complex and beautiful.
I find these lyrics exquisite. There are no traditional end-of-the-line rhymes, but the patterns of internal vowel sounds and "R" sounds are complex and beautiful.
I always heard it as "like the only." I think it's more open-ended that way, and that it fits better in the structure of the rest of the lyrics. However I agree, either way, that the line is profound.
I always heard it as "like the only." I think it's more open-ended that way, and that it fits better in the structure of the rest of the lyrics. However I agree, either way, that the line is profound.
It's a contemplative moment and he's considering giving up on something important to him. It's about that moment before you make an irreversible decision, before you blow up a career or a marriage or something significant. Would it be the right decision? Once you pull the trigger, it's done.
To me, this song is about moving forward, regardless of how bad your past is. Certain degrees of bad news, kicks to the curb, and hitting rock-bottom happen to most people in the world. As time goes on, we learn to get better at bouncing back from these tragedies.
For instance, he is immune to the clamoring of the jackhammers and taxi cabs, but he still doesn't know how strong he is or would be if, for instance, he were to lose his guitar.
I'm talking about all kinds of tolerance to discomfort, including physical pain though.
I think that television's Hugh Laurie of "House" has experimented with the same type of tempering that the lyrics portray. To quote him, "...I remember at school, I used to sit in class and just to while away an idle hour, I would induce cramp in my, I still to this day do it, I would induce cramp in my feet and legs just to see how long I could stand it..."
Ultimately, if Mr. McCrea did end up throwing his guitar out the window, I think he would not regret it...in the name of science... and tempering thyself.
It always seemed like it was about writing a song to me. "I'm sitting watching wind blow- watching time go- watching cars go by..." It's like he's crossing out lyrics he doesn't like. In the chorus, he thinks about just screwing the song and throwing his guitar out the window. But I think the theme applies to the song he's trying to write about letting an ex go as well.
I'm not sure, but "i'm sitting by the window of your thirty-second floor apartment " is one of the coolest lines I've heard. =D
what jpaul said definitely makes sense. there are a few other cake songs (esp. you turn the screws) in which john is complaining about his record company, and this one is just saying he is so annoyed he hardly wants to play music anymore.