This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
North to south, empty
Running on bravado
As if to say, as if to say
As if to say he doesn't like chocolate
He's born a liar, he'll die a liar
Some things will never be different
Stop being so American
There's a time and there's a place
So James Dean, so blue jeans
Going to save the world
He's going to
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Three out of five, three out of five (it's not enough)
Six out of ten, better luck next time
Just like his dad, just like his dad (the same mistakes)
Some things will never be different
Hungry and dumb, hungry and dumb (so wait in line)
Queuing up for some more junk food
It's not my fault, it's not my fault (just this once)
They're getting so much younger
Why can't you be more European
Bastard child of guilt and shame
Bury your head in the sand
I'm thinking six, six, six
I'm thinking six
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Running on bravado
As if to say, as if to say
As if to say he doesn't like chocolate
He's born a liar, he'll die a liar
Some things will never be different
Stop being so American
There's a time and there's a place
So James Dean, so blue jeans
Going to save the world
He's going to
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Three out of five, three out of five (it's not enough)
Six out of ten, better luck next time
Just like his dad, just like his dad (the same mistakes)
Some things will never be different
Hungry and dumb, hungry and dumb (so wait in line)
Queuing up for some more junk food
It's not my fault, it's not my fault (just this once)
They're getting so much younger
Why can't you be more European
Bastard child of guilt and shame
Bury your head in the sand
I'm thinking six, six, six
I'm thinking six
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
It's not enough
Are you hoping for a miracle?
Lyrics submitted by somat_2_mosh_2
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Defo anti-Bush:
Bush's election campaign ran from "North to south" but was "Running on bravado";
"He doesn't like chocolate" possible reference to Bush's racist stance; either that, or his ignoring the issue of obesity;
"He's born a liar, he'll die a liar"- over Sadam, Iran, etc;
"Stop being so American" is asking us to turn away from the americanisation of our culture; its not the "time" or the "place" to be seen supporting that nation, or the things that characterise it:, such as "James Dean" and "blue jeans";
Bush/America want to "save the world," relying on a "miracle" in that they believe they are God's chosen ones, and that the 'War on Terror' is some divine retribution for Islam's sins;
"Just like his dad"- ignorant and hard-headed, like Bush Snr. "Some things will never be different";
"Queing up for some more junk food:" 1/3 of american children are obese; and "They're getting so much younger";
"Bastard child of guilt and shame/ Bury your head in the sand"- Bush's reluctance to accept the fatal consequences of his actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
british punk being brave "stop being, so american"
too f**king right
I am going to comment on this part in particular, about the meaning it has to me.<br /> <br /> "Three out of five, three out of five (it's not enough)"<br /> <br /> (This, in my opinion, references the major conflicts the USA was involved in during the 20th Century. Five in total: Korea War, Vietnam War, World War I, World War II and Gulf War. Of these five, only three were won, the WWI, WWII and Gulf War, while the Korea War was a stalemate with the USSR and the Vietnam War was an outright failure. Therefore, 3 out of 5. "it's not enough" might either mock this fact or refer to the fact that there are never enough conflicts for the USA.<br /> <br /> "Six out of ten, better luck next time"<br /> <br /> This comes as a prediction. The USA will keep getting into conflicts, and will always end up with a roughly 60% victory rate. This has a connection to "some things will never be different". And the fact that they will always keep looking for conflict, in search of "better luck for next time".<br /> <br /> "Just like his dad, just like his dad (the same mistakes)"<br /> <br /> Pretty straightforward reference to George Bush senior and the common mistakes in father and son's administrations.<br /> <br /> "Some things will never be different"<br /> <br /> Already mentioned by boss 2k and my past line.<br /> <br /> Next few lines, I agree with boss 2k, so let's jump to these:<br /> <br /> "Bury your head in the sand"<br /> <br /> I feel like taking both a figurative and literal approach to this. Burying your head in the sand because of shame, but also perhaps a reference to the sand-filled middle east?<br /> <br /> "I'm thinking six, six, six<br /> I'm thinking six"<br /> <br /> And finally this. Of course we all know 666 has demonic associations and the fact that Bush could very well be the devil, but also, if you return to my "3 out of 5" interpretation... "I'm thinking six" could mean "I see a sixth conflict coming" and BAM, here we have the sixth major conflict in recent history of the USA, the Iraq war. <br /> <br /> So what do you think? Any comments about my interpretations?
I like your way of thinking, but I think you may be reading a little too much into it.<br /> For example, your "3 out of 5" theory has two flaws:<br />
It's no secret that it's about Bush.
the line about "As if to say/he doesn't like chocolate" is a reference to how black people were unceremoniously relieved of the vote in the last 2 elections in America.
It's obviously about Bush. Like when it says "Just like his Dad, just like his Dad (the same mistakes)" Is meaning he's just like his dad when he was the presidant. "Hungry and dumb, hungry and dumb (so wait in line)" Hehehe that's my favourite line. Good song, good band!
i wanna try my luck on the "bloc party guessing game here" so here i go;
I agree with the Bush theory and the Just like his dad lyrics. The Line where he says Queing up for some more junk food...i think he's trying to say the Bush administration were cooking up more lies to get the people involved in war and America being the way we are...the people ate that shit up. The course Are you hoping for a miracle...I think he's just saying that all of Bush's decisions he's relying on an answered prayer from God for the outcome. Hoping everything goes the way he plans. But, when it backfires, he they deny responsibility and place blame on someone else...this is where i belive the "It's not my fault, it's not my fault" line comes into play. Well, that's my opinion and now i'm tired and have killed about 10 minutes of my life writing this comment so away I go.
Hi im a new member..
Defo anti-Bush:
Bush's election campaign ran from "North to south" but was "Running on bravado";
"He doesn't like chocolate" possible reference to Bush's racist stance; either that, or his ignoring the issue of obesity;
"He's born a liar, he'll die a liar"- over Sadam, Iran, etc;
"Stop being so American" is asking us to turn away from the americanisation of our culture; its not the "time" or the "place" to be seen supporting that nation, or the things that characterise it:, such as "James Dean" and "blue jeans";
Bush/America want to "save the world," relying on a "miracle" in that they believe they are God's chosen ones, and that the 'War on Terror' is some divine retribution for Islam's sins;
"Just like his dad"- ignorant and hard-headed, like Bush Snr. "Some things will never be different";
"Queing up for some more junk food:" 1/3 of american children are obese; and "They're getting so much younger";
"Bastard child of guilt and shame/ Bury your head in the sand"- Bush's reluctance to accept the fatal consequences of his actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Just like his Dad, just like his Dad (the same mistakes)
Could this be about Bush senior and junior?
"'Helicopter' isn't about Bush; it's a song about waking up and realising certain things. I hope what people got from that song wasn't a critique of American life. I got really worried when I started reading our message boards; there was an American who had read the lyrics of "Helicopter" and had come to the conclusion that we were advocating that the European way is the ideal. But that wasn't it at all. Europeans have their own set of problems. I've personally been quite retarded by growing up in Europe; I have issues with things being messy and saying what I really feel."<br /> -kele
i just noticed some misspellings so i wanted to be the first here to call myself a dumb ass. thank you...
yuup; they said so themselves on launch.com
@antipunt1 actually, they said the exact opposite on launch.com. <br /> <br /> Here's what Okereke said: "It's frustrating that people attribute something to certain songs and that's not what they're about at all. It's a common misconception that "Helicopter" is about President Bush. It's kinda patronizing."<br /> <br /> So no, it's not about President f***ing Bush. Why would a London indie band write about Bush?
First of all, congratulations to all 100 people who think they are brilliant for interpreting that the song is about Bush.
What I want to know - what only one or two have even considered in their arguments - is the relevance of the song title. Why "Helicopter"? If it is anti-American, anti-imperialist, anti-Bush, whatever, how does Helicopter tie in to that?
Military helicopter would be my guess