Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
They made a statue of us
And then put it on a mountain top
Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs of fun, have fun
They'll name a city after us
And later say it's all our fault
Then they'll give us a talking to
Then they'll give us a talking to
'Cause they've got years of experience
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
We wear our scarves just like a noose
But not 'cause we want eternal sleep
And though our parts are slightly used
New ones are slave labor you can keep
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
The tourists come and stare at us
The sculptor's mama sends regards
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
Our noses have begun to rust
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And then put it on a mountain top
Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs of fun, have fun
They'll name a city after us
And later say it's all our fault
Then they'll give us a talking to
Then they'll give us a talking to
'Cause they've got years of experience
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
We wear our scarves just like a noose
But not 'cause we want eternal sleep
And though our parts are slightly used
New ones are slave labor you can keep
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
The tourists come and stare at us
The sculptor's mama sends regards
They made a statue of us
They made a statue of us
Our noses have begun to rust
We're living in a den of thieves
Rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
And it's contagious
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Techno Ted
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
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“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Nothing to do with love, and almost nothing to do with comunism, it's the perception os the US, the country where she grew at:
From what a see it's about the relationship between Europe and the US ("US"). They (Europe) give them the Statue of Liberty wich is now banalised by tourists.
Europeans always say they have years of experience (history, old democracies, old republics) in comparison to Americans which "they give a talking to" because they see the US as too agressive to other countries.
Opposed to the US ppl in Europe wear scarves ALL THE TIME.
But the part that makes me think of it the most is the part that says "the sculptor's mama sends regards". The Statue of Liberty was made after Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi... THE SCULPTOR'S MAMA...
Then again going to the more communist/socialist (or even modern European, if you will) view, some aspects of the US and it's culture are seen as a den of thieves and it's contagious because many other countries try to copy them
I'll try to expand more to the idea at some point.
Best regards
I wondered about the "Us"/"US" relationship, I'm glad you mentioned it. <br /> <br /> "Den of thieves" is a argument that you could use to describe basically any government so I think it's probably feasible to interpret either way.<br /> <br /> I'd assume that it would be more likely that "Us" refers to a formerly prominent leader that is being heavily criticized by the rest of the world ("they"), a leader that has a statue and a city named in his honor.<br /> <br /> It may be even more likely that "Us" is a general term for the group of people associated with this leader-maybe those who supported a form of government no longer popular (communism/socialism/etc). "Our parts" refers to the instruments of government: people, institutions, ideologies, etc. They're slightly used but there are new ones to replace them which, ironically, are used for "slave labor."<br /> <br /> The "pages" could refer to the pages of history or the political writings of philosophers like Confucius, Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Jefferson, etc. They hold all the answers but still, goverments are corrupt and people are abused.<br /> <br /> I would guess that the point, in any case, is that political criticisms and ideologies are rarely as simple as "Your government is bad, let us fix it with this new form of government." People will always be abused regardless of the specific form that government takes because people in power are usually corrupt (a den of thieves).<br /> <br /> If this is correct, its an interesting perspective that I can appreciate (but don't totally agree with).
@nelsito I really enjoyed this particular interpretation about the perspective US and us, as I am teaching it today to a class of Speaker of Foreign Languages. Thank you!