Intro (This Is All Yours)

I believe this song is about the beautiful things in life are 'laughed at', 'twitched off', and ultimately ignored.

The nod to the canon, I believe, means the destruction associated with ignorance ~ either destroying relationships with other people because you refuse (laugh at/ twitch off) to see the beauty in understanding or missing the delicate balance of our planet earth!

Wonderful song :)

“Intro was originally called 'Nod to the Canon', which really says it all - it's a small wink of acknowledgment to everything that we have unconsciously borrowed/stolen which has unwittingly contributed to our body of work to date.” - Alt-J's comment on intro on their soundcloud page

The first line sounds like "Shill more miserable, laugh at the beautiful"

Great song, f*cking awesome band.

I think it's about the hateful predictability of music festivals only people with a certain amount of money can go to them which is why the demographic is so predictable - and these people behave like sheep 'the canon' is the repertoire of pop music which has been elevated to become a kind of 'establishment' through repetition and the acceptance of people who don't know any better

Perhaps 'canon' is indeed 'Canon', referring to a camera...

I love this moody groove, it's very infections. I want there to be more of it, however! seems too short. Oh, well, it's off to the mixing board!

I just wanted to add something to this, and I hope it adds even more to this song for someone out there as it has for me.

It's strange, because I sat around thinking for a long time what the meaning of the line, "Do not spray into eyes - I have sprayed you into my eyes." could mean and it finally dawned on me.

There are warnings on spray cans that literally say, "Do not spray into eyes". If you take into account what Taro and Capa did as a living, taking photos of war, and how dangerous that is to do, then add in the fact that Taro died while doing that job years before Capa did, you will get the meaning.

Basically, to me at least, Taro's death is the warning to Capa of how dangerous their job can be, "Do not spray into eyes". But, Capa ignores this and even knowing full well, he still continues to do that job until it kills him as well, "I have sprayed you into my eyes".

Now, if you blend in the beautiful and soft way its sung, you get a feeling of peace when you hear that line. That to me is because its meant as if Capa has done so understanding that he might die as Taro did, but that's fine because he will be with her all that much sooner.

In an abstract way... this is what love between two people is all about. We are all warnings, we all have things we have done in our lives that have terrible consequences. But, the people that love us don't care, and they would even go so far as to do those same things with you because they love you so much.

"Do not spray into eyes - I have sprayed you into my eyes."

For me, it really is the most beautiful lyric I have ever heard... it brought tears to my eyes and I couldn't stop crying when I realized what it meant. It is so simple it's almost childish... but it is SO powerful, that the emotion of its meaning cuts deep in a beautiful way.

It made me think of my daughter immediately.

I always hate when this song ends. I just want it to keep going and going... (but the rest of the album does not disappoint at all)

I like your interpretation Wooperdoop, but if these lyrics are written correctly, the canon you seem to be referring to is a CANNON, with two 'n's and the one described in the lyrics is: "a standard; criterion" (dictionary.reference.com/browse/canon). Despite this, your interpretation still stands- and I wouldn't put it past Alt-J to, in the context of listening to the song instead of reading it, used the word's homonymity to reference both definitions. I love these guys though and cannot give them enough praise; what they're doing lyrically, they remind me a bit of ee cummings. Funny enough, this quote also popped up on dictionary.com, made my Pablo Picasso, and I think it appropriate for this discussion. "Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don't start measuring her limbs."

I think the lyric, "It’s just a nod to the canon" is the band acknowledging the inspiration they have drawn from the Canon, defined as the body of historical musical works that are recognized as masterpieces worthy of study and performance.

My favorite part of the lyrics is the part that says "Stickle brick, tickle quick, laugh at the beautiful". Stickle brick's are toys kind of like Legos that have very small teeth like a comb, which I guess would "tickle quick" if you held one.

Their lyrics are seemingly so obscure. Truly amazing artists and musicians. I hope they are the beginning of a trend in modern music.