Taro

True, however, she died in 1937 and is little known today as she was active prior to the Second World War, during the Spanish Civil War.

wow... that's tragic, but also a quite beautiful story. How is there not a movie about these people? <br /> <br /> anyway, this made me appreciate this beautiful song even more. (And yay I've learned something today)

@Shmule Taro is the alias for Gerta Pohorylle, who was born in 1910 and died in the Spanish Civil War in 1937, aged 27. Robert Capa is also not a real person, it is the fictitious name that Gerta created with her partner Endre Friedmann. This song depicts Endre's death in May 1954 in Indochina. As he leaves his body Capa (Endre) can be reunited with his leg, that was blown off by a landmine, and the one time fiance Gerta (Taro), who died 27 years before. You can read about the incident of his death here:<br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Capa<br /> Scroll down to "First Indochina War and death"<br />

:)

@Daoist And also, the context of them being photographers... Do not spray into eyes... They look literally through a lens at some of the most horrific and dangerous scenes mankind has produced and they do it bravely, and often out of love for each other. You really nailed this on the head, truly a beautiful song.

@Daoist I love your interpretation - BEAUTIFUL! just as the line itself....it is also one of the most beautiful song lines I have heard recently :)

@Daoist i made an account only to say thank you, kep on the feels.<br />

@Daoist Your analysis made me cry. Wow. I love that you say we are all, in our own way, dangerous, bringing terrible consequences; as if, we all walk around with a warning on our faces, "do not spray into eyes." Capa doesn't care, and love doesn't care--"I have sprayed you into my eyes." <br /> <br /> Beautiful analysis.

@Daoist I had to create an account to say thank you for your interpretation, I'm not a soppy guy at all but it really hit hard. tear in my eyes sort of thing. Thank you for really changing my day buddy.

@Daoist @Daoist I saw alt-j about a week ago at Bonnaroo and tears just continously streamed down my face during this song and continued way after the song ceased. I briefly researched the song when I first discovered it and knew it was about war, but I never really thoroughly researched it until tonight. I did not realize how much depth this song holds. alt-j’s music has always hit me in my intellectual feels compared to most artists. This is how music should be!<br /> <br /> Thank you so much for this analysis. I will forever listen to this song with such a deeper meaning.<br /> <br /> (Btw if you haven’t seen them in concert do so because it will forever change you as a person)

what does that line mean?

"Do not spray into eyes" is the warning label on medical disinfectant. I would assume "I have sprayed you into my eyes" is a metaphor.

@mooatr such a bitter sweet lyric! I see it as; there are some things that are better off left unseen, that ignorance is bliss, and you know that it is true deep down. But curiosity kicks in and sometimes you pop your head out, and are exposed to something you are not equipped to deal with it understand, and are left dealing with the reality, despite the inherent hesitancy. Sometimes you get burned. I like thinking of it as a non-specific lyric, it applies to lots of things. A real beauty in song writing though!

3.1415 refers to Capa’s wedding ring as Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter. :)

Ah, I see! Thanks for the insight! :)

I took it to be the circle of the camera lens. The link between Taro and Capra. (She turned down his proposal, they were never married)

I think that it represents their love; lasting forever like death.

"What is the significance of the first 5 digits of Pi in this song? (3.1415) I can't seem to fit that in properly with the rest of the piece, and it's really bugging me. If anyone reading this has some ideas, I would be delighted to hear them!"<br /> <br /> I can't say for sure but I hunch is that it's used loosely to illustrate a circle. That is to say that Capa's life has come full circle as he passes into the afterlife and reunites with Taro. Why just the first 5 digits and not 4 or 6, probably just for poetic effect or cadence, essentially just fit well with the rest of the music/rhythm/lyrics. <br /> <br /> What a moving and beautiful song. Chorus is incredible. <br />

Since it seems that Taro died first, then Capa next, perhaps the full circle is their full circle ending in their life together in an afterlife of some sort.

Speaking to NME about this tune,Joe Newman explained: "The song's about that period just before he steps on the landmine. The two seconds before and two seconds after. It's a four-minute song about four seconds." Perhaps there's a connection between the 3:10pm and the 3.14.

I think, since at 3:10 he was awaiting death, perhaps 3:14.15 (a time) is when he died.

I think it is supposed to be a kind of "full circle" type of thing.

I am inclined to agree with the "full circle" conclusions others have come to. There's no context to indicate it might be a wedding ring - a camera lens would be perhaps a more likely reference, but I think it's more abstract than that.

Pi represents the circumference. Gerda Taro died in 1937 and Robert Capa died in 1954, both while performing their jobs as wartime photo journalists. I believe the Pi reference is alluding to their having come “full circle” and meeting up again in the afterlife.

I think that the first 5 digits of pi are a representation of Capa's time on earth, and his time to come. Literally it is the time that Capa died (3:14pm) but looking a little deeper it is interesting because pi is an infinite number. Capa's life has come full circle and now he is left to face the infinite test of time. 3.1415 begins the count to infinity as he moves on after his death, or "fades for home" as it is in the lyrics. The placement of the number and the number itself is very poetic, in that it has many meanings.

Given the band's obsession with Ancient Greek maths and geometry, I wouldn't put it past them to be making some reference to Pythagorean spiritual beliefs, particularly:<br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoreanism<br /> <br /> From Wikipedia:<br /> <br /> "The Pythagoreans believed that a release from the "wheel of birth" was possible. ... Pythagoreans distinguished three kinds of lives: Theoretic, Practical and Apolaustic. Pythagoras is said to have used the example of Olympic games to distinguish between these three kind of lives. Pythagoras suggests that the lowest class of people who come to the games are the people who come to buy or sell. The next higher class comprises people who come to participate in the games. And the highest class contains people who simply come to look on. "<br /> <br /> In other words, as photographers, documenting and observing the world, they were both living apolaustic lives and destined to break free of the cycle of reincarnation and meet again after death.

You guys are funny, since he died in a medical facility a doctor would have had to call it when he died at 3:14.15.Pythagoras, lol

@nebulousapathy to shawn 10000, have you ever heard a doctor call a time of death to the hundredth of a second? No. That Pythagorean idea seems to be really well researched and does relate to the band's interests. Makes more sense. This isn't to say however 3:14 (3.14) didn't claim the time of death as well, giving that particular lyric an intended double meaning.

@Bwashetas Brilliant, I did not think of this.

@Bwashetas Nice accidental acronym. :)<br /> <br /> Otherwise, Cápa (meaning shark in Hungarian) was his childhood nickname. <br /> <br /> geni.com/people/Robert-Capa/6000000029056262070<br /> "Capa originally wanted to be a writer; however, he found work in photography in Berlin and grew to love the art. In 1933, he moved from Germany to France because of the rise of Nazism, and persecution of Jewish journalists and photographers, but found it difficult to find work as a freelance journalist. He had to conceal his Jewish name (Friedmann), and adopted the name "Robert Capa" around this time. Cápa ("shark") was his nickname in school and he felt that it would be recognizable and American-sounding, since it was similar to that of film director Frank Capra. He found it easier to sell his photos under the newly adopted "American"-sounding name. Over a period of time, he gradually assumed the persona of Robert Capa (with the help of his girlfriend Gerda Taro, who acted as an intermediary with those who purchased the photos taken by the "great American photographer, Robert Capa")."<br /> <br /> capacenter.hu/en/robert-capa/<br /> "His first photo report was published in 1934 in Vu Magazine. He changed his name to Capa around this time almost together with his girlfriend Gerda Pohorylle, whose name became Gerda Taro. Foreign literature wrongly put together the name of Robert Capa from those of Robert Taylor and Frank Capra, but, to our knowledge, he was called Cápa (shark) because of his big mouth and pushy behaviour already at secondary school in Budapest. All he did abroad was to make it sound English by dropping the accent. The change of his name was also motivated by financial interests, since Gerda was able to sell the photos of a successful American photographer at a price three times higher than those of André. His appearance was also significantly transformed together with the change of his name. He had his long hair cut and he began to wear well-ironed suits, believing that it would be the seal of his success. However, it was difficult for him to work up the change of his name and the radical transformation of his appearance mentally."

It's the bass guitar. He is playing with a roll of electric tape.

Its a guitar, but the playing technique is interesting. U can see their live performance on youtube to know what I mean. The tune sounds very Punjabi. Love it!

They're both half right. It's a standard guitar being played with a roll of electric tape.

The tambourine :P

@clakea4 I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm very glad that you could find solace in music. Feel well.