So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
I backed my car into a cop car the other day
Well, he just drove off, sometimes life's okay
I ran my mouth off a bit too much, oh, what did I say?
Well, you just laughed it off and it was all okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on anyway, well
A fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam
It was worth it just to learn some sleight of hand
Bad news comes, don't you worry even when it lands
Good news will work its way to all them plans
We both got fired on exactly the same day
Well, we'll float on, good news is on the way
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on
No, don't you worry, we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on, alright
Don't worry, we'll all float on
Alright, already
And we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on, alright
Don't worry, even if things end up a bit
Too heavy, we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on alright
Already, we'll all float on, okay
Don't worry, we'll all float on
Even if things get heavy
We'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on (alright)
No, don't you worry, we'll all float on (alright)
We'll all float on
Well, he just drove off, sometimes life's okay
I ran my mouth off a bit too much, oh, what did I say?
Well, you just laughed it off and it was all okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on anyway, well
A fake Jamaican took every last dime with that scam
It was worth it just to learn some sleight of hand
Bad news comes, don't you worry even when it lands
Good news will work its way to all them plans
We both got fired on exactly the same day
Well, we'll float on, good news is on the way
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, okay
And we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on
No, don't you worry, we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on, alright
Don't worry, we'll all float on
Alright, already
And we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on, alright
Don't worry, even if things end up a bit
Too heavy, we'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on alright
Already, we'll all float on, okay
Don't worry, we'll all float on
Even if things get heavy
We'll all float on, alright
Already, we'll all float on (alright)
No, don't you worry, we'll all float on (alright)
We'll all float on
Lyrics submitted by zouyan, edited by ModestMouseFM
Float On Lyrics as written by Eric Judy Dann Gallucci
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Isaac Brock's Comments on Float On:
"It was a completely conscious thing. I was just kind of fed up with how bad shit had been going, and how dark everything was, with bad news coming from everywhere. Our president is just a fucking daily dose of bad news! Then you've got the well-intentioned scientists telling us that everything is fucked. I just want to feel good for a day. I'd had some friends die, and with Jeremy kind of losing it... After we got out of that dark spot with everything melting down with the band, I just wanted to make a positive record. I think we managed to make a quarter of the record positive, and the rest is either kind of dark or more just relaxing into things being how they are, resigned."
I love the new album. This song makes me want to do the safety dance while smoking a cigar...on a unicycle.
I think this is by far the best MM song, by far! The older stuff is really honest and you will connect with it but compared to a song like this, its not even close. <br /> <br /> The old stuff is boring and old... sure they get a pretty killer point across but im sick of hearing songs like that, they have sooooo been done a million times before, just the way the song is layed out, you don't even have to really think about it for it to make sense to you, the lyrics of the old songs are simple to understand I only need to listen to them once to completely understand what they are saying BORING. I think a lot of people don't even know how to listen to Dashboard and they can't understand the real message or even what the song is talking about half the time.<br /> <br /> Dashboard is a total different type of song than pretty much anything ive heard from them before. Dashboard honestly has a pretty good message but thats not even why the song is my favorite in the world. Why is everyone so convinced a great song even needs a message at all? Remember this is just music, just caus a song isn't sad and serious and comforting doesn't mean it can't be a great song. Don't get me wrong, its not even the beat or the mainstream sound that dashboard has that makes me like it. The reason dashboard is the best song ive ever heard is caus you could listen to it a million times and still not understand the story they are telling, It really takes a lot of effort and concentration to truly understand every aspect of the song dashboard.
I'm pretty sure the song "Dashboard" is where you wanted to post your comment. Not hatin', just sayin'.
To anyone who has complained about other people starting to like indie-music:
You obviously have little apreciation for the music itself, only for the image. Who the hell cares if other people like the same shit you do, shouldn't that give you some sort of affirmation of your taste? Or does your self worth rest too heavily on the fact that you feel you're unique because you listen to esoteric music? If you like the music, listen to it. If you don't like the music, don't. Its that simple.
This song Float On, to me, is very relateable. In life I try to live by the float on aspect which is whatever happens, happens. You cant always control everything you do and sometimes you just have to let things go. If there are people in your life that hurt you then just let them go because its not worth wasting your time. And at the end of the day it will all be worth it and it will just Float On.
I think this song is about that sense of peace and wealth you feel when you've just lost everything, and you realize that life's just a joke. Something similar to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life by Monthy Python
even when things are going shitty they will end up getting better.. that's what the song is about
i like how he titles this cd "good news for people who love bad news" its clever as hell, cuz usually his lyrics are depressing, which people love about it. now they are more positive on this cd, hence "good news for people who love bad news." meaning hes talking about his fans who loved his depressing music.
Hah! I like that interpretation.
I took this song at face value. I lost my little brother in January and this was the first song that let me feel like I would be ok (even if just a little).
"even when things get heavy, we're all Float On"
Life goes on, you don't have to forget. But you cant get stuck in the dark.
That's what I still get from this song every time I listen to it. I'm able to think of my lil bro and smile.
Good News for People Who Love Bad News
HERE IS YOUR ANSWER from The Man himself.
"It was a completely conscious thing. I was just kind of fed up with how bad shit had been going, and how dark everything was, with bad news coming from everywhere. Our president is just a fucking daily dose of bad news! Then you’ve got the well-intentioned scientists telling us that everything is fucked. I just want to feel good for a day. -Isaac Brock (about Float On)" <3333
**also, everyone should really like The Props facebook.com/theprops
They are from Phily tryna make it in Texas.