Nettles Lyrics
And snorted on the stench
Of Their arithmetic
Looked for the boy who was hanging his head low
More trophies than ideas. To follow their pretence
He followed with obedience
And fell in the nettles
And skipped the bits they loathed
Didin't scramble to find a dock leaf to capture back our hope
To advice his mind had closed
He lost all of his footholes.
He followed with obedience
And fell in the nettles, fell in the nettles, fell in the nettles.
And the garlic and the cinder upon the path
Had failed to blunt or hinder the slow collapse
Clinging to the door frame he was dragged
Off to a reminder of where he had been
And a scowl on his face
He had nowhere to flee
So sat content in the nettles
The lyrics are printed on the teddy picker CD single:
He sank into their calculations And snorted on the stench Of Their arithmetic Looked for the boy who was hanging his head low More trophies than ideas. To follow their pretence
With a scowl in his pocket and a smile on his face He followed with obedience And fell in the nettles
Afterwards those spikey whispers said he bought his own rope And skipped the bits they loathed Didin't scramble to find a dock leaf to capture back our hope To advice his mind had closed He lost all of his footholes.
And with a smile in his pocket and a scowl on his face He followed with obedience And fell in the nettles, fell in the nettles, fell in the nettles.
He was a toothpick! And the garlic and the cinder upon the path Had failed to blunt or hinder the slow collapse Clinging to the door frame he was dragged Off to a reminder of where he had been
With a smile in his pocket And a scowl on his face He had nowhere to flee So sat content in the nettles
The lyrics are a bit more metaphorical than usual, and I'm not sure I fully understand them to be honest.
i think it's about an innocent boy who basically gets in with the wrong crowd. Unfortunately as a result, i think this boy kills himself - there are a couple of references to hanging, "he brought his own rope", "clinging to the DOOR FRAME"
I agree with whoever said that its about a boy who falls in with the wrong people. Although, I think it's more that he's kind of awkward, and doesn't really now how to socialize, so he gets used. Then to try and fit in he does some shit and then he becomes that kind of person.
Also... do Arctic Monkeys=The Death Ramps?
I think it's about a 'good boy' (maybe Alex was talking about his life after fame?) who has found a new group of people/friends. He knows they are toxic - they snort coke and have different values than his set of 'calculations' (& arithmetic) but he succumbs to pressure, anyway. (This rings true with what Andy said once about the reason for leaving the band , that he didn't want to be involved in the drugs/party lifestyle?) They influence not only his lifestyle but even his thoughts. He's become what he's hated. ("All the weekend rock stars are practising their lines") He does whatever they ask of him. He's the new shiny toy. He's embarrassed and ashamed at himself for playing into their hands but he secretly enjoys the attention as well. But then they discard him and he realises, what he knew all along anyway. He's sitting in his bed of 'nettles' or REGRETS.
He lost all of his footholes.
Nothing special TBH.
i think this songs brilliant -and amazing live too. i really cant wait for alex turners solo album + the monkeys 3rd album
Yeah, Arctics = Ramps :)
It was a "pseudonym" they used for the 7 inch release of the b-sides... I don't have it, I know my stuff but am not the kind of fan who won't just stick to CDs lol!
I really think this song is about cocaine.
It sounds like a rush and got some metaphorical bits:
"And snorted on the stench Of Their arithmetic Looked for the boy who was hanging his head low"
And
"With a smile in his pocket And a scowl on his face He had nowhere to flee So sat content in the nettles"