It's Working Lyrics
so I can see your faces
the eyes are wrong
the tiny isles of bruises
the mangled lines
I see the signs of aging
my mind's affected
it's empty now
as I lay down
I feel alright
my heart is racing
I'd like to feed my poison
assembly lines
to the yard
it's just like striking matches
the polish lies
which you know is not the same as love
love is only in your mind
and not your heart
which you know is not the same as love
love is only in your mind and not your heart
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
To me it seems like it's about drugs, probably psychedelics.
At first there are little differences that are noticed after consuming the drug, then wondering if the drug is working right. I've definitely felt this feeling before and can relate. Then it progresses to 'it's working', saying that he knows the drugs have taken effect and he knows for sure. Sometimes when i'm waiting for drugs to kick in i have this placebo effect where i can't tell if it's the drugs or me, which i think is kind of what is being conveyed here, aka 'how will i know if it's working right'.
It seems like the progression of the song and it's composition tie in with this. At first the song is kind of like an exciting whirlwind(nerves about taking the drug, and excitement on what will come), and it progresses to silence for a moment, then goes back, then it turns into a spacey flow of noises, then again silence and back to the excitement. This is what happens on drugs sometimes, they take hold, and for a moment you have control or you can understand that this is not you, then you let them take over again. Towards the end when he says 'no, it's working' with the cosmic sounds in the background and the drum beat, it all feels like drugs to me.
Also to support my theory is 'but it's working in your blood', which drugs do.
I don't know if this whole drug thing is what they were going after, but i think the lyrics and music go perfectly together and if that's what they were aiming for they did it perfectly. If not i still really like this song.
yup, he (they) say its about E
yup, he (they) say its about E
It's working in your blood But you know it's not the same as love It's only in your mind But your heart is working your blood
It's working in your blood But you know it's not the same as love It's only in your mind But your heart is working your blood
is what i think (99.9% know) it is
is what i think (99.9% know) it is
i like the nice cyclical paradox
i like the nice cyclical paradox
yeah, i definitely see the relation to ecstasy.
yeah, i definitely see the relation to ecstasy.
there is no question this is a song about psychedelic drugs kicking in. agree ecstasy is the prob the best candidate but it could easily be a variety of hallucinogens IMO.
there is no question this is a song about psychedelic drugs kicking in. agree ecstasy is the prob the best candidate but it could easily be a variety of hallucinogens IMO.
and as the drug kicks the drug (and the user catches his breath) he trips out on (among other things) the fact that drugs produce a kind of fake love (in your blood) as opposed to the real thing (in your mind).
and as the drug kicks the drug (and the user catches his breath) he trips out on (among other things) the fact that drugs produce a kind of fake love (in your blood) as opposed to the real thing (in your mind).
also suspect this is a commentary by MGMT on their audiences relationship to their music. i don't think it is meant to be snarky. just an observation,...
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also suspect this is a commentary by MGMT on their audiences relationship to their music. i don't think it is meant to be snarky. just an observation, so to speak.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
everyone was pretty much dead on. i personally would have never guess thats what it was about.
"Another track on the new album called "It's Working" seems to explore the same topic."
Yeah. It was the first song that we demo-ed almost a year ago. Ben [Goldwasser] and I went up to this little cabin in the woods in upstate New York, and the second I walked in the door I sat down and played this chord progression. The next day we expanded it into a song. Lyrically, it's about doing drugs. I didn't realize it until now, but it's kind of funny, because the first song on our first album was "Time to Pretend," which was about the imagined rock star scenario. So, "It's Working" is like, "Yeah, we went out there and we did a lot of drugs and it's not that great." The song is mostly about Ecstasy.
Is there any specific experience with Ecstasy that influenced that song?
No, not really. But that's how we envisioned the track when we were writing it. It stops and starts a lot; it's frantic, confusing. There's also a surfing thread throughout the record. When you're surfing, there's a specific break you're paddling to. And when the waves are really good you say, "It's working." The song kind of has a surf-y vibe. It's like surfing on ecstasy. Which is what the "Time to Pretend" video is like. Actually, the video is more like surfing on acid. -Spin interview with Andrew
i lovee this song already. as soon as i heard it, i was pretty much hooked.
MGMT is known for their druggy feel in almost all of their songs, but Its Working makes it clearer than anything. So clouds your right about the drug reference in the song but i dont think it is about ecstasy or acid...but rather meth or heroin or something. The reason i say this is because when he talks about the isles of tiny bruises and signs of aging...thats not ecstasy, if anything it really sounds like meth to me but i could be wrong.
MGMT is known for their druggy feel in almost all of their songs, but Its Working makes it clearer than anything. So clouds your right about the drug reference in the song but i dont think it is about ecstasy or acid...but rather meth or heroin or something. The reason i say this is because when he talks about the isles of tiny bruises and signs of aging...thats not ecstasy, if anything it really sounds like meth to me but i could be wrong.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
best song of the new album
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
This song reminds me exactly of the first time I took ecstasy, I was so convinced it wasn't going to work. I asked everyone, "how will I know if it's working?"
The music video is pretty interesting, and I feel like I know exactly what it means. I think the box they create is their mind. In the beginning they are reading the construction manual and it looks extremely complex and confusing...just like the human mind. When they are standing in front of it, they start turning colors...symbolizing drugs. When Andrew is running through the darkness inside the box, it's like the depression some people get after they come down. When the box falls down at the end, that could symbolize going insane, death, or something of that matter.
well, atleast that's what I think. =)
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
Amazing, amazing song.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
"it's working in your blood which you know is not the same as love love is only in your mind and not your heart"
This sounds like being on Ecstasy.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
I think this song is about Heroin tolerence. He cant find the right dose to get high.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
Taking into consideration MGMT's mildly prolific drug background, the idea that this song is about drugs is not an inaccurate one.
Bruises from injections, feeding "poison," nervously asking if you know if 'its working' all point to an apparent drug theme.
Purely considering their narcotics references in other songs, it seems that all other possible meaning for this song are quickly thrown out the window.
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
its about ecstasy. i saw a live video where they say so before they play the song. good eye yall.
regarding ecstasy, they're saying, this feels like love, but it just isn't the real thing.
On the contrary, I think he's saying it's better than love. Because "love is only in your mind and not your heart".
On the contrary, I think he's saying it's better than love. Because "love is only in your mind and not your heart".
![Cover art for It's Working lyrics by MGMT](https://images.songmeanings.com/ca91f4ef-4369-4872-8739-20c2e0285d32.webp)
"This song is about taking ecstacy." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruOnU9Jgtp0
Very literal song. "How will I know if it[ecstacy]'s working?