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Taro Lyrics

Indochina, Capa jumps Jeep, two feet creep up the road
To photo, to record meat lumps and war,
They advance as does his chance – very yellow white flash.
A violent wrench grips mass, rips light, tears limbs like rags,
Burst so high finally Capa lands,
Mine is a watery pit. Painless with immense distance
From medic from colleague, friend, enemy, foe, him five yards from his leg,
From you Taro.
Do not spray into eyes – I have sprayed you into my eyes.
3:10 pm, Capa pends death, quivers, last rattles, last chokes
All colours and cares glaze to grey, shrivelled and stricken to dots,
Left hand grasps what the body grasps not – le photographe est mort.
3.1415, alive no longer my amour, faded for home May of ‘54
Doors open like arms my love, Painless with a great closeness
To Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing, re-united with his leg and with you, Taro.
Do not spray into eyes – I have sprayed you into my eyes.
Hey Taro!
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Writer
Augustus Figaro Niso Unger-hamilton, Gwilym David Dylan Sainsbury, Joe Jerome Newman, Thomas Stuart Green
Duration
5:05
Producer
Charlie Andrew
Release date
May 28, 2012
Sentiment
Positive
Submitted by
shemovesshe On Jun 04, 2012
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21 Meanings

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Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

Gerda Taro was a war photojournalist in the late 40's/early 50's. She died in her line of work when a tank collided into the side of a car she was riding on. The other important name in this song was Gerda's romantic interest, and colleague, Robert Capa. During the First Indochina War, Capa retreated from his Jeep in a hostile war zone to take pictures. He stepped on a landmine however, which blew apart his left leg. He was taken to a medical station where he died with his camera in his hand.

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?

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...

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

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 wife and my daughter immediately.

:)

My Opinion

@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 :)

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

My favourite on the album. "I have sprayed you into my eyes" gets me every time.

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!

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

This song is just incredible, lyrically and musically. I especially love the chorus instrumentals... just beautiful.

The comments here have really improved my understanding of this song, but there is still a question that I cannot seem to answer for myself: 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!

Thanks to everyone here for always making my music listening a deeper and more complete experience. Cheers!

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)

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

CAPA besides being Robert capa's last name is an acronym for "Corrective and Preventative Action" and are improvements to an organization's processes taken to eliminate causes of non-conformities or other undesirable situations. So "Do not spray into eyes" is a CAPA warning on spray cans and also can be relayed to Roberts situation.

@Bwashetas Brilliant, I did not think of this.

@Bwashetas Nice accidental acronym. :)

Otherwise, Cápa (meaning shark in Hungarian) was his childhood nickname.

https://www.geni.com/people/Robert-Capa/6000000029056262070 "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...

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

Taro was a war photojournalists like Shmule said, however...a bit incorrect in the information. She died in July 1937 in a car crash while covering war in Spain.

Capa did die May 1954 after losing his leg in a land mine. However, the addition of "camera in his hand" is false.

Beautiful song about to lovers that did AMAZING work, especially Capa.

Memory
Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

What is the instrument played during the drums?

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.

My Opinion
Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

My boyfriend passed away two months ago. Since then, all I can think about is the time will I can be with him again. I heard this song and was immediately obsessed with it. I listened to it on repeat but didn't understand what it meant. I looked up the meaning and found this site. I can't believe how connected I feel to this song. It touched me so deeply to hear of a love story after death...

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

Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

Nebulousapathy - I think the pi numbers are mean to say that Capa has come full circle in dying

My Interpretation
Cover art for Taro lyrics by alt-J

To add to what icymoguls said, I too think the reference to pi is about coming full circle in death. In the song, I think they're ambiguously throwing it out as his time of death. 3:14 and 15 seconds. To me, the line about pending death at 3:10 is a trail of breadcrumbs for the symbolism they're getting ready to use.

My Interpretation