Midnight in a Perfect World
DJ Shadow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The clock on the wall is a quarter past midnight
I don't love you
Heading to garden of love, ah
Life come seeking of love, of love
Midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight
Now, now, now, now, now, now
Ah ooh
12 o'clock
Ah ooh
Rock rock rock rock the midnight rush
Ah ooh
Ah ooh
Now, now, now, now, now, now
Midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight
I don't love you
The midnight rush
Heading to garden of love, ah
Life come seeking of love , of love
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Now now now now now approach now approaching now approach now approaching
Now now now now now now now now approaching midni-
Now now now now now now approaching mid
Now now now now approaching midni-
Now now approaching now now now now approaching midnight
The lyrics to DJ Shadow's "Midnight in a Perfect World" are repetitive and enigmatic, but they create an atmosphere of introspection and mystery. The opening line of "Insight, foresight, more sight" suggests that the singer possesses an exceptional vision or grasp of things that others do not. This is reinforced by the next line, "The clock on the wall is a quarter past midnight," which evokes a sense of timelessness and the discovery of hidden truths that only become apparent during the late night hours.
The chorus is almost mystical, with the repetition of the word "midnight" and the eerie background music that accompanies it. The sparse lyrics that follow, "I don't love you, heading to garden of love," create a sense of yearning and longing, but also of detachment and disconnect. The line "life come seeking of love, of love" could be interpreted in different ways, as if it refers to the eternal search for love, the elusiveness of happiness, the cycle of life and death, or simply the wandering and searching for meaning in a vast and complex world.
The second half of the song incorporates more vocalizations that create a sense of urgency and excitement, with the repeated "now now now" and the crescendo of "rock rock rock rock the midnight rush." The song ends with a sense of anticipation and excitement, with the singer approaching the elusive "midnight" that holds the promise of revelation and transcendence.
Line by Line Meaning
Insight, foresight, more sight
Deep understanding, perception of the future, and heightened awareness
The clock on the wall is a quarter past midnight
Time is passing, and it's late at night
I don't love you
A lack of affection or connection
Heading to garden of love, ah
Looking or searching for love
Life come seeking of love, of love
Life is always searching for love
Midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight
Reinforcing the late-night setting
Now, now, now, now, now, now
Emphasizing the immediacy of the present moment
Ah ooh
An expression of emotion or feeling
12 o'clock
The time is late at night
Rock rock rock rock the midnight rush
Creating excitement through music and energy
Now, now, now, now, now, now
Emphasizing the immediacy of the present moment
Midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight
Reinforcing the late-night setting
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
An expression of emotion or feeling
Now now now now now approach now approaching now approach now approaching
Building tension and anticipation
Now now now now now now now now approaching midni-
Getting closer to midnight
Now now now now now now approaching mid
Almost reaching the stroke of midnight
Now now now now approaching midni-
Still getting closer to midnight
Now now approaching now now now now approaching midnight
Finally reaching the late-night hour
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOSH DAVIS, PEKKA POHJOLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@koenmetekohy1296
All samples:
David Axelrod - The Human Abstract (1969) (the piano at 1:17)
Pekka Pohjola - The Madness Subsides (1975) (the synths at 0:08)
Baraka - Sower of Seeds (1976) (the vocals at 0:40)
Meredith Monk - Biography (1981) (that bass noise in the background at 1:10)
Akinyele - Outta State (1993) (the guitar at 3:40)
Organized Konfusion - Releasing Hypnotical Gas (1991) (the rapping that you hear at 0:00)
Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music (1981) (sampled three times in this song, the vocals at 0:13, 1:17, and 2:11)
Rotary Connection - Life Could (1968) (the drums at 0:26)
Sorry if I missed a few samples, as there are probably a lot of other samples in this song that I missed. This is only according to WhoSampled.
@colostomyJones
Stan 59 I like it!
Keep up the free associative interpretations, (them’s my favorites) cuz they’re bold attempts to paint with words— that which falls short of honesty when we build prisons out of rational, expository logic...
Even when we earnestly seek to translate our experience of listening to music into some sort of widely accessible coherence, the power of poetic imagery, surrealism, irrational incoherence, etc. can paradoxically have the effect of producing a more honest, coherent, grounded picture of that otherwise deeply personal, and impossible to truly fully transmit, experience!
Whew! What a mouthful, heh...
(Ever sonde I recently began responding to people’s comments on music on YouTube, I end up waxing grandiose and sprawling with prosaic, possibly pedantic, always obnoxiously alliterative assertions about my own feelings which I share with those to whom I respond.
Your comments validate my own listening experiences 👍🏽
Hope you feel subsequently validated; connected to your fellow human audiophiles 😉
Stay human!
@AlexTraitor
I agree!! Another great songs for me are:
Pretty soon i don't know what but something is going to happen - norma jean
slow gold becoming - thomas gilles
immersion highway - thomas gilles
twist - tones on tail
biscuit - portishead
pedestal - portishead
clams casino - culture shock (the version without rap "im god" is awesome too)
Maxine ashley - six underdround (original by sneaker pimps)
@CanadianPrepper
timeless classic
@lindafield6577
Just fucking WOW
@oriondurdaller3349
Yeah this is incredible
@carljames4862
zero 7 and portishead?
@ja.8077
Wasn't expecting to see you here😯
@awandanu
Go back to prepping
@MadMaxBible
This song made me realize and fully understand the power of sampling. A lot of people look down on sampling like it's 'stealing'. Nah, it's using building blocks to create something unique. It's always been. And this track is a perfect example. Giving the opportunity to people to make music that they would've never made otherwise.
@felins2294
i'd never understand the distaste for amazing sampling in music. it's a wonderful form of art in hip hop. albums like donuts by j dilla or endtroducing like this example are some of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums of all time.
@rottingsloth6562
Word Up!❤
@MadMaxBible
@@felins2294 This distaste comes from people who listened to producers that were lazy. You know the ones that took a 16 bar chunk of a song and laid a beat on that and called it 'their own new song'. I get the frustration. Because sampling is not about that. The goal of sampling - to me - is taking already existing bits and pieces and going as far away as possible from their original context. Combine them, play with them, make them almost unrecognizable to make something completely new. There's nothing wrong with that. And to the listener - it's also a challenge to find where all those bits and pieces came from.