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They'll Need A Crane
They Might Be Giants Lyrics


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Love sees love's happiness
But happiness can't see that love is sad
That love is sad
Sadness is hanging there
To show love somewhere something needs a change
They need a change

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Lad's gal is all he has
Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
The love of lad
Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
But cause a little pain
They cause him pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
And there's a restaurant we should check out where
The other nightmare people like to go
I mean nice people, baby wait,
I didn't mean to say nightmare

Lad looks at other gals
Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
He isn't bad
Call off the wedding band
Nobody wants to hear that one again
Play that again

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane

Overall Meaning

The song "They'll Need A Crane" by They Might Be Giants appears to be about the disintegration of relationships, with the lyrics describing a couple whose love is no longer enough to sustain them. The phrase "they'll need a crane" appears repeatedly in the song, suggesting that the couple's problems are too big for them to handle alone.


The first verse talks about how love can blind people to each other's sadness. While one person might prioritize the other's happiness, they might not realize that their love is struggling. By the time they do see it, it might be too late. The second verse describes how the actions of one partner might unintentionally cause pain for the other. This doesn't necessarily mean that they don't love each other anymore, but it's causing strain on their relationship. The bridge of the song expresses exhaustion and the desire to move on from the relationship, suggesting that the couple is at a breaking point.


The chorus, with its repeated refrain of "they'll need a crane," can be interpreted in different ways. It might suggest that the couple needs a tool to help them repair what is broken between them - a metaphorical crane that can help them take apart their old relationship and rebuild it from the ground up. Alternatively, the chorus might indicate that things have gone too far for the couple to fix their problems, and that they'll need outside help to move on.


Line by Line Meaning

Love sees love's happiness
When you're in love, you focus on the happy moments shared with your partner.


But happiness can't see that love is sad
However, when you're happy, you may not always realize or understand when your partner is feeling sad.


That love is sad
Love can be difficult and sometimes it comes with sadness.


Sadness is hanging there
Sadness is present and apparent in the relationship.


To show love somewhere something needs a change
The sadness is a sign that a change is needed in the relationship.


They need a change
The couple needs to make a change in order to find happiness in their relationship again.


To take the house he built for her apart
In order to move forward and make a change, the couple needs to break apart what they have built together.


To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
Breaking apart what they have built together won't be easy, it's going to require force and effort.


To pick the broken ruins up again
After breaking apart their life together, they need to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding.


To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
The rebuilding process will involve healing and helping each other to see a brighter future.


Lad's gal is all he has
The woman in Lad's life is very important to him.


Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
Gal's happiness is very much tied to how Lad treats her and the love he shows her.


Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
Sometimes Gal may unintentionally say things that hurt Lad.


But cause a little pain
Even though Gal may not mean to hurt him, her words can still cause Lad pain.


Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
Lad is feeling stress and pressure in his life, and may not want to be bothered at work.


I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
Lad is feeling burnt out and as a result, may be losing his love for Gal.


And there's a restaurant we should check out where
Lad and Gal may want to explore new and exciting things together in order to bring some life back into their relationship.


The other nightmare people like to go
Lad may have accidentally referred to the type of people who frequent this restaurant as 'nightmares', but he didn't mean to.


I mean nice people, baby wait,
Lad is trying to correct his mistake and let Gal know that the people who go there are actually nice.


Lad looks at other gals
Lad may be tempted by other women, even when he is in a committed relationship with Gal.


Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
Gal may be attracted to other men, even if she loves Lad.


Call off the wedding band
Lad and Gal may need to put their plans for the future on hold until they work through their current problems.


Nobody wants to hear that one again
They may need to take a break from their current situation and focus on rebuilding their relationship before moving forward with any plans.




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN FLANSBURGH, JOHN LINNELL, JOHN C. FLANSBURGH, JOHN S. LINNELL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Joaquín Melnik

Acá la letra traducida asi nomás al castellano rioplatenese:


They´ll need a crane

El amor ve la alegría del amor
Pero esa alegría no puede ver que el amor es triste
La tristeza anda por ahí
Para mostrarle al amor que algo en algún lugar necesita un cambio
Necesitan un cambio

Van a necesitar una grúa
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor

La chica era todo lo que tenía
La alegría de la chica dependía del chabón
Del amor del tipo
Alguna de las cosas que la flaca le dijo al tipo
No significaban algo realmente malo pero causaron algo de dolor
Causaron su dolor

Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor

No me llames de nuevo al trabajo
Por favor, no, le sigo cayendo mal al jefe
Sólo estoy cansado y no te amo más
Y este es el restaurante al que deberíamos ir
A donde la otra gente espantosa le gusta ir
Digo linda gente, bancá
No quise decir espantoso

El flaco anda viéndose con otras pibas
La piba piensa que un Jim Bens es más guapo que un flaco
Que no está mal
Cancelen a la banda de la boda
Nadie quiere escuchara de nuevo
¡Una más!

Van a necesitar una grúa x 9



All comments from YouTube:

Adam Borseti

They Might Be Giants: play a happy melody over an upbeat, new wavey type beat, but sing really sad lyrics.
Hugely inspirational to me and the way I write music now. Such a great band!

Theo

ok

sharrison586

I love this band. This song is so sad but it still manages to be hilarious. That's genius.

Jonee Lillard

"Baby, wait, I didn't mean to say nightmare..."

oddvertex

She wants to see you again - slowly twisting in the wind.

X. X.

I love this tune. It´s sad and there´s more truth in it than most people are willing or able to see. And it´s fun. What a great combination.

somesquirrel

this is a very sad song, I just wonder what type of people live in the comments section. The type of people who are commenting on this video are the type of people I want to know. It's such a small subsection of the population. This is my favorite tmbg's album. Send me private messages if you are bored or lonely. It's me too. anyway also please send me private messages.

Coco Flojo

My brain is full up of TMBG lyrics and whenever I need a way to allude to an emotion one invariably pops up. Today it was "Nobody wants to hear that one again," but I've been hearing it a lot lately...

Joaquín Melnik

Acá la letra traducida asi nomás al castellano rioplatenese:


They´ll need a crane

El amor ve la alegría del amor
Pero esa alegría no puede ver que el amor es triste
La tristeza anda por ahí
Para mostrarle al amor que algo en algún lugar necesita un cambio
Necesitan un cambio

Van a necesitar una grúa
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor

La chica era todo lo que tenía
La alegría de la chica dependía del chabón
Del amor del tipo
Alguna de las cosas que la flaca le dijo al tipo
No significaban algo realmente malo pero causaron algo de dolor
Causaron su dolor

Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor

No me llames de nuevo al trabajo
Por favor, no, le sigo cayendo mal al jefe
Sólo estoy cansado y no te amo más
Y este es el restaurante al que deberíamos ir
A donde la otra gente espantosa le gusta ir
Digo linda gente, bancá
No quise decir espantoso

El flaco anda viéndose con otras pibas
La piba piensa que un Jim Bens es más guapo que un flaco
Que no está mal
Cancelen a la banda de la boda
Nadie quiere escuchara de nuevo
¡Una más!

Van a necesitar una grúa x 9

wigoutwigout

This is the saddest song ever written!
I only realised this once I was able to compare to one of my prior relationships and it really hit home...

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