Maybe Sprout Wings
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
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ran through the dark to the shower,
already forgetting.
tried to think good thoughts.
trying to find my way clear.
let the room fill with steam,
traced pictures on the mirror.
ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.
I clawed my way to the living room window,
stood there in the cold.
the last bits of my dream like figures in the distance,
hard to hold.
I thought of old friends,
the ones who'd gone missing.
said all their names three times.
phantoms in the early dark,
canaries in the mines.
ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.
The Mountain Goats's song "Maybe Sprout Wings" speaks about a bad dream that the singer has, which shakes him in his sleep and makes him wake up sweating. He runs to the shower, trying to forget the dream, but focuses on thinking positive thoughts instead. As he lets the room fill with steam, he traces pictures on the mirror. These images are meant to represent ghosts, clouds, and nameless things, symbols of the things that are hard to define or comprehend. The lyrics offer a sense of hopefulness as the singer suggests that if you squint your eyes and hope real hard, you may be able to "maybe sprout wings" and rise above your troubles.
In the second verse, the singer moves to the living room window and stands there in the cold. The last bits of his dream are like figures in the distance that are hard to hold. He begins to think about old friends who have gone missing, and says their names three times like a ritual to summon them back. The lost friends become like phantoms in the early dark, canaries in the mines that warn of danger. The second chorus repeats the idea that with enough effort, you might be able to sprout wings and rise above the challenges of life.
Line by Line Meaning
a bad dream shook me in my sleep and I woke up sweating.
I had a scary dream that woke me up and made me sweat.
ran through the dark to the shower, already forgetting.
I rushed to take a shower to forget about the scary dream.
tried to think good thoughts.
I tried to focus on positive thoughts to shake off the bad dream.
trying to find my way clear.
I was attempting to clear my mind of the scary thoughts and feelings from the dream.
let the room fill with steam, traced pictures on the mirror.
I let the steam from the shower fill the room and used my finger to draw pictures on the foggy mirror to distract myself.
ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
I am haunted by things I cannot identify or name.
squint your eyes and hope real hard, maybe sprout wings.
I am hoping for a miracle, something seemingly impossible and fantastical, to help me escape from my fears.
I clawed my way to the living room window, stood there in the cold.
I struggled to drag myself to the window, where I stood shivering in the cold air.
the last bits of my dream like figures in the distance, hard to hold.
The remaining fragments of my dream are like distant memories that are difficult to remember clearly.
I thought of old friends, the ones who'd gone missing.
I thought about friends I used to have but who have disappeared from my life.
said all their names three times.
I repeated their names out loud three times, perhaps as a way to ward off any negative spirits or emotions.
phantoms in the early dark, canaries in the mines.
The thoughts of my missing friends haunt me, and I feel like they are warning me of danger like the canaries in mines do.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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