Pusher
∆ Alt-J Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please wait by the line
And you know dispersive prisms rainbow
But my native optimism isn't broken by the light
The idea of life without company fell suddenly
It crashed through the ceiling on me
And pinned me to the pine
Will crush bones to oil in time
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
A canopy of red-billed quelea
Passed over the blue
A five hour flock, not one dives down
To tell you the truth
As night falls, a quelea crawls
And whispers on his last wings
So abundant are we, left alone I shall be
But a waited phone never rings
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
We could hold hands for fifteen minutes in the sauna
We could hold hands for a pool length under water
I can push and pull
Her
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
The first verse of ∆ Alt-J's song Pusher describes the waiting game that love sometimes is. The line "If you're willing to wait for the love of your life, please wait by the line" seems to suggest that sometimes, waiting in line is a metaphor for wading through life's difficult moments while waiting for love. The next line is "And you know dispersive prisms rainbow, but my native optimism isn't broken by the light," which is likely a reference to the way that when light passes through a prism, it creates a rainbow colored spectrum. The metaphor of a rainbow is often used as a symbol of hope and optimism, and here, it seems to suggest that even though the singer knows life can be tough, their optimism remains resilient.
The second verse shifts to a dark and introspective tone as the singer reflects on the idea of being alone. They describe how the feeling of loneliness fell on them suddenly, crushing them like the weight of the world. The imagery of bones crushing to oil over time suggests that hopelessness and doubt can slowly wear a person down until they feel like nothing. The chorus then asks the listener if they are a "pusher" or a "puller," with the singer admitting that they tend to pull the weight towards themself. They describe themselves as lacking the "zest of a lemon," and needing a woman to push them forward in life.
The final verse is somewhat enigmatic, describing a flock of birds passing overhead and a quelea bird whispering on its "last wings." The singer muses on the idea of being "left alone," but mentions the possibility of waiting for a phone that may never ring. The final lines of the song return to the question of whether one is a pusher or a puller, but this time, the listener is invited to picture holding hands with someone they love for fifteen minutes in a sauna or under water at a pool. The singer is now able to both push and pull, suggesting a newfound sense of balance and stability.
Line by Line Meaning
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
If waiting for love is something you're willing to do, then stay put and remain hopeful.
And you know dispersive prisms rainbow
But my native optimism isn't broken by the light
You understand how light refracts through a prism to create a rainbow, but even when faced with bad outcomes, your natural hopefulness remains intact.
The idea of life without company fell suddenly
It crashed through the ceiling on me
And pinned me to the pine
And layer upon layer of hope and doubt
Will crush bones to oil in time
The thought of being alone hit hard and felt like a weight on my shoulders. Being constantly unsure about my future prospects is grinding me down, becoming a motivating factor for my being driven to succeed.
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
Do you gravitate towards being proactive and pushing yourself or waiting passively and pulling opportunities towards you? Personally, it takes a special woman to motivate me to take risks and move forward.
A canopy of red-billed quelea
Passed over the blue
A five hour flock, not one dives down
To tell you the truth
The sight of a group of queleas (birds) flying overhead was beautiful, but despite their numbers, they were unable to offer any concrete advice or direction when needed most.
As night falls, a quelea crawls
And whispers on his last wings
So abundant are we, left alone I shall be
But a waited phone never rings
As a quelea bird takes its last breath, we're reminded of how empty life can be despite being surrounded by people. Waiting by the phone for a call that never comes is one such instance of how we can be left to fight our battles alone.
We could hold hands for fifteen minutes in the sauna
We could hold hands for a pool length under water
I can push and pull
Her
Spending time together in intimate settings, both above and below water. The feeling of being able to love and support a partner through anything and everything is the ultimate goal.
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
We could hold hands for fifteen minutes in the sauna
We could hold hands for a pool length under water
I can push and pull
Her
Reiterating the point about walking through life as an active pusher or passive puller. Sharing moments of closeness and intimacy with someone you love makes the ups and downs of life more bearable.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Augustus Figaro Niso Unger-Hamilton, Thomas Stuart Green, Joe Jerome Newman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sotgun1
FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SING ALONG:
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
And you know dispersive prisms rainbow
But my native optimism isn't broken by the light
The idea of life without company fell suddenly
It crashed through the ceiling on me
And pinned me to the pine
And layer upon layer of hope and doubt
Will crush bones to oil in time
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
A canopy of red-billed quelea
Passed over the blue
A five hour flock, not one dives down
To tell you the truth
As night falls, a quelea crawls
And whispers on his last wings
So abundant are we, left alone I shall be
But a waited phone never rings
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
We could hold hands for fifteen minutes in the sauna
We could hold hands for a pool length under water
I can push and pull
Her
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
@realitytakesanap
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
And you know dispersive prisms rainbow
But my native optimism isn't broken by the light
The idea of life without company fell suddenly
It crashed through the ceiling on me
And pinned me to the pine
And layer upon layer of hope and doubt
Will crush bones to oil in time
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
A canopy of red-billed quelea
Passed over the blue
A five hour flock, not one dives down
To tell you the truth
As night falls, a quelea crawls
And whispers on his last wings:
So abundant are we, left alone I shall be
But a waited phone never rings
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
I pull the weight towards me
And I lack the zest of a lemon, looking forward
Unless I have a woman pushing me
Are you a pusher or are you a puller?
We could hold hands for fifteen minutes in the sauna
We could hold hands for a pool length under water
I can push and pull
Her
If you're willing to wait for the love of your life
Please wait by the line
@fernandodiaz-ojeda3874
My native language it´s spanish so i will try my best explaining with the most descriptive words i know.
I will talk about the song and the official video, to crystallize one idea.
I think this is about a man that wants a perfect woman expecting for her through an idealized image of her. He has had signals coming from his mind that this kind of women will never arrive, but he still remains on his native optimism.
He doesn´t wants a women that doesn´t match with his utopia, so he decides to live without company. After a while his heart beats him telling what he really needs, asking him if he wants to be a pusher or a puller ?.
A Pusher will deny his reality, not accepting his circunstance and trying to control everything, dying against his own soul; a Puller accepts his circunstance trough his soul, giving peace to his heart.
We ( i´m talking about males) need to be both kinds, to survive, sometimes we have to push , sometimes to pull. And i think that we need a woman to know when to push , when to pull, they make our world more sensitive and allows us to percibe harmony, pushing with us or pulling with us.
The man of this history, guided trough his demanding mind, loss this chance and sorrounds himself of people that doesn´t cares for him ( pigs with suit ), queleas that will never dive down to tell him the truth.
When he realizes, trough the whisper of his own nearly dead heart, that he has builded his history empty of love, he falls in desperation… but a waited phone never rings.
This light kills his soul, so he kills himself.
This is what i understood and felt trough music, lyrics and images. But poetry, art, has multiple perspectives, so you can think whatever you want.
@timothymetke5947
1:15 "Thank you all for coming. I'd like to talk to you today about something I call hair..."
1:30 "This stuff on my head, hair, is great. It keeps your head warm, and you can grow it as long as you want!"
1:55 "You should all grow hair! This bald trend is out of style and creepy!"
2:05 "Sir, grow some hair and it'll change your life!"
2:15 "Watch this! I'm going to take my coat off! And I'm not even going to be cold because the hair on my head is keeping me warm!!"
2:25 "Sir! You grow some hair right now!"
2:33 "Please! You guys need to try this! JUST LOOK AT MY LUSCIOUS LOCKS!"
2:52 "HAAAAIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!"
3:00 "Here let me give you all some of my hair to get you started"
3:10 "I just got so much hair in my mouth, but they can't relate!"
3:15 "They'll never know what it's like to run their fingers through their own hair..."
3:25 "Fuck the baldies"
@lilywest7458
Well said... I agree and believe the man on the podium is a non-conformist, possibly in the corporate world as they do have briefcases and are dressed in work attire. He is pushing them away and protesting. The bible (or any religious book really) symbolizes moral conviction.
Elaborating on this idea, the man on the pedestal is also dressed the same as the bald men, he is clearly a business/corporate man himself. He is disturbed from his experiences in the corporate world, maybe quit his job and is trying to rally support and/or he just can't stand it anymore and is compelled to speak/act out.
I also noticed that there is a telephone booth and at one point, one of the corporate zombies/bald guys goes in and uses it. Maybe they are calling this man's replacement or to tell the boss? This telephone booth, coupled with the (getaway) car, maybe Alt-J/creative director are saying the man could have left and found another way to get his point across instead of trying to push so hard to a group of corporate zombies which led to the man's anger, rage and suicide while the pullers walked away unaffected.
Or possibly they are just a bunch of lonely, sad, souls that never found a "woman" to push and pull them (coupling lyrics into meaning). Or possibly we are all wrong but this video is subjective and haunting whatever the meaning, it's deep.
Moral of the story (to me); we all get pushed and pulled at different times and in different situations. I believe the message is fight when you can to the right audience but walk away from the situations that are hopeless and the people you will never change.
I was expecting a fighting couple for the Pusher video and I'm impressed at the perplexity and creative brilliance.
@igetalittlecrazy
Art. This is art, there's no other explanation. This gave me the chills.
@namelastname2449
Totally
@anotherworld9912
I wanted toi post almost the same comment, and i Saw that or was already done
@carmencaamano9434
@@anotherworld9912probablemente no has preguntado en los sitios adecuados...anyway, it's amazing, and weird!!
@CharlotteBebee
What I especially love about this vid is it's simplicity whilst procuring such a powerful and thought provoking message...The emotions conveyed speak of loneliness and desperation..feelings that are so much a part of all of us and sometimes ignored; all because this society is so fast paced that there's no acceptance of weakness, Once you've been hurt, there's no time for 'wasteful poetry' but only to move on
@VoOrT3xX
Nice interpretation :)
@leo-paulcano5853
Walter White
You again!!!
@VoOrT3xX
Leo-Paul Cano I'm everywhere!
@VoOrT3xX
Brenna Hartman ?
@ifrostyzzz5119
I like to hear it from your prespecive