Cherokee
Animal Collective Lyrics

Late for its arrival
Running behind schedule

My mind's begun to find
My thoughts have started to discover

Early peculiarities are how it defines time
Unusual characteristics determine its perception of time

And there are turkeys out the window
I see turkeys outside the window

That I appreciate
That I admire

There's plastic like a barge somewhere
There's a large amount of plastic somewhere

That's got no docking date
That has no planned arrival date

And on a tour I saw focaccia treated like its jade
During a tour, I witnessed focaccia being treated with great value

Someone in the lobby
There is someone in the lobby

Is dressed down just like me
Is casually dressed like me

An infant won the lottery
A baby won the lottery

But really it was he
But in reality, it was him

With a pocket full of ruffies
With a pocket full of drugs

A pocket full of teeth
A pocket full of extracted teeth

Some people call that pleasure
Some people consider that enjoyable

And some people call that grief
And some people consider that sorrowful

At the Exxon they were confused if I was American
At the Exxon gas station, they were uncertain if I was American

And so I left offended with a pack of M&Ms
Therefore, I departed feeling upset and with a pack of M&Ms

Well, I've been driving for a long while
I have been driving for a significant period of time

Spent some time in a Cherokee
I had a stay in the Cherokee area

Learning things
Acquiring knowledge

Out there in Black Mountain sprouts education seed
In the Black Mountain area, education is growing and developing

But you can learn a lot just talk a walk above Montreat
However, you can gain knowledge simply by taking a walk above Montreat

They gathered 'round the easel and spelled Community
They gathered around the easel and spelled out the word 'Community'

I go looking for my teachers and wondering what that means
I search for my mentors and contemplate the significance of that

There'll be lots of lonely mailboxes when language disappears
When language vanishes, there will be many isolated mailboxes

And people on the subway think so far to be so near
Individuals on the subway believe that distant things are actually close

I smile from a screen you touch I'm waiting on the bed
I smile from a screen that you touch while I wait on the bed

Listening to voices talk about where I am headed
Listening to voices discussing my future destination

People hid out for a long while
People stayed hidden for a prolonged period

In the hills of Cullowhee
In the hilly region of Cullowhee

Cherokee
Referring to the Cherokee area

The stoop that you love (Is fiending)
The porch that you adore (Is craving)

The stoop that you love (For meaning)
The porch that you love (For significance)

Someone's at a grill top
Someone is at a grill station

And someone is Tom Hanks
And someone is like Tom Hanks

Suckered into party games
Deceived into participating in party games

And building words for Leisure
And constructing words for recreational purposes

Here it is eleven and there it is nineteen
In one place it is eleven o'clock and in another place it is nineteen o'clock

You're missing all my breakfast and
You're absent during my breakfast and

I'm missing your evenings
I'm longing for your evenings

Wish we'd been touching for a short while
I wish we had been physically close for a brief period

Driving back from Cherokee
Returning from Cherokee by car

Dreaming things
Imagining possibilities