After gaining some recognition in local circles in Jacksonville, Florida and competing at Scribble Jam, Astronautalis self-released his debut album, You and Yer Good Ideas, in 2003. He eventually signed with Fighting Records and the record was re-released in 2005, followed by his second album, The Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters, in 2006. He released the third album, Pomegranate, on Eyeball Records in 2008. In winter 2009, he toured with the Canadian indie rock band Tegan and Sara through Europe, and supported them again through the spring of 2010 in Australia. His fourth album, This Is Our Science, was released on Fake Four Inc in 2011.
Astronautalis has been described as "if Beck were a decade or so younger and had grown up more heavily immersed in hip-hop," with his rapping style noted for "blending styles of indie rock, electro, and talkin’ blues" with hip-hop. He has described himself as "historical fiction hip-hop."
During live performances, he often performs a freestyle rap based on topics chosen by members of his audience
The Story of My Life
Astronautalis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was born in a box car,
color-blind, pigeon toed, pock-marked.
Twisted figure, broken heart they'd fixed up with monkey parts.
(P.O.S.)
I was born in a four story roach motel,
with floor to ceiling agitations,
wooden blocks and basic distaste for anything else.
nursed in our nations capital.
Taught to hunt and gather food,
and howl at the moon in the reflecting pool.
I was raised by a slow jam,
two grizzlies for a mother who cared,
six packs of ramen nostradamus paranoia affair.
I fell in love with the flim-flammer,
charming con-artist, sexy counterfeiter,
pretty grifter, hidden ace switch making quick fingers.
I fell in love with the most beautiful vulture,
she picked away my flesh, I'm left with skeletons,
welcome warm and tearing through my shoulders.
And she gave birth to my only son,
a smoking gun,
blue eyed, block chip,
on the first warm day to end the ice age, frostbit.
And she gave birth to a lion-cub,
it's followed me for years now,
Meaner by the day so I don't speak
I know it's chewing on my fingers while I sleep,
I know it's stupid but it keeps without a leash,
and I've been trying to set it loose,
it seems it's freedom stripping me,
so I treat it like what it is.
I lay these eggshells to remember to be careful.
(both)
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall
Justice can sleep for centuries,
to wake when it's least expected.
I never seen miraculous deeds,
fall on those who expect them.
Life ain't a dream it's just a string of jokes,
all connected.
There's something beautiful to me,
in the act of making your own death bed.
And we sung,
We all walk with smiles like chalk, quick to wash off.
Suit and loose and unbuttoned like ready to draw.
Love it raw 'till tender is far too fierce for us,
winter is almost here for us, and like July.
Hard to find tracks when it's buried under so much decay
Hard to find trail when it's buried under what's paved.
This is the story of my trial by erosion of words,
simple what's right like who's just being polite.
We all walk with smiles like chalk, quick to wash off.
Suit and loose and unbuttoned like ready to draw.
Love it raw 'till tender is far too fierce for us,
winter is almost here for us, it's like July.
Hard to find tracks when it's buried under so much decay
Hard to find trail when it's buried under what's paved.
This is the story of my trial by erosion of words,
simple what's right like who's just being polite.
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall down.
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall down.
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall down.
The lyrics to Astronautalis's song "The Story of My Life" are packed with vivid imagery and metaphorical language that paint a picture of two individuals recounting their life experiences. The lyrics begin with Andy describing his birth, which took place in a box car and left him with physical deformities such as being color-blind, pigeon-toed, and pock-marked. He then goes on to describe himself as a "twisted figure" with a "broken heart" that had been fixed up with "monkey parts," using poetic language to convey the sense of being broken and pieced back together. P.O.S. then takes over with his own account of being born in a "four-story roach motel" and being raised by a pack of wolves in the nation's capital, where he was taught how to hunt and gather food and howl at the moon. He describes falling in love with a "flim-flammer" and encountering a grifter who was a "sexy counterfeiter" and a "hidden ace switch," using language that conveys a sense of danger and excitement. He also talks about giving birth to a lion-cub that has been following him for years and chewing on his fingers while he sleeps, representing a sense of burden and danger constantly lurking behind him.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "you can find a swarm where the stingers hold back" and emphasizes the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. The two verses are followed by a string of lyrics that describe the beauty of life and the act of making one's own death bed as something inspiring. The phrase "we all walk with smiles like chalk, quick to wash off" suggests that while everyone may appear to be fine on the surface, they are all struggling with their own issues and insecurities. The lyrics paint a picture of a world that can be harsh and unforgiving, but one that still holds a sense of beauty and wonder.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born in a box car,
color-blind, pigeon toed, pock-marked.
I was born in a place that wasn't ideal, and with physical features that aren't typical.
Twisted figure, broken heart they'd fixed up with monkey parts.
I was damaged in many ways, but they patched me up with whatever they could find.
I was raised by a pack of wolves,
nursed in our nations capital.
Taught to hunt and gather food,
and howl at the moon in the reflecting pool.
I was raised in a place not uncommon for my kind, taught what I needed to know, and had some fun.
I fell in love with the flim-flammer,
charming con-artist, sexy counterfeiter,
pretty grifter, hidden ace switch making quick fingers.
I fell for someone who was bad for me, but charming and exciting.
And she gave birth to my only son,
a smoking gun,
blue eyed, block chip,
on the first warm day to end the ice age, frostbit.
And she had a son who was a bit of a wildcard, born at an unusual time.
Justice can sleep for centuries,
to wake when it's least expected.
I never seen miraculous deeds,
fall on those who expect them.
Sometimes justice takes a long time, and it's hard to predict when it will come. I've never seen good things happen to those who feel entitled to them.
Life ain't a dream it's just a string of jokes,
all connected.
There's something beautiful to me,
in the act of making your own death bed.
Life isn't all serious, and I find something poetic about taking responsibility for your own life.
We all walk with smiles like chalk, quick to wash off.
Suit and loose and unbuttoned like ready to draw.
Love it raw 'till tender is far too fierce for us,
winter is almost here for us, and like July.
Hard to find tracks when it's buried under so much decay
Hard to find trail when it's buried under what's paved.
This is the story of my trial by erosion of words,
simple what's right like who's just being polite.
We're all a little fake and hard to read. It's hard to keep track of what's really important in a world that's so messed up. This is my story of trying to stay true to myself.
You can find a swarm where the stingers hold back.
You can find a warm spot in a cold snap.
If you don't scratch when the itches make you hair stand tall,
it may shake you but you won't fall down.
Life can have its ups and downs, but if you stay strong and don't let small things bother you, you'll be okay.
Contributed by Cole M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.