At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, for… Read Full Bio ↴At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band most recently consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums) and Keeley Davis (guitar, vocals). After several early line-up changes, the band solidified into a five-piece, consisting of Bixler-Zavala, Rodríguez-López, Jim Ward, Hinojos and Hajjar. At the Drive-In released three studio albums and five EPs before breaking up in 2001. Their third and final album before their split, 2000's Relationship of Command, received a number of accolades and is cited as a landmark recording. Following the breakup, Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López formed the Mars Volta while Ward, Hinojos, and Hajjar formed Sparta. At the Drive-In reunited in January 2012 and played the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, as well as the 2012 Lollapalooza Festival. In 2016, the band reunited for a second time, with guitarist and occasional lead vocalist Jim Ward no longer participating. He was replaced by Sparta's Keeley Davis. The band released their fourth studio album, in•ter a•li•a, in 2017. At the Drive In headlined the Neon Desert Music Festival in 2018 in El Paso, Texas. The band announced an indefinite hiatus in November 2018.

Grand Mox Turkin
At the Drive-In Lyrics

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Today the horde machine went rollin'
In sequence grasp, prepared to falter
We were born to self destruct on birth row
On birth row

And still the question remains,
Everything is spit and shined
Everything is wiped out twice to make sure

Nothing's on our mind

An hour glass is punctured yearning
This malevolent structured duplicates
But we all love to disobey on birth row
On birth row

And still the question remains,
Everything is spit and shined
Everything is wiped out twice to make sure
Nothing's in our mind
x2

I was the fuse but your truth will always trust
But your truth will always trust

But the question still remains
We're nothing but a bunch of mistakes
What a sorry excuse for a human being

Everything is spit and shined
Everything is wiped out twice to make sure

Nothing's on our mind
x2

Overall Meaning

The song "Grand Mox Turkin" by At the Drive-In explores the idea of conformity and the pressure to conform to societal expectations. The term "birth row" is used to describe the concept of being born into a world that expects us to fall in line and conform to certain expectations, even if it may not be in our best interest. The chorus repeats the phrase "everything is spit and shined, everything is wiped out twice to make sure" to emphasize the idea that we are expected to look a certain way and to think a certain way, conforming to the image that society has prescribed for us.

The lyrics also suggest a sense of rebellion, with lines like "but we all love to disobey on birth row." The song acknowledges that even when faced with pressure to conform, there are those who still resist and choose to think for themselves. The final lines of the song, "we're nothing but a bunch of mistakes, what a sorry excuse for a human being," suggest a sense of disillusionment with society and the expectations placed upon individuals.

Overall, "Grand Mox Turkin" is a thought-provoking song that challenges listeners to question the expectations placed upon them by society.

Line by Line Meaning

Today the horde machine went rollin'
The day started with a massive group of people or an organization operating like a machine with a forceful drive.

In sequence grasp, prepared to falter
The group had a pre-planned and organized way of functioning, but they were still liable to fail.

We were born to self destruct on birth row
The singer believes that humans are inevitably self-destructive and their destructive tendencies are present from the beginning of their lives.

And still the question remains,
Despite the previous statements, the artist has a lingering inquiry.

Everything is spit and shined
Everything is polished and presented perfectly to the public.

Everything is wiped out twice to make sure
Anything that doesn't fit the image being presented is eliminated or erased intentionally.

Nothing's on our mind
The singer believes that people are not encouraged to think for themselves or pursue unique thoughts – only to adhere to societal norms.

An hour glass is punctured yearning
Time is running out, and the artist feels a deep sense of longing or desire.

This malevolent structured duplicates
The negative and harmful structure being imposed on people is being repeated over and over again.

But we all love to disobey on birth row
Despite the artist's earlier statement about people being self-destructive, they acknowledge that there is a desire for rebellion or nonconformity.

I was the fuse but your truth will always trust
The singer played a role in causing a harmful situation to explode but acknowledges that people will always trust their own version of the truth over others.

But the question still remains
A reminder that the lingering inquiry has yet to be answered.

We're nothing but a bunch of mistakes
The singer believes that humans are inherently flawed and that mistakes are inevitable.

What a sorry excuse for a human being
A judgmental statement about the entire human race, suggesting that humans are pitiful and disappointing.

x2
This indicates that the previous refrain is repeated twice.

Contributed by Leo G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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