Taken Boy
Avey Tare Lyrics


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Dolly
The dog that lives in the woods makes me jealous
That I could be running like she by the cold stream
Then I wouldn't be sitting with drinks at your table
Mentioning words understood

I was taken by a taken girl
By a taking girl
I mean a taking world
Will it always be
What we think it should be?
Will reality
Stay a mystery?
But it's taken
All my aching boy
It's my dream of choice
It's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams
All its pretty things
Are taken, boy (Taken, taken, taken)

Downers
That's something she doesn't see fitting in her life
But then, how could you after you heard all the stories?
And then, someone says people can see all dimensions
And he runs off kissing the trees and I'm taken
By a taken girl
By a taking girl
I mean our taking world
Will it always be
What we think it should be?
Will realities
Stay a mystery?
But she's taken
All my aching boy
She's my dream of choice
She's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams




All her pretty things
To be taken, boy

Overall Meaning

The song "Taken Boy" by Avey Tare is a melancholic tune about feeling lost and unfulfilled in life. The lyrics revolve around longing for a simpler life that is free of social obligations and conformity. The singer of the song is jealous of a dog that lives in the woods and can run freely by the cold stream, unlike him, who is stuck sitting at a table having drinks with someone whose words he understands but cannot relate to. It is a metaphor for feeling trapped in a cycle of conformity and the longing to break free and be in touch with nature once again.


The chorus of the song talks about a "taken girl." The lyrics can be interpreted in a few ways; one could be that the girl is already taken by another man, but the singer still longs for her. Another interpretation could be that the girl is part of a society that has claimed her, and she cannot break free. The lyrics then dive deeper into questioning whether the world will always be what we think it should be, or will reality continue to be a mystery. The song ends with the chorus repeating itself, with the lyrics mentioning that all the pretty things are taken, meaning that everything that we seek in life has already been claimed by someone else.


Line by Line Meaning

Dolly
Introduces the idea of an envy-inducing dog that epitomizes freedom and running wild


The dog that lives in the woods makes me jealous
The singer craves the liberty and unencumbered existence of a wild dog


That I could be running like she by the cold stream
The singer longs to run free and unencumbered like the wild dog next to a cool flowing stream


Then I wouldn't be sitting with drinks at your table
The artist is longing for a different life where they're not stuck at someone's table (potentially representing conformity)


Mentioning words understood
The artist is struggling to communicate their true desires to those around them when they're conformed to society's standards


I was taken by a taken girl
The singer fell for a girl who was already taken by someone else


By a taking girl
This girl is ambitious and driven in pursuit of her own goals


I mean a taking world
The artist comments on the lack of availability in a world where people are driven and ambitious


Will it always be What we think it should be?
Questions whether life will always be predictable, and whether we will always do what we think is expected of us


Will reality Stay a mystery?
Asks whether the true nature of things can or will ever be revealed to us or if it will always be uncertain and mysterious.


But it's taken All my aching boy
Despite the ambiguity of the world, the girl he fell for has taken hold of his heart and mind


It's my dream of choice
Being with her is what the artist desires most


It's awakened in me
The singer is awakened to the possibility and wonder of love


But it never was Only was in dreams
Despite his feelings, she was never truly his, and he only experienced the possibility in his mind


All its pretty things Are taken, boy (Taken, taken, taken)
The things he desires most in life (love, freedom, etc) seem just out of reach, like they're already taken by someone else or impossible to achieve


That's something she doesn't see fitting in her life
The artist is realizing that being with this taken girl may not be feasible


But then, how could you after you heard all the stories?
The artist is making peace with the fact that she's already with someone else and his daydreams of being with her may not have been realistic


And then, someone says people can see all dimensions And he runs off kissing the trees and I'm taken
This line is a bit more ambiguous, but it may be suggesting that the singer is open to new possibilities or perspectives (like people seeing all dimensions) and is still struck by poignant moments that remind him of his feelings for the taken girl.


But she's taken All my aching boy
Despite the difficulties, the singer is still hung up on this girl who is not truly available to him


She's my dream of choice
Being with her is still the artist's deepest desire


She's awakened in me
His feelings for her have awakened him to the possibility and beauty of falling in love


All her pretty things To be taken, boy
Once again, the things the artist wants most are just out of reach, inaccessible, or taken by someone else




Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: David Michael Portner

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Tuan Jim

Polly
The dog that lives in the woods makes me jealous
That I could be running like she by the cold stream
Then I wouldn't be sitting with drinks at your table
Mentioning words understood

I was taken by a taken girl
By a taken girl
I mean a taking world
Will it always be what we think it should be?
Will reality stay a mystery?

But it's taken
Oh my aching boy
It's my dream of choice
It's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams
All its pretty thing s
A taking world

Downers
That's something she doesn't see fitting in her life
But then, how could you after you heard all the stories?
And then, someone says people can see all dimensions
And he runs off kissing the trees and I'm taken

By a taken girl
By a taken girl
I mean our taking world
Will it always be what we think it should be?
Will realities stay a mystery?

But she's taken
Oh my aching boy
She's my dream of choice
She's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dream s
All her pretty things
To be taken boy



Benjamin Stewart

Lyrics


Dolly
The dog that lives in the woods makes me jealous
That I could be running like she by the cold stream
Then I wouldn't be sitting with drinks at your table
Mentioning words understood

I was taken by a taken girl
By a taking girl
I mean a taking world
Will it always be
What we think it should be?
Will reality
Stay a mystery?
But it's taken
All my aching boy
It's my dream of choice
It's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams
All its pretty things
Are taken, boy

Downers
That's something she doesn't see fitting in her life
But then, how could you after you heard all the stories?
And then, someone says people can see all dimensions
And
He runs off kissing the trees and I'm taken
By a taken girl
By a taking girl
I mean our taking world
Will it always be
What we think it should be?
Will realities
Stay a mystery?
But she's taken
All my aching boy
She's my dream of choice
She's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams
All her pretty things
To be taken, bo



All comments from YouTube:

mortse 90

Turning out to be a solid album so far! The energy is definitely different than what I’m accustomed to feeling. This albums gonna be a trip

Papa Kess

the bass lines so far on this album are so strange and amazing.

Tuan Jim

Beautiful drifty dreamy feeling on this track. Avey takes me there every time. This album is going to be something very special. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna hit replay about 100 times, lol.

C S

I'm so excited for the album release!

Procerus

Avey's making some new sounds, as he always seems to do. This one is soft and dreamy to me. Anco always seems to create something new out of something old... if that makes any sense. I'm looking forward to this one for sure!

Vincent Le Floch

Wow, as a big fan of Animal Collective and it members, this is one of their best release.

Tuan Jim

Polly
The dog that lives in the woods makes me jealous
That I could be running like she by the cold stream
Then I wouldn't be sitting with drinks at your table
Mentioning words understood

I was taken by a taken girl
By a taken girl
I mean a taking world
Will it always be what we think it should be?
Will reality stay a mystery?

But it's taken
Oh my aching boy
It's my dream of choice
It's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dreams
All its pretty thing s
A taking world

Downers
That's something she doesn't see fitting in her life
But then, how could you after you heard all the stories?
And then, someone says people can see all dimensions
And he runs off kissing the trees and I'm taken

By a taken girl
By a taken girl
I mean our taking world
Will it always be what we think it should be?
Will realities stay a mystery?

But she's taken
Oh my aching boy
She's my dream of choice
She's awakened in me
But it never was
Only was in dream s
All her pretty things
To be taken boy

Tikiwizard 28

Wait, they did a cover of Polly. Look it up

Ben

@Tuan Jim Totally does, lol. I think you might be right.Interesting. Seeing the lyrics one way or another puts a totally different spin on the song. Awesome

Tuan Jim

@Ben
Oh yeah, nice catch. It sounds to me like the parts where he says "girl" he's saying "taken," and then the part with "world" he's saying "taking." And now I'm totally unsure of all the "taken" parts because I'm hearing both simultaneously lol it really does take a team to sort out his lyrics. His penchant for homophones and wordplay do not help the task :D

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