Bassist and vocalist Cameron Picton describes the song’s meaning as the following (via Stereogum):
“The story starts in the desert with two men engaged in a desperate search for missing friends. Their quest leads them to a strange mining facility which, despite a dearth of natural resources in the area, opens its doors for even stranger hosts to welcome them.
That evening, with zero sign of their friends, a massive feast is laid on by the mineʼs cantankerous Captain, who performs a long speech encouraging all to indulge as this is to be the workersʼ last night before returning to their families. With good reason for suspicion the protagonists feign gluttony and consume as little as humanly possible. Unfortunately, as they later find, even thatʼs not quite enough. Night falls, they hide and as the workers fall comatose the wardens, overseen by the Captain, make preparations to pump their poisoned stomachs. It turns out the purpose of the mine is to procure an excess of human stomach acid used in the production of a bastardized blood red wine, sold and loved in the region.
After the wider conspiracy is revealed and upon realizing their friends must be long gone, the partners decide they must destroy the facility. A spanner plugs the works however, as one of the men experiences mild effects of the poison and the production of acid in his stomach goes into overdrive. As his chest literally bubbles he says what may be his final goodbyes to his partner and the other man is left to do the heavy lifting alone.
He succeeds and as they flee, arm in arm, the demon Captain erupts from the burning embers and curses the two men to the hell of crippling acid reflux for the rest of their days. They see no reason to worry though, as theyʼre sure to return home hailed as heroes.“
Eat Men Eat
BLACK MIDI Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drying your clothes in the sun
Alone, slowly burning away
I'm so thirsty I might die, thirty miles from mines
Have you seen the drunken captain singing?
What d'you want to know?
One more night in Absalom
Eat, men, eat
Eat, men, eat
Eat, men, eat
Company A, wake with a start, stomachs open
Burning hearts (burning hearts with drills and lines this red liquid mined and)
Captain bottles Rennie's red wine
Remember why we're her
Don't touch Rio Tinto's bottom line"
Three whole nights in the pits they call Hell
Captain's food got me sick and, oh, so sleepy
I love you, but I can feel my chest bubbling
Oh, so heavy and then, oh, so light
Almost something
As we ran, arm in arm, from the burning crater
Captain's screams echo
"You fucking faggots ain't seen the last of me yet
I'll have the last laugh, you cunts, soon you'll see
Each day you wake, and each night you sleep
I'll be camped in your chests, burning, burning"
But we kept running, turned our backs on old Hell
With wine in our hearts, hailed as saviors of new
The lyrics of BLACK MIDI's "Eat Men Eat" depicts a somber and dark account of miners working in the pits of Hell. The first few lines of the song describe the harsh and isolated conditions the miners were enduring. They were so far from civilization that they could die of thirst while being only thirty miles away from the mines they were working in. They were left with nothing but their work and their thoughts that slowly burnt away as they toiled in isolation. The next few lines are about the captain who seemed to be a source of both entertainment and sustenance for the miners. They ask "Have you seen the drunken captain singing?" in a sort of call and response that implies he is a fixture of their daily lives. They then instruct their fellow miners to eat and enjoy the whiskey, onions, and chilis that were most likely provided by the captain. The last few lines describe the captain's tyranny, his hoarding of wine, and his eventual downfall. The miners are shown as trying to escape their situation by fleeing from Hell, but they are still haunted by the captain's malevolence.
The lyrics of "Eat Men Eat" might be interpreted as a metaphor for the dehumanizing effects of industrial labor. The miners are shown as being trapped in a cycle of labor and consumption, with barely enough resources to survive. They are also shown as being at the mercy of their captain, who controls both their sustenance and their entertainment. The captain's dominance over the miners might be seen as symbolic of the power that corporations hold over the working class. Overall, the song can be interpreted as a warning against the dangers of being trapped in an industrial system that values profit over human life.
Line by Line Meaning
It's always here
The location never changes
Drying your clothes in the sun
Laundry can be hung out to dry in the sun here
Alone, slowly burning away
This place is isolated and slowly deteriorating
I'm so thirsty I might die, thirty miles from mines
There is no water source nearby and the nearest mine is thirty miles away
Have you seen the drunken captain singing?
The captain is known for getting drunk and singing
What d'you want to know?
What question are you asking?
One more night in Absalom
We will be staying in Absalom for one more night
Help yourselves men to whiskey, onions, and chilis
Free whiskey, onions, and chilis are being offered to the men
Eat, men, eat
The men are encouraged to eat
Company A, wake with a start, stomachs open
Company A wakes up suddenly and is ready to eat
Burning hearts (burning hearts with drills and lines this red liquid mined and)
The miners' hearts are burning with excitement as they mine red liquid
Captain bottles Rennie's red wine
The captain brings out bottles of Rennie's red wine
Remember why we're her
Remember the reason why we are here
Don't touch Rio Tinto's bottom line"
Don't damage Rio Tinto's profits
Three whole nights in the pits they call Hell
The miners spent three nights working in the dangerous mines
Captain's food got me sick and, oh, so sleepy
The captain's food made me sick and very tired
I love you, but I can feel my chest bubbling
I care about you, but I can feel something bad happening to me
Oh, so heavy and then, oh, so light
I felt weighed down and then relieved
Almost something
I almost had something
As we ran, arm in arm, from the burning crater
We ran together away from the dangerous mine
Captain's screams echo
The captain's screams continue to be heard
"You fucking faggots ain't seen the last of me yet
The captain is threatening us and saying he will return
I'll have the last laugh, you cunts, soon you'll see
The captain believes he will win in the end and is insulting us
Each day you wake, and each night you sleep
You will always be haunted by me
I'll be camped in your chests, burning, burning"
I will cause you constant pain and discomfort
But we kept running, turned our backs on old Hell
We didn't give up and left the dangerous mine behind
With wine in our hearts, hailed as saviors of new
We celebrate our success with wine and are seen as heroes for our work in the new mine
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Cameron Overeynder, Geordie Wade Greep, Morgann George Simpson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@woebegonee
-Lyrics:
It's always here
Drying your clothes in the sun
Alone
Slowly burning away
I'm so thirsty I might die, 30 miles from mines
Have you seen the drunken captain singing?
What d'you want to know?
One more night in Absalom
Help yourselves men to whiskey, onions, and chilies
Eat men, eat!
Eat men, eat!
Eat men, eat!
Company A wake with a start
Stomachs open
Burning hearts with drills and lines this red liquid mined
Captain bottles, Rennie's red wine
Remember why we're here
Don't touch Rio Tinto's bottom line
Three long nights in the pits they called hell
Captain's food got me sick and, oh, so sleepy
I love you, but I can feel my chest bubbling
Oh, so heavy and then, oh, so light
Almost something
As we ran, arm in arm, from the burning crater
Captain's screams echo
You fucking faggots ain't seen the last of me yet
I'll have the last laugh, you cunts, soon you'll see
Each day you wake, and each night you sleep
I'll be camped in your chests, burning! Burning!
But we kept running, turned our backs on old hell
With wine in our hearts, hailed as saviours of new
@joixeon6
the man who was horrified at the sight of the two men being intimate actually turning out to be the real monster in the end was a very cool revelation
@sameccleston8673
I think it's also interesting to look at it as the man misinterpreting their ecstasy and actions of being intimate and attacking the person instead
@MrStarman926
How is that a revelation?
@AMSRMX16
Wtf 🤣
@MrStarman926
@LambSauce hey man. if you'd direct your attention to the very screen you looked at to see this comment, you would in fact notice that I was not replying to you. And that I was, in fact, replying to a person who literally called it a revelation.
@sameccleston8673
@MrStarman926 apologies, I just got the notif so assumed twas for me
@schlagie
Not what I expected but I will still be replaying it 3 million times.
@big_sea
yes
@asherasher9249
This will take 18~ years.... I know I'll have the time 😋
@StephenJPilat
black midi will go down in history with the likes of Zappa and King Crimson. Calling it now