The Barstool Prophets were a rock band formed in Cornwall, Ontario Canada i… Read Full Bio ↴The Barstool Prophets were a rock band formed in Cornwall, Ontario Canada in 1989 that was active throughout the 1990s. The members were bassist Glenn Forrester, singer/songwriter Graham Greer, guitarist Al Morier, and drummer Bobby Tamas. Originally known as the Wallflowers, the band changed its name after the 1992 release of Jakob Dylan's band The Wallflowers self-titled album on the Virgin label. In 1993, Deflowered, the band's first independent album, was released under the name The Barstool Prophets. The band soon signed to Mercury Records and released Crank in 1995 and Last of the Big Game Hunters in 1997. The single "Paranoia" was included on the soundtrack to the Antonio Banderas/Rebecca De Mornay film Never Talk to Strangers, and the song "Little Death" was used in an episode of Law and Order. The singles "Paranoia", "Last of the Big Game Hunters" and "Friend of Mine" were all Canadian rock radio hits in the mid-late 1990s.

The band broke up in October of 1999, but have since reunited for a few shows through 2005/06. Graham Greer went on to produce a solo album under the name Moonlight Graham.

Discography

* 1992 Birdman indie tape
* 1993 Deflowered (Independent Release)
* 1995 Crank (Mercury/Polygram Records)
* 1995 Never Talk To Strangers motion picture soundtrack (Scotti Bros./Universal Records)
* 1997 Last of the Big Game Hunters (Mercury/Polygram Records)
* 2003 Palookaville (Independent release for Graham Greer)

Upside Down
Barstool Prophets Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your search for truth was all in vain,
A rude cerebral hurricane.
All you know is all you knew
Has been turned around
Upside down.
Experimenting with your mind
Will only leave you flaccid; fragmented inside
And the things you think are so profound

Are upside down.
Upside down.
Youth is squandered climbing trees
And scraping skin off of our knees.
But the one thing we learn
From falling down
Is that it's no disgrace

So won't you turn that frown
Upside down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Barstool Prophets's song Upside Down appear to focus on the idea of searching for truth and finding oneself in a state of confusion and upheaval. The opening lines suggest that the singer's efforts to find truth have not been successful and have instead led to a "rude cerebral hurricane". The subsequent lines suggest that the singer may have experimented with drugs or other methods of altering their consciousness in an attempt to gain insight, but ultimately found themselves "flaccid" and "fragmented inside". The chorus reiterates the idea that the things the singer once believed to be true have now been turned "upside down".

The second verse of the song seems to explore the theme of youth and the way in which children learn from their experiences. The lines "Youth is squandered climbing trees / And scraping skin off of our knees" evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time before the singer's quest for truth took over their life. The last couplet of the verse, "But the one thing we learn / From falling down" suggests that the singer has lost sight of the value of failure and resilience. The chorus is repeated once again, this time with a call to "turn that frown / Upside down", indicating that the singer needs to reassess their perspective and find a way to move forward.

Line by Line Meaning

Your search for truth was all in vain,
Despite your relentless search, you could not find the truth.

A rude cerebral hurricane.
Your mind was left in disarray after the pursuit of truth.

All you know is all you knew
The knowledge you previously possessed is all you have now.

Has been turned around
Everything you knew has changed drastically.

Upside down.
The world has been turned upside down, and nothing is the same anymore.

Experimenting with your mind
Trying to find answers within your own mind with no external help.

Will only leave you flaccid; fragmented inside
Attempting such experiments alone will only lead to further confusion and mental deterioration.

And the things you think are so profound
The conclusions you came to seem deep and meaningful to you.

Are upside down.
Upon reflection, these conclusions seem completely inverted.

Youth is squandered climbing trees
As children, we often spend our time doing trivial things like climbing trees that don't really amount to anything significant.

And scraping skin off of our knees.
During these moments, we might get hurt but it's all just part of the learning process.

But the one thing we learn
Despite the triviality of these actions, there is always something to be gained.

From falling down.
Falling down is a chance to learn and improve ourselves.

Is that it's no disgrace
Falling down may be seen as shameful, but it's not as terrible as one may think.

So won't you turn that frown
This setback should not get you down.

Upside down
In fact, it should encourage a change in perspective and a positive outlook.

Contributed by Miles S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS