Bedhead was a slowcore band from Dallas, Texas active in the 1990s (1991-19… Read Full Bio ↴Bedhead was a slowcore band from Dallas, Texas active in the 1990s (1991-1998). Their first album, WhatFunLifeWas, is often cited on critics' lists as one of the best indie albums of the 1990s. Bedhead's music was generally subdued, with a polyphonic sound based on the interlocking of single-line melodies played by three electric guitars and one electric bass guitar (often played with a capo), nearly always using clean (undistorted) tones. The group's vocals were often delivered in such a low key manner that they were quite difficult to decipher. This unusual sound was dubbed by some critics as "slo-core," referring to the slow tempos of many of the band's songs, a label to which band members objected in interviews. In reality, many of the group's songs do not remain slow and quiet throughout, instead beginning very slowly and quietly and gradually building in intensity and volume.

Bedside Table
Bedhead Lyrics

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You cut your head on the bedside table.
Your temple bled as you were unable to
Remember the lines of what you were reading
About someone deciding to quit speaking.

What I was just reading about someone
Deciding to quit speaking began to
Dissolve into my lap as the words

Gave up their attempts at meaning.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Bedhead's song Bedside Table depict a scene of someone who has suffered a physical injury in the form of a head wound, as a result of a close proximity to the bedside table. The severity of the injury is highlighted through the line "Your temple bled", and the person is unable to recall the lines of what they were reading. The injury seems to have caused a momentary lapse in memory and focus, as the person is unable to remember the lines of what they were reading about someone making the decision to quit speaking.

The second stanza is focused on the person who is reading the same material, and how the injury has distracted them from the meaning of the words. The lines "What I was just reading about someone/ Deciding to quit speaking began to/ Dissolve into my lap as the words/ Gave up their attempts at meaning" illustrate how the injury has caused an unanticipated interruption in what was previously a quiet moment of reading.

Overall, the song appears to use the head wound as a metaphor for a disruption in the natural rhythm of life. The head is responsible for thought and memory, and when it is injured, everything seems to be thrown into chaos. The disrupted reading in the second stanza seems to be a reflection of the disrupted life caused by the injury.

Line by Line Meaning

You cut your head on the bedside table.
The physical injury on your body caused by the furniture next to your bed.

Your temple bled as you were unable to
The specific part of your head where the injury occurred was bleeding, causing physical discomfort.

Remember the lines of what you were reading
Your ability to recall and retain the information you were previously reading was impaired.

About someone deciding to quit speaking.
The content you were reading revolved around an individual contemplating whether or not to stop communicating verbally.

Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Edward George Kadane, Matthew Byron Kadane

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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