Not
Big Thief Lyrics


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It's not the energy reeling
Nor the lines in your face
Nor the clouds on the ceiling
Nor the clouds in space
It's not the phone on the table
Nor the bed in the earth
Nor the bed in the stable
Nor your stable words
It's not the formless being
Nor the cry in the air
Nor the boy I'm seeing
With her long black hair
It's not the open weaving
Nor the furnace glow
Nor the blood of you bleeding
As you try to let go

It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
That's spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
That you eat

Not the meat of your thigh
Nor your spine tattoo
Nor your shimmery eye
Nor the wet of the dew
It's not the warm illusion
Nor the crack in the plate
Nor the breath of confusion
Nor the starkness of slate

It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
That's spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
That you eat

Not what you really wanted
Nor the mess in your purse
Nor the bed that is haunted
With the blanket of thirst
It's not the hunger revealing
Nor the ricochet in the cave
Nor the hand that is healing
Nor the nameless grave

It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
That's spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
That you eat

Not to die
Not dying
Not to laugh
Not lying
Not the vacant wilderness vying

Not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning




Not the planet
That's spinning

Overall Meaning

The song "Not" by Big Thief features lyrics that focus on the various things in life that aren't important when compared to the bigger picture. The repetition of "It's not" throughout the song emphasizes this theme. The verses list various physical things - energy, lines on the face, clouds, a phone, a bed, a stable, formless beings, weaves, a furnace, blood, and food - and intangible things - cries in the air, people, illusions, confusion, hunger, thirst, healing, and laughter - and declares that none of these things are truly significant. The chorus repeats this sentiment, stating that it's not the room, beginning, crowd, winning, planet, ruse, heat, fire, or food that matter. Rather, the song seems to be suggesting that what's truly important is experiencing life to its fullest, whatever that may mean.


Overall, "Not" is a song that encourages listeners to let go of the things that don't matter and focus on what's truly meaningful in life. Its unique and striking lyrical style emphasizes this message and makes for a powerful listening experience.


Line by Line Meaning

It's not the energy reeling
It's not about the intense motion of people or things


Nor the lines in your face
It's not about the wrinkles on your face


Nor the clouds on the ceiling
It's not about the clouds that can be seen on a ceiling


Nor the clouds in space
It's not about the clouds in the vast expanse of the universe


It's not the phone on the table
It's not about the telephone device sitting on a piece of furniture


Nor the bed in the earth
It's not about the bed that's buried beneath the soil


Nor the bed in the stable
It's not about the bed that's located in the stable


Nor your stable words
It's not about the words you constantly use


It's not the formless being
It's not about the shapeless and undefined existence


Nor the cry in the air
It's not about the sound that's emanating in the atmosphere


Nor the boy I'm seeing
It's not about the guy I'm currently seeing


With her long black hair
It's not about the girl with long black hair


It's not the open weaving
It's not about the interconnected pattern of something


Nor the furnace glow
It's not about the shining light coming from a furnace


Nor the blood of you bleeding
It's not about the blood that's flowing out of you when you bleed


As you try to let go
It's not about trying to release something you are holding on to


It's not the room
It's not about the enclosed space where you are in


Not beginning
It's not about the start of something


Not the crowd
It's not about the gathering of people in a particular place


Not winning
It's not about triumphing over an opponent or situation


Not the planet
It's not about the celestial body we inhabit


That's spinning
It's not about the Earth's rotational movement


Not a ruse
It's not about a deceptive action intended to deceive someone


Not heat
It's not about high temperatures


Not the fire lapping up the creek
It's not about a fire that's burning and spreading through the creek


Not food
It's not about the meals you consume


Not the meat of your thigh
It's not about the flesh and muscle on your leg


Nor your spine tattoo
It's not about the tattoo design located on your spine


Nor your shimmery eye
It's not about the glimmering or sparkling look in your eyes


Nor the wet of the dew
It's not about the moisture collected on the surface of things during the early morning


It's not the warm illusion
It's not about the comforting deception


Nor the crack in the plate
It's not about the split or break on the plate


Nor the breath of confusion
It's not about the perplexing inhalation and exhalation


Nor the starkness of slate
It's not about the striking contrast of the flat gray rock


Not to die
It's not about the act of death


Not dying
It's not about the continuous experience of death


Not to laugh
It's not about the act of laughing


Not lying
It's not about the act of telling a falsehood


Not the vacant wilderness vying
It's not about the unoccupied and desolate wilderness competing for something




Lyrics Β© DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Adrianne Lenker

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

@elirose2897

!
It’s not the energy reeling
Nor the lines in your face
Nor the clouds on the ceiling
Nor the clouds in space
It’s not the phone on the table
Nor the bed in the earth
Nor the bed in the stable
Nor your stable words

It's not the formless being
Nor the cry in the air
Nor the boy I’m seeing
With her long black hair
It’s not the open weaving
Nor the furnace glow
Nor the blood of you bleeding
As you try to let go

It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
Not spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
Not to eat

Not the meat of your thigh
Nor your spine tattoo
Nor your shimmery eye
Nor the wet of the dew
It's not the warm illusion
Nor the crack in the plate
Nor the breath of confusion
Nor the starkness of slate

It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
Not spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
Not to eat

Not what you really wanted
Nor the mess in your purse
Nor the bed that is haunted
With the blanket of thirst
It's not the hunger revealing
Nor the ricochet in the cave
Nor the hand that is healing
Nor the nameless grave
It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
Not spinning
Not a ruse
Not heat
Not the fire lapping up the creek
Not food
Not to eat

Not to die
Not dying
Not to laugh
Not lying
Not the vacant wilderness vying
It's not the room
Not beginning
Not the crowd
Not winning
Not the planet
Not spinning



All comments from YouTube:

@nicoolio7310

The way her voice grows more desperate, intense, crying out almost... this song makes me wanna cry

@angierae403

Yup cry for everything that’s not…..

@prodajie

This ban just came into my life. I've been listening to every version of this song I can find and I tear up every time.

@Daytripped

I saw them last night and this song was traumatic. I could not stop crying

@Gamn745i

Wish I knew what it is about his song that is so evocative and emotional for so many....taps into something inside that's obviously very raw

@john-ic5pz

I hear you niccolo. I used to cry now it makes me wanna play punch the predators...

toxic masculinity or pushing back at a predatory universe bcuz I'm sick of laying down like a martyr-masochist? 🀷 what's your opinion?

@averybrewer3036

In the summer of 2019, I was on a trail crew in Colorado. We were away from everything. A woman on my crew played this song on guitar frequently and beautifully. For a long time, her rendition was the only one I knew. That was probably the best summer of my life. Months later, after returning to college, I heard this recording play in a movie theater downtown and teared up. Amazing song, very special for many reasons.

@varsha9682

❀️

@sunshinesunshine62

I had a similar experience with this song! I was in Denver Colorado I had a small cafΓ© really late at night and a girl and a guy were singing, they sang the song. I thought it was theirs until I heard it later on XMU. It is such a special song!

@guilhermeseltz6303

12MA16

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