At the Bottom of Everything
Bright Eyes Lyrics

So there was this woman and she was, uh, on an airplane
Narrator introduces a random woman who is in an airplane.

And she was flying to meet her fiance
The woman is flying to meet her future husband.

Sailing high above the, the largest ocean on planet earth
The plane is flying over the biggest oceanic body on earth.

And she was seated next to this man, who
The woman is sitting next to a man.

You know, she had tried to start conversations
The woman tried to start a conversation with the man earlier.

And the only, really the only thing she heard him say was
The man spoke only once during the flight.

Was to order his, his Bloody Mary
The man ordered a drink for himself.

And she's sitting there and she was reading this
The woman is reading a magazine.

Really arduous magazine article about a third world country
The magazine article is about a difficult-to-pronounce third world nation.

That she couldn't even pronounce the, the name of
The woman was struggling to pronounce the country's name.

And she was feeling very bored and very despondent
The woman is feeling extremely bored and despondent.

And then, uh, suddenly there was this huge mechanical failure
The airplane experiences a major mechanical failure.

And one of the, the engines gave out
One of the plane's engines ceases to function.

And they started just falling thirty-thousand feet
The plane is descending rapidly from an altitude of 30,000 feet.

The pilot's on the, on the microphone and he's, he's saying
The pilot starts speaking over the intercom.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, oh my god, I'm sorry' and apologizing
The pilot is apologizing profusely over the intercom.

And she looks at the man and she, and she says, she says
The woman speaks to the man sitting next to her.

She says 'Where are we going?'
The woman asks the man where they are heading.

And he looks at her and he says 'We're going to a party
The man responds by telling the woman that they are going to a party.

It's a birthday party, it's your birthday party
The party is a celebration of the woman's birthday.

Happy birthday, darling
The man wishes the woman a happy birthday.

We love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very much'
The man expresses his love for the woman (repeatedly).

And then, uhm, he starts humming this little tune
The man begins humming a tune.

And, and uh, it kind of goes like this, it's kinda
The tune goes something like this.

One, two, one, two, three, four
The man counts down before starting to sing.

We must talk on every telephone
The song shifts to a prolonged declaration that details various actions as 'musts'.

Get eaten off the web
The song urges listeners to spend excessive time on the internet.

We must rip out all the epilogues
The song instructs one to remove epilogues from books.

From the books that we have read
Epilogues must be ripped from books that have been finished.

And to the face of every criminal
The song calls for staring down criminals.

Strapped firmly to a chair
Criminals must be trapped to a chair while getting stared at.

We must stare, we must stare, we must stare
The song places emphasis on the need for staring.

We must take all of the medicines
Medical drugs must be taken excessively.

Too expensive now to sell
Even though medicines are expensive, they have to be consumed anyway.

Set fire to the preacher
The song advocates for burning preachers who scare people with hell.

Who is promising us hell
Religious prohibitions of 'hell' should not be used to generate fear.

And in the ear of every anarchist
The message extends to anarchists as well.

That sleeps but doesn't dream
The anarchist must be made to sing even if they are not dreaming.

We must sing, we must sing, we must sing
The listener is urged to sing along.

While my mother waters plants
The artist describes the mundane activity of their mother and father.

My father loads his gun
The artist's father is loading a gun at the same time.

He says death will give us back to God
The father contemplates the inevitability of death and life after death.

Just like the setting sun
The father compares death to the setting sun.

Its return to the lonesome ocean
The return to the ocean symbolizes the inevitable cycle of life and death.

And then they splashed into the deep blue sea
The father and mother die and their bodies fall into the ocean.

Oh, it was a wonderful splash
The tragedy of the parents' death is viewed positively.

We must blend into the choir
The song implores listeners to join a choir.

Sing ecstatic with the whole
Listeners are advised to sing with unbridled enthusiasm.

Must memorize nine numbers
Memorize a set of mysterious nine numbers.

And deny we have a soul
The acknowledgement of the soul's existence is prohibited.

And in this endless race for property
The song calls attention to the rat race for property accumulation.

And privilege to be one
The acquisition of privilege is sought for its own sake.

We must run, we must run, we must run
Listeners are encouraged to run in this hopeless race.

We must hang up in the belfry
The song unrolls an image of bats in a belfry.

Where the bats and moonlight laugh
The location is chosen because the moon and the bats find it laughable.

We must stare into a crystal ball
The song prompts listeners to look into a crystal ball.

And only see the past
The future and present are considered irrelevant and people are urged to focus solely on their past.

And into the caverns of tomorrow
The song looks into the vague unknown of tomorrow.

With just our flashlights and our love
Only flashlights and affection must be taken to inspect the future.

We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
Listeners must take heed and take the plunge into the uncertain future.

And then we'll get down there
The song expresses hope for the future despite the uncertainty.

Way down to the very bottom of everything
In the end, listeners are urged to go all the way to the bottom and take everything in.

And then we'll see it, we'll see it, we'll see it
The final lines exhort listeners to see everything and experience all that life has to offer.

Oh my mornings coming back
The song concludes with a positive note.

The whole world's waking up
The song ends on a universal note that is exciting.

Oh, the city bus is swimming past
The singer describes the bus that floats past amidst the bustle of the city.

I'm happy just because
The singer is happy for no discernible reason.

I found out I am really no one
The song ends with the artist coming to the realization that they are nothing in the grand scheme of things.