Aeiou
Ebn-Ozn Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Toto, I don′t think we're in Kansas anymore...
I was walking up Broadway you know
And there′s this incredible looking Swedish girl having a
Cappuccino across the street from Lincoln Center, I started
Talking to her you know - She said her name was Lola,
Her English wasn't too good you know - but we wound up spending
About 5 hours together just hanging out you know.
So We go back to my place - we get high - we get really into each other man.
It was love about to happen... I'm serious.
And then all of a sudden she gets up and she says, she says "Hey, I really gotta leave"
Damn
A E I O U Sometimes Y
There are 178 parent languages on our planet with over 1000 dialects...
It′s amazing we communicate at all.
Languages and dialects - with this one thing in common:
A E I O U Sometimes Y
Ahhh!
A E I O U A E I O U A E I O U A E I O U
Sometimes Y!
But you know I was really flipped out you know and she asked me
If I′m angry or something I said of course I'm angry man this
Isn′t high school or anything you know so I'm feeling really
Cavalier and I say ah... call me if you want to...
Huh, yeah... call me if you want to
So she rang me up and she says, "Hey! Do you wanna go out?"
Huh, Do I wanna go out
A E I O U Sometimes Y
A E I O U Sometimes Y
Operator! Operator! What′s happening operator?!
Mommy? Mommy Mommy! Where are you
Mommy? I can't see you
I can′t see you Mommy!
All artists, potentially, are the victims of their desire to be unique
Just observe it
Don't fight it
Work it. Work it. Work it. Work it. Work it.
Yeah she took me home man she threw me all
Around the room man
I mean this chick was really hot she was nice
To me you know
She let me keep on my cowboy boots and everything... she was
Allright... oh! oh! yeah! oh! oh! oh! oh! ohhhhhh!
I dare you to play this record
A E I O U Sometimes Y
A E I O U Sometimes Y
Anyway so she took me home and she
Splattered my brains
Yeah there I am there I am what happened what happened
Where was I oh here I am
I told her I wouldn't sleep with her friends - she
Doesn′t sleep with my friends Anything else you do




You know... Don′t you tell me
Lola

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ebn-Ozn's "aeiou" appears to be a series of scattered thoughts and experiences that the singer is trying to convey. It starts with a famous quote from "The Wizard of Oz" that suggests the singer is out of their comfort zone and in unfamiliar territory. The next set of lyrics narrates an encounter with a Swedish girl named Lola on Broadway, but it is cut short when she abruptly leaves. The repetition of the vowel sounds A E I O U, and sometimes Y, is used throughout the song to reflect the commonality of these sounds across languages and dialects.


In the next verse, the singer admits he was angry with Lola for leaving abruptly but does not want to come across as petty or juvenile. The song then takes a surreal turn with the sudden appearance of an operator and a near-panic-stricken child looking for their mother. The song ends with the singer confessing that "she threw me all around the room" and that he told her he wouldn't sleep with her friends, and she doesn't sleep with his.


Overall, it seems the song's theme is of communication, cultural exchange, and the complexities and uniqueness of human interaction. The lyrics appear to be unrelated thoughts strung together, much like the unpredictable nature of human conversation.


Line by Line Meaning

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...
We are no longer in familiar territory.


I was walking up Broadway you know
I was walking up Broadway, as you know.


And there's this incredible looking Swedish girl having a Cappuccino across the street from Lincoln Center, I started Talking to her you know - She said her name was Lola, Her English wasn't too good you know - but we wound up spending About 5 hours together just hanging out you know.
I met a lovely Swedish girl across the street from Lincoln Center. Her name was Lola and despite her limited English, we spent five hours together getting to know each other.


So We go back to my place - we get high - we get really into each other man. It was love about to happen... I'm serious. And then all of a sudden she gets up and she says, she says "Hey, I really gotta leave" Damn.
We went back to my place, got high, and were on the cusp of falling in love. Suddenly, Lola had to leave, leaving me disappointed.


A E I O U Sometimes Y
The vowels that make up all of the parent languages and dialects on our planet are: A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.


There are 178 parent languages on our planet with over 1000 dialects... It's amazing we communicate at all. Languages and dialects - with this one thing in common: A E I O U Sometimes Y Ahhh!
There are hundreds of languages and dialects on our planet, yet it's amazing how we are able to communicate. They all have one thing in common: the vowels A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.


A E I O U A E I O U A E I O U A E I O U Sometimes Y!
Repeating the vowels once again: A, E, I, O, U, A, E, I, O, U, A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.


But you know I was really flipped out you know and she asked me If I'm angry or something I said of course I'm angry man this Isn't high school or anything you know so I'm feeling really Cavalier and I say ah... call me if you want to... Huh, yeah... call me if you want to So she rang me up and she says, "Hey! Do you wanna go out?" Huh, Do I wanna go out A E I O U Sometimes Y A E I O U Sometimes Y
I was upset with Lola when she had to leave, but later she called me asking if I wanted to go out. I responded with, "Call me if you want to." She did call later and asked me out, to which I responded with repeating the vowels.


Operator! Operator! What's happening operator?! Mommy? Mommy Mommy! Where are you Mommy? I can't see you I can't see you Mommy!
The artist is calling out for someone, perhaps an operator or their mother, unable to see or hear them.


All artists, potentially, are the victims of their desire to be unique Just observe it Don't fight it Work it. Work it. Work it. Work it. Work it.
Artists may struggle with their desire to be unique, but it's better to observe and work with that desire instead of fighting it.


Yeah she took me home man she threw me all Around the room man I mean this chick was really hot she was nice To me you know She let me keep on my cowboy boots and everything... she was Allright... oh! oh! yeah! oh! oh! oh! oh! ohhhhhh!
Lola took the singer home and they had a passionate encounter, with Lola allowing the singer to keep their cowboy boots on. The singer is clearly happy with the experience.


I dare you to play this record A E I O U Sometimes Y A E I O U Sometimes Y
The artist challenges the listener to play the record, repeating the vowels once again.


Anyway so she took me home and she Splattered my brains Yeah there I am there I am what happened what happened Where was I oh here I am I told her I wouldn't sleep with her friends - she Doesn't sleep with my friends Anything else you do You know... Don't you tell me Lola
Lola took the singer home and they had an intense physical encounter. Later, the singer assures Lola that they won't sleep with her friends, and asks if she's done anything else. The singer ends by addressing Lola by name.




Writer(s): Ebn-ozn, Robert Mitchell Rosen, Ned Liben

Contributed by Jayce R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@carolinegodden4364

That's why a lot of us PLAY WITH AUSTRALIAN SLANG.

ONYA/Good on you.
Funny thing is IT WORKS.
If you bung on/pretend, the cultural differences fade, amongst mates.

There, it won't take you long to like us, emerge as a need, dork or twit.

There are plenty of cheat sheets on the internet.

You are welcome. CJ x



@halenbud

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore
I was walking up Broadway, you know
And there's this incredible looking Swedish girl
Having a cappuccino across the street from Lincoln Center
I started talking to her, you know
And she said her name was Lola
Her English wasn't too good, you know
But we wound up spending about 5 hours together
Just hanging out, you know
So we go back to my place, we get high
And we get really into each other, man
It was love about to happen, I'm serious
And then all of a sudden she gets up and she says
She says, "Hey, I really gotta leave"
Damn



All comments from YouTube:

@gavinhalm3016

As a newly-minted teen, this song was something of an unusual "tripper" for me, with its hilarious pick up narrative, and bizarrely interpolated voice and keyboard music. Every time I heard it on the radio, or saw the video on MTV, I was entranced by its mixture of dark (almost electro-Gothic) ambience and dark comedic vibe; and that weirdly combinatorial vibe still comes across in spades...A rather uncelebrated small masterpiece of creativity from the early 80's, both quite different and right in line with more well known, similar musical "takes" a la early Depeche Mode, early Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Peter Godwin, etc etc...Great stuff!!

@kellyanderson6020

Fair enough, I dig it too. Delicious 80's eurotrash synthpop

@curiosaband

A classic, I'd say. Video has some hilarious moments. And the extended version with its Poltergeist samples ("Where are you, Mommy?!") genuinely freaked me out back in the day...

@jerseyforhawks

Great take, this song has aged very well.

@gemmaazz

YES! NICE reference to Peter Godwin! 😊

@conradpoos2859

@@gemmaazz This song is "Images of Heaven" smushed together with Yello's sense of humor.

7 More Replies...

@titop6152

I been looking for this song since the late 80’s now 12/31/22 I finally found it today . I Can’t believe it

@Patrickjphilippe

Was it that hard to type in your vowels in a search engine ?

@rexdv8

Maybe you forgot about it? Cus it's been on YouTube for years

@jktosh

I've known that feeling a few times - congrats on your triumph! :)

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