Elegant Machinery is a Swedish synthpop band. Borrowing heavily from the li… Read Full Bio ↴Elegant Machinery is a Swedish synthpop band. Borrowing heavily from the likes of Depeche Mode, they are one of few recent bands dedicated to making traditional synthpop music. Along with such bands as Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and KieTheVez they define the sound of the Swedish synthpop movement.
Heavily influenced by acts like Yazoo, Human League, Depeche Mode, Rational Youth and Robert Marlow, Richard Johansson and Leslie Bayne started the band in 1988 under the name Pole Position.
Robert Enforsen joined the band as lead vocalist in 1989, and the band released their first demo, at which point they changed their name to elegant MACHINERY, a name derived from the album by Data.
Due to Leslie Bayne's stagefright, Johan Malmgren joined the band as a tour musician in 1992. He later became a permanent member.
The band was very successful in Sweden, with a number of successful singles and various awards. In the rest of Europe, their biggest break into the mainstream was with the single Process, which reached number 5 in the Spanish charts.
elegant MACHINERY disbanded in 1999.
In 2001, the band temporarily reunited (with Johan temporarily replaced by Jarmo Ollila of Daily Planet) for their first-ever American appearance, followed by a performance in Mexico. Over the next few years, the band performed a number of times in Europe.
In October 2004, after a successful gig at Romo Night in Gothenburg, the band decided to work on new music. Johan, Richard, and Robert have been joined by original member Leslie Bayne, and plan to release a new single in 2006.
During the band's hiatus, Robert Enforsen worked on a number of side projects, including Enforce, Hype, Gobble & Gag, and Red Light District. Meanwhile, Johan Malmgren joined the Swedish band S.P.O.C.K as a keyboardist, programmer and composer. Johan and Robert also produced the debut album "Lost in a Maze" of the Swedish-British band Univaque in 2004.

Things I'm Saying
Elegant Machinery Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What do you say
About the landscape filled with pain
About the acid in the rain
As it falls from a heavy sky?

What do you say
When the sickness deep within
When the hurt under your skin

Is a result of the infected wind?

CHORUS
Listen to the things I'm saying
This is just the reality
So stop pretending and denying
It's time to live with sincerity

How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?
How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?

Time has come
For us to pay the price
For not listening to advice
It's time to face the consequence

CHORUS
CHORUS

How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?
How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?
How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?

How can you say that it doesn't matter
When everything around you has started to shatter?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Elegant Machinery's song "Things I'm Saying" confront the consequences of ignoring a world in turmoil. The opening lines propose a rhetorical question about the reaction to the landscape filled with pain and the acid falling from a heavy sky. They serve as an introduction to the reality of toxicity in nature and the effects of pollution.
The chorus contains a call to attention, asking the listener to face the truth instead of pretending and denying its existence. "Listen to the things I'm saying," aka the harms we have caused to the earth and the larger system, like the air, water, soil, etc. Moreover, the phrase encourages us to live with sincerity and face the world we have created, rather than living in the bubble of materialism and greed.
The concluding repeated lines, "How can you say that it doesn't matter when everything around you has started to shatter?" are an admonishment of those who ignore the damage caused by humans, suggesting that the consequences of our ignorance are all around us.

Overall, the song presents a strong message that calls for recognition of our world's state of affairs, particularly the effects of environmental pollution. The lyrics suggest we cannot continue living in denial, for the price of ignorance may be the abrupt fall of the whole system.

Line by Line Meaning

What do you say
What is your opinion or response

About the landscape filled with pain
Regarding the environment that is suffering greatly

About the acid in the rain
Concerning the pollution that is causing acidic rain

As it falls from a heavy sky?
As it continues to damage the earth from above

What do you say
What is your opinion or response

When the sickness deep within
When your inner self is plagued by illness

When the hurt under your skin
When the pain is not visible on the surface

Is a result of the infected wind?
When the cause of the pain is the polluted air around you

Listen to the things I'm saying
Pay close attention to what I'm telling you

This is just the reality
These are the facts of the situation

So stop pretending and denying
Don't try to ignore or reject these truths

It's time to live with sincerity
It's time to start living honestly