Elsinore is a Midwestern band on track to release a brand new album this ye… Read Full Bio ↴Elsinore is a Midwestern band on track to release a brand new album this year which will be called "Yes Yes Yes" and will be released by Parasol Records on 8/10/10. This will put them on the road more of the time. Their music is most commonly compared to Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead, Wilco, Spoon, Fleet Foxes, and Arcade Fire. This is a band putting more miles on the van, playing new cities all the time, and sleeping on more and more couches.

Landlocked
Elsinore Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If happiness is what you want
you have to be direct and blunt
It’s the only way of getting anywhere
The moving parts inside your brain
will seize up and rust from rain
It’s a systematic degradation from lack of use

Involuntary climate change

will bring about acid rain,
and we’ll all be wearing umbrella hats in 20 years or so
People in the Midwest

have giant hearts inside their chests
Landlocked by cash crops

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Elsinore's "Landlocked" are a commentary on the pursuit of happiness and the consequences of neglecting our internal struggles. The first verse advises that if one wants to find happiness, they must be direct and straightforward with their desires. The second line is a warning that if we don't express our desires, our brains will become stagnant, ultimately leading to our downfall through the systematic degradation from lack of use. In the second verse, the song shifts its focus to climate change and the looming consequences of neglecting environmental issues. The line "involuntary climate change" speaks to the fact that we've allowed climate change to become a problem by ignoring it. The line "giant hearts inside their chests" describes the people in the Midwest who feel deeply and are affected by climate change but are unable to do anything about it because they're landlocked.

The bridge completes the full picture of the song by saying that we are all brought down by external circumstances such as acid rain due to climate change and cash crops. This verse emphasizes how larger systems such as climate change and agricultural policies have an impact on people's mental and emotional states. In conclusion, "Landlocked" is a song about the symbiotic relationship between environmental and internal struggles and the need for directness and action to solve both.

Line by Line Meaning

If happiness is what you want
In order to achieve happiness

you have to be direct and blunt
you must communicate straightforwardly

It’s the only way of getting anywhere
this is the sole means of making progress

The moving parts inside your brain
The components of your mind and cognitive function

will seize up and rust from rain
will deteriorate and become stunted over time

It’s a systematic degradation from lack of use
This deterioration occurs because of inactivity or a lack of exercise

Involuntary climate change
unintentional societal impact on temperature and weather patterns

will bring about acid rain,
leading to precipitation that is more acidic in nature

and we’ll all be wearing umbrella hats in 20 years or so
In the future, we may need to protect ourselves from this acid rain

People in the Midwest
Individuals who reside in the central region of the United States

have giant hearts inside their chests
They are caring and compassionate individuals