On 26 September 2006, Haines released the album Knives Don't Have Your Back on Last Gang Records. The album was written and recorded in Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto, and New York over the previous four years, and features contributors including Sparklehorse's Scott Minor, Broken Social Scene's Justin Peroff, Stars' Evan Cranley, and Metric's Jimmy Shaw.
Though it took Haines four years to complete the album, the singer says she'd been plotting this for years. "When I was a little kid," she said in a statement, "I would creep downstairs to the piano and write rudimentary songs about imaginary places. I'm told the first song I ever wrote was a love song to a cranberry tree. I always used the mute pedal. I hated the idea of anybody hearing me.
"Everywhere I've lived while working with Metric, I've written songs on the piano and played them for no one," she continued. "On the advice of a friend, I decided I'd better start recording them before they were forgotten."
Among those songs are a track that was written while Haines was studying electroacoustics in Montreal while some were recorded in Toronto, Canada in the winter of 2002, shortly after the death of Haines' father.
Official site: http://www.emilyhaines.com
Reading in Bed
Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Turning the clock back, avoiding a fight with this man he is meeting
Stands in the lobby, counting his questions in the neon light
Sinking under the river, sewer line touches the edge of the suburbs
Back to the beach where a family is waiting on rumors of summer
Lay out a blanket, bring something to feed the birds
With all the luck you've had
Sing from a book you're reading in bed
And took to heart
All of your lives unled, reading in bed
The opening lines of Emily Haines/Soft Skeleton's song "Reading in Bed" hint at a sense of displacement and unease. The first stanza describes a man standing in the lobby of a building, perhaps waiting to meet someone or avoiding a confrontation. The imagery of the neon light and the sewer line that runs through the suburbs suggests a seedy, urban landscape that's both familiar and unfamiliar to the singer.
In the second stanza, the scene moves to the beach where a family is waiting on rumors of summer. The line "lay out a blanket, bring something to feed the birds" paints a picture of simple pleasures, but the tone remains melancholic. The final lines of the song's first verse ask a question that sets the scene for the rest of the track: "With all the luck you've had / Why are your songs so sad?"
The chorus of "Reading in Bed" suggests an answer to that question. The singer sings, "Sing from a book you're reading in bed / And took to heart / All of your lives unled, reading in bed." Here, the idea of reading in bed becomes a metaphor for a kind of disconnected introspection - the idea that one can retreat from the world into the pages of a book but remain stuck in a kind of limbo, unable to fully engage with life. The image of "lives unled" suggests that the singer and perhaps the singer of the song are searching for a sense of direction or purpose that they haven't yet found.
Overall, "Reading in Bed" presents a portrait of urban ennui and existential longing. The lyrics suggest that despite having "all the luck," the singer remains unfulfilled, searching for meaning in books and the world around him.
Line by Line Meaning
Who's in a bad mood, who's in a taxi?
Who is feeling unhappy and on the move in a vehicle?
Turning the clock back, avoiding a fight with this man he is meeting
Going back in time to avoid conflict with someone they have agreed to meet.
Stands in the lobby, counting his questions in the neon light
Waiting in a building's entrance area, contemplating the things they need to ask.
Sinking under the river, sewer line touches the edge of the suburbs
Feeling overwhelmed and drowning, with a sewage system on the brink of flooding the outskirts of the city.
Back to the beach where a family is waiting on rumors of summer
Returning to the shore, where a household eagerly awaits the warmth of the next season.
Lay out a blanket, bring something to feed the birds
Spread a sheet on the sand and carry food for the sake of attracting the feathered creatures.
With all the luck you've had
Despite having received some fortune in life.
Why are your songs so sad?
Why do the compositions you make have such a melancholic tone?
Sing from a book you're reading in bed
Use the manuscript being perused at night as material for a musical piece.
And took to heart
And incorporated it into the emotions and sentiments expressed.
All of your lives unled, reading in bed
Having not fully lived, but instead investing time into leisurely reading.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EMILY HAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michelletrevizoponce9109
Who's in a bad mood
Who's in a taxi
Turning the clock back
Avoiding a fight with a man he is meeting
Stands in the lobby
Counting his questions in the neon light
Sinking under the river
Sewer line touches the edge of the suburbs
Back to the beach where the family is waiting
On rumours of summer, lay out a blanket
Bring something to feed the birds
With all the luck you've had
Why are your songs so sad
Sing from a book you're reading in bed
And took to heart
All of your lives on lend
Reading in bed
@ibrahemjamal5609
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Lyrics18 Comments
Reading in Bed
Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton
Who's in a bad mood, who's in a taxi?
Turning the clock back, avoiding a fight with this man he is meeting
Stands in the lobby, counting his questions in the neon light
Sinking under the river, sewer line touches the edge of the suburbs
Back to the beach where a family is waiting on rumors of summer
Lay out a blanket, bring something to feed the birds
With all the luck you've had
Why are your songs so sad?
Sing from a book you're reading in bed
And took to heart
All of your lives unled, reading in bed
@marcosalas3227
This causes me pain even on a good day. still listening to it anyway. years actually.
@Cowgutz
This song has the vibe of forgotten dreams and finding out your pet passed but peaceful and knowing it's in a better place
@Zwiebelschmett0815
After hearing that song about 10 years ago I went to the book store in order to refind my passion and love for literature. Today I almost finished my studies in French and German literature. Thanks grande Emily📗💚
@Cristina19243
This is actually so impressive. You inspire me!
@califabenard5753
This lyrics are like a poem
And I would write it and present as as a class project.
Giving Emily the full credit, of course 😄😄😄. This song is so soothing and lovely to me
@thekeelyjean
I don't know how to listen to her without immediately weeping.. touches apart of me
@abigailkuchnir8140
Sometimes I like to eat snacks in bed and I sing to myself, "Sing from a snack you're eating in bed and took to heart"
@peachespulaski5981
Abby Kuchnir Be my friend.
@DearPrudenceShop
Hauntingly gorgeous
@TheKa89
This made '06 a good year.