Hole In the Middle
Flash and the Pan Lyrics
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Early ending, just begun
Making daisies, laying round
Nothing doing, nothing found
Saw the fat man, saw the smoke
Cried a little, cracked a joke
What's the difference, just for fun
Hole in the middle, going down
Hole in the middle, way way down
Hole in the middle, slipping
Hard to figure, hard to take
Problem bigger, hard to fake
Ignore the answer, ignore the shame
Ignore the fat man, take the blame
What a shame What a game
What's her name
Summer city, hazy day
Problem bigger, plain as day
Hole in the middle, going down
Hole in the middle, way way down
Hole in the middle, sliding
Hole in the middle, two you know
Hole in the middle, two to go
Hole in the middle, spinning
Going down
Hole in the middle
Hole in the middle
Spinning round
Hole in the middle
Hole in the middle
The whole thing
ole in the middle
Hole in the middle
Hole in the middle
Hole in the middle
Hole in the middle
The lyrics to Flash and the Pan's "Hole in the Middle" seem to describe a sense of ennui and frustration with life. The opening lines set a scene of a lazy summer day that seems to drag on without purpose or direction. The fat man and his cigarette smoke add to the sense of aimlessness, but the singer cracks a joke and seems to brush off the heaviness of the situation. However, as the song progresses, the problem becomes harder to ignore or dismiss. The "hole in the middle" seems to represent an emptiness or lack of fulfillment that the singer is experiencing, and it's pulling them down. Despite the problem being "hard to figure" and "hard to take," the singer tries to ignore it and take the blame themselves.
The repetition of the phrase "hole in the middle" throughout the song emphasizes the bleakness of the situation and the sense that something vital is missing. The final lines of the song seem to suggest that this feeling is not unique to the singer, with the lines "Hole in the middle, two you know / Hole in the middle, two to go" indicating that others are experiencing the same sense of emptiness. The singer seems to be spinning in circles, not sure how to fill the hole in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
Summer city, morning sun
The start of a hot, summery day
Early ending, just begun
The day is starting to come to an end, even though it just began
Making daisies, laying round
Lounging around, not doing much
Nothing doing, nothing found
Not finding anything productive to do
Saw the fat man, saw the smoke
Witnessed someone smoking, possibly overweight
Cried a little, cracked a joke
Feeling sad, but trying to lighten the mood with humor
What's the difference, just for fun
Posing a rhetorical question for entertainment
Look out mama, here I come
Feeling confident and ready to seize the day
Hole in the middle, going down
Feeling a sense of emptiness or something missing
Hole in the middle, way way down
This feeling is extremely deep and troubling
Hole in the middle, slipping
The feeling is getting worse
Hard to figure, hard to take
Difficult to understand and cope with
Problem bigger, hard to fake
The issue is more serious than it seems, and pretending it's okay is challenging
Ignore the answer, ignore the shame
Avoiding dealing with the problem and feeling ashamed about it
Ignore the fat man, take the blame
Blaming oneself, even if someone else contributed to the problem
What a shame What a game
Regretting how the situation turned out
What's her name
Asking about a woman's name, possibly a reference to someone who caused the problem
Summer city, hazy day
The end of a hot, foggy day
Problem bigger, plain as day
The issue is even more evident and pressing
Hole in the middle, going down
Still feeling a sense of emptiness or something missing
Hole in the middle, way way down
This feeling is extremely deep and troubling
Hole in the middle, sliding
The feeling is worsening
Hole in the middle, two you know
The problem is known by two people
Hole in the middle, two to go
Two more people need to be aware of the issue
Hole in the middle, spinning
The feeling is becoming overwhelming and out of control
Going down
The situation is declining
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
Spinning round
The situation is spiraling out of control
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
The whole thing
The problem in its entirety
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
Hole in the middle
The feeling of emptiness or something missing
Contributed by Matthew A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.