Frank Black is American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Charles Michael K… Read Full Bio ↴Frank Black is American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965). After releasing three albums with this name, he formed the band Frank Black and the Catholics. He returned to using the name Black Francis, the name he uses as vocalist of the Pixies, in 2007.

Lead songwriter and vocalist of the now reunited Pixies, Frank Black adopted a reversal of his former alias, Black Francis, and embarked on his solo career after the 1992 breakup of Pixies. He released his debut self-titled album, Frank Black in 1993. It contains his biggest rock radio hit, Los Angeles (#4 US Modern Rock). A year later came the critically acclaimed Teenager of the Year.

Frank Black's solo career covers a much more diverse range of styles and genres compared to his time with The Pixies. His works have feature a much more melodic touch, yet his lyrics are still often spiced with his quirky and inventive touch.

Frank Black regularly posts and responds to questions on the forums of his official fan site, frankblack.net, under the alias "frnck blck".

He began recording and touring as Black Francis in 2007, with the album Bluefinger, an album about the late Dutch musician and painter Herman Brood, and the mini album Svn Fngrs in 2008. On this tour he abandoned encores in favour of precores; a free mini gig at a public location earlier in the day. The gigs proper featured only current songs, the precores being more flexible.

Black Francis released NonStopErotik in March 2010.

The Pixies, minus original bassist Kim Deal, reunited for a United States and world tour in 2014 and have subsequently released three additional studio albums: Indie Cindy (2014), Head Carrier (2016) and Beneath the Eyrie (2019).

Pie in the Sky
Frank Black Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It takes photon power
And eight minutes of an hour
To make it to our sun
And I know it sounds weird
But it'll take you four years
To make the next one

Expanding border

That's the sauce of chaos
And that's an order
That's an order

So stomp your feet
And clap your hands
Get out of your seat
And do a little dance
Lift up your voice
And sing with glee
Now listen carefully to me

Desert your quarters
Behold the pie in the sky
And that's an order
That's an order

That's an order.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frank Black's song Pie in the Sky are highly abstract and have multiple interpretations. The opening lines describe the immense distance between celestial bodies in our solar system. The first two lines mention photon power and eight minutes of an hour, which is the approximate time it takes for sunlight to reach Earth. The following lines state that it takes four years to get to the nearest star, implying that space travel is a valid form of exploration, but also highlighting how expansive and unexplored the universe is.

The second verse states, "expanding border, that's the sauce of chaos, and that's an order." The expanding border may be a reference to the expanding universe, and the sense of chaos might be interpreted as the unpredictable nature of life or the universe. The lines "that's an order" could be interpreted in many ways, perhaps as an urging to embrace the chaos and unknown, or it could mean that the universe is inherently chaotic and beyond human control.

The final verse encourages the listener to dance and sing with joy and behold the "pie in the sky." The pie in the sky is often used to describe an unrealistic dream, one that is unattainable or hard to grasp, but may be a manifestation of hope. The final "that's an order" in the song leaves room for interpretation, whether it is meant to be a humorous or ironic command, or a final emphasis on the importance of embracing the unknown in our lives.

Line by Line Meaning

It takes photon power
The sun is powered by the energy of photons.

And eight minutes of an hour
It takes eight minutes for the photons to reach Earth.

To make it to our sun
The photons make it to the sun to provide energy.

And I know it sounds weird
Despite it sounding strange, it is still true.

But it'll take you four years
It takes four years for light to reach the nearest star.

Expanding border
The universe is expanding.

That's the sauce of chaos
This expansion is causing chaos in the universe.

And that's an order
This is not a suggestion, but a fact.

So stomp your feet
You should start moving and do something.

And clap your hands
You should take action and show enthusiasm.

Get out of your seat
You should get up and do something new.

And do a little dance
You should move your body freely and happily.

Lift up your voice
You should speak up about what you believe in.

And sing with glee
You should express joy and happiness.

Now listen carefully to me
Pay attention to what I am about to say.

Desert your quarters
Leave your comfort zone.

Behold the pie in the sky
Look at the future possibilities.

And that's an order
This is important and should not be ignored.

That's an order.
This is not a suggestion, but a fact.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES THOMPSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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It takes photon power and eight minutes of an hour
To make it to our sun
And I know it sounds weird, but it'll take you four years
To make the next one

Expanding border
That's the sauce of chaos
And that's an order
That's an order

So stomp your feet and clap your hands
Get outta your seat and do a little dance
Lift up your voice and sing with glee
Now listen carefully to me

Desert your quarters
Behold the pie in the sky
And that's an order
That's an order

That's an order
That's an order
That's an order
That's an order
That's an order
That's an order
That's an order