From the ashes of a band called Synthetic Flying Machine, Olivia Tremor Control was born, with an original line-up of Will and Bill on guitar and bass and Jeff on drums. Around 1995 Jeff decided to leave the group to focus on his own songs. A year of intensive songwriting (some of it accomplished, according to Jeff, while he was living in a haunted closet!) in Denver, Colorado with Rob Schneider at his Pet Sounds studio resulted in his debut album, On Avery Island, released in 1996, which was mostly Rob and Jeff playing Jeff's songs with a few helpful friends. Jeff eventually expanded the line up of Neutral Milk Hotel and in 1998 released what many consider the band's (and indeed, the Elephant Six Collective's) defining album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
The relative success of the album in addition to the pressures of being suddenly thrust into the spotlight took its toll on Mangum, who disbanded Neutral Milk Hotel in 1998 after a tour in support of their latest album. Jeff has kept out of the public eye since then (although not without rabid fans speculating on his whereabouts), rarely if ever playing acoustic sets and concentrating more on his recorded sound and music collages. Most recently he released a compilation of field recordings of Bulgarian folk music called Orange Twin Field Works Vol. 1 in the summer of 2000, followed by a live album on the Orange Twin label, Live at Jittery Joe's. The set was recorded in 1997 and was put out to squash the exhorbitant sums that Neutral Milk Hotel live albums were selling for on eBay. The cd features a Quicktime movie of the concert performance, but Mangum is backlit and cannot be seen throughout the video.
On August 2nd, 2005, Jeff Mangum joined Olivia Tremor Control onstage at New York's Bowery Ballroom to sing lead vocals on their songs I Have Been Floated and Shaving Spiders. Accounts say that he was wiping back tears; afterwards, he was pulled to the floor by OTC member Julian Koster and then dogpiled by the rest of the band. He was wearing a baseball cap and a blue button down shirt.
On November 17th, 2005, Jeff Mangum joined Elf Power, another former Elephant Six band, onstage at New York's Knitting Factory for the final chorus of only one song, The Arrow Flies Close, leaving the stage immediately afterwards.
Two Headed Boy Part Two
Jeff Mangum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring
A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep
And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet
Blister please with those wings in your spine
Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find
Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find
And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet
Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you
For the rest of your life when you're ready
Brother, see we are one in the same
And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains
Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see
Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek
And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
When we break, we'll wait for our miracle
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life
Two-headed boy, she is all you could need
She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires
And retire to sheets safe and clean
But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
The song "Two Headed Boy Part Two" by Jeff Mangum is a powerful and poignant piece that seems to wring emotion out of its very pores. The opening line, "Daddy, please hear this song that I sing," sets a tender and reflective tone which persists throughout the piece. It's almost as if the singer is pleading with a father figure, perhaps his own father, to listen closely and understand his words. The next few lines describe a longing for the love and comfort of the past, in particular for the kind of love that parents give to their children. The singer paints a picture of a time when he was a small boy, wrapped in comforting sheets and held close against his father's chest. He yearns for that kind of love once again, but it is tinged with a knowing sadness, as if he is aware that such things can never truly be recaptured.
Line by Line Meaning
Daddy, please hear this song that I sing
I'm pleading with my father to listen to the song I'm singing
In your heart there's a spark that just screams for a lover to bring
My father has a spark in his heart that yearns for a lover to bring love into his life
A child to your chest that could lay as you sleep
He wants a child to be with him as he sleeps
And love all you have left like your boy used to be long ago, wrapped in sheets warm and wet
He asks his father to love him as he did when he was a boy, wrapped in warm, wet sheets
Blister please with those wings in your spine
Blister (person/thing) is requested to use their power to help
Love to be with a brother of mine, how he'd love to find
He wishes to be with his brother and how he would be happy to meet him
Your tongue in his teeth in a struggle to find
They will struggle together to find something they are searching for
Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight, sounding only at night as you sleep
There are many unknown secrets kept safely that only come to mind during the night
And in my dreams you're alive and you're crying
In his dreams, his father is crying, but alive
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet
He remembers his father's sweet and gentle kiss
Rings of flowers 'round your eyes and I'll love you
He will love his father until the end of time
For the rest of your life when you're ready
He will love his father for the rest of his life, whenever he is ready
Brother, see we are one in the same
He tells his brother that they are similar
And you left with your head filled with flames and you watched as your brains
His brother left with a lot on his mind and watched it all come to realization
Fell out through your teeth, push the pieces in place, make your smile sweet to see
He suggests that even though his brother is upset, he should smile to bring joy to others
Don't you take this away, I'm still wanting my face on your cheek
He longs to be close to his brother and hopes not to lose that closeness
And when we break, we'll wait for our miracle
They look forward to something miraculous happening after they hit rock bottom
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies
A place of greatness exists where some holy event/scene awaits them
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life
They will spend their lives waiting to find this holy place
Two-headed boy, she is all you could need
There is a two-headed boy who has found everything he needs in his partner
She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires
His partner will take care of him and provide for him
And retire to sheets safe and clean
They will have a peaceful and restful life together
But don't hate her when she gets up to leave
He warns not to resent her when she leaves because they will always have their memories together
Writer(s): Jeff Mangum
Contributed by Grace C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.