Together they began working on four-track recordings aided by drum machines until they asked Chris Daly, previously the drummer for Texas Is the Reason, to join them. Daly created the name "Jets to Brazil" (perhaps taken from a poster seen in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's), and the band joined Jade Tree Records in 1997.
It was under Jade Tree that they recorded their first (and, following the successes of their previous bands, highly anticipated) album, Orange Rhyming Dictionary. Following its eventual success they went on to release Four Cornered Night, which introduced the fourth member of the band: former Van Pelt guitarist, Brian Maryansky. In 2002, Jets to Brazil launched their third — and what was to be final — album, Perfecting Loneliness. By 2003 the band had broken up, for unspecified reasons.
Orange Rhyming Dictionary
Jets to Brazil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
atom splitting up the twins
rocks inside my head again
keeps me from your bed
sends me errand boy at swim
to drag my lake for scars
do the stars conspire
am i so inspired that i could save
the both of us
stayed up all night
rubbing words but they don't take
now the sun says
what a mess you've made
with a bag of beer
held like the last girl on earth
to keep your hands from words
do the stars conspire to pin us
down like butterflies
a life on the trial the hot stare america
sunrise cemetery nervous breakdown
saw my angel making eyes at strangers
i was indisposed i couldn't blame her
know i came to bury and wound up staying
verse in my head
first light fingers rake the hills
turns a landscape into lines
finds the phantom limbs
connects the dots i got her name
from an orange rhyming dictionary
sunrise cemetery nervous breakdown
saw my angel making stories for me
now i know her and she meant to save me
with an orange rhyming dictionary
do the stars conspire to shock us into tiny measures
can you survive going crazy every time you see her?
The song "Orange Rhyming Dictionary" by Jets to Brazil is a melancholic tale of a man grappling with loneliness and the constant pain of unrequited love. The lyrics touch on themes of isolation, desperation, and the agonizing yearning for love and companionship.
The first verse of the song portrays the singer's inner turmoil, with the "words in my head" symbolizing the rumination and overthinking that plagues him. He feels like a "split atom", with his mind racing in multiple directions, making it difficult for him to be with the person he loves. The metaphorical imagery of "rocks inside my head" captures the weight of this emotional burden, which keeps him from "your bed" and turns him into "errand boy at swim".
The chorus of the song conveys a sense of helplessness and uncertainty about the future. The singer wonders if the stars are conspiring against him, plotting to "kill us off with loneliness". However, he also expresses a glimmer of hope that he could save them both, implying that the love he feels is powerful enough to overcome any obstacle.
The second verse continues to depict the singer's emotional turmoil, as he stays up all night "rubbing words" in a desperate attempt to express himself. The lines "what a mess you've made / with a bag of beer / held like the last girl on earth / to keep your hands from words" suggest that he is using alcohol to numb himself and avoid confronting his emotions. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the recurring theme of the singer's battle with loneliness.
The third verse brings some closure to the story, with the singer finding solace in his poetic expression. The imagery of "first light fingers rake the hills" and "turns a landscape into lines" represents the transformative power of art to turn chaos into order. The phrase "phantom limbs" implies that he has finally found a missing piece of himself, connecting the dots to "get her name / from an orange rhyming dictionary". The final chorus poses the question of whether the stars are actually on his side, supporting him in his journey to love.
Line by Line Meaning
words in my head
I have a lot of thoughts and ideas in my mind
atom splitting up the twins
It feels like my thoughts are so complex and overwhelming that they are fracturing my mind into two
rocks inside my head again
My thoughts are like heavy rocks, weighing me down and causing me trouble
keeps me from your bed
My thoughts and mental state are preventing me from being intimate with my partner
sends me errand boy at swim
I am so overwhelmed by my thoughts that I feel like I am aimlessly wandering and searching for something, like an errand boy running errands or a swimmer endlessly swimming
to drag my lake for scars
I am searching through my past, trying to find emotional scars and wounds that I can connect with my current state of mind
do the stars conspire
I feel like the universe is working against me
to kill us off with loneliness
The universe is causing us to feel lonely and disconnected from others
am i so inspired that i could save the both of us
Despite feeling helpless, I am hopeful that I can somehow save myself and my partner from this loneliness
stayed up all night
I have been unable to sleep
rubbing words but they don't take
I am trying to express my thoughts and feelings through words, but it is not helping
now the sun says what a mess you've made
I feel like the light of day is exposing my struggles and showing me how much damage my thoughts have caused
with a bag of beer held like the last girl on earth
I am holding onto alcohol like it is my last hope or my only companion
to keep your hands from words
I am using alcohol to numb my mind and prevent myself from expressing my thoughts and feelings through words
do the stars conspire to pin us down like butterflies
I feel like the universe is trapping me and my partner, like we are helpless butterflies pinned down
a life on the trial the hot stare america
I feel like my life is on trial and that American society is judging me
sunrise cemetery nervous breakdown
I am experiencing a mental breakdown at dawn, surrounded by graves
saw my angel making eyes at strangers
I saw someone important to me being intimate with other people
i was indisposed i couldn't blame her
I realize that my mental state made it difficult for me to be there for the person I care about, and that I can't blame them for seeking comfort elsewhere
know i came to bury and wound up staying
I came to bury someone but ended up staying, feeling like I am the one that needs to be buried
verse in my head
I have a song or poem in my mind
first light fingers rake the hills
The first light of day makes it seem like fingers are raking through the hills outside
turns a landscape into lines
The first light of day creates lines and shapes in the terrain
finds the phantom limbs
The first light of day reveals things that were once hidden, like phantom limbs that were thought to be lost
connects the dots i got her name
I have connected the dots and discovered the name of someone important to me
from an orange rhyming dictionary
I found their name by looking it up in an orange rhyming dictionary
saw my angel making stories for me
I saw the person I care about creating stories for me, trying to help me in their own way
now i know her and she meant to save me
I now understand that the person I care about was trying to save me from myself
with an orange rhyming dictionary
The person I care about was using a tool (like an orange rhyming dictionary) to try and help me express my thoughts and feelings
do the stars conspire to shock us into tiny measures
I feel like the universe is intentionally causing us intense emotional pain, forcing us to exist in small and insignificant ways
can you survive going crazy every time you see her?
I am afraid that every time I see the person I care about, it will cause me to spiral into madness
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@QKPMEDIA
So glad I found this CD in highschool. Certainly what some berber kid in the west needed to hear.
@reidellis1988
I saw Jeremy on some guys shoulders singing to a Misfits song at Danzig's first show in SLC. Friday January 13, 1989. The cover was $6.66. I paid $7 and said keep the change.
@Shsujdbb
Such a classic album
@tomlewis4205
This album got me through a depressing break up. ❤️🎶
@rafael4751
this album rocks
@AmericanDischord
This was a fun release. Didn't share the magic of Jawbreaker, but fun enough. Should also check out the song Rose omitted from this release.
@eiremike1
Where can we check Rose out?
@user-ob9zo9cr4c
<3
@MegaDopplereffect
Someone can put the timing of the songs? Thanks
@madhusudan
Forgot how good this album is. I'm looking for like 10 - 20 albums to play repeatedly for my kiddos to know well and internalize what good music is. Looks like this one is making the cut.