Les Savy Fav is an indie rock band which formed in Providence, Rhode Island… Read Full Bio ↴Les Savy Fav is an indie rock band which formed in Providence, Rhode Island, United States in 1995, where the members were attending the Rhode Island School of Design. The band moved to Brooklyn, New York shortly after graduating. The band consists of Tim Harrington (vocals), Seth Jabour (guitar), Andrew Reuland (guitar), Syd Butler (bass) and Harrison Haynes (drums).

The band has released five albums: "3/5" (1997), "The Cat and the Cobra" (1999), "Go Forth" (2001), "Let's Stay Friends" (2007) and "Root for Ruin" (2010). "Inches", a compilation of the non-album singles the band released between 1995 and 2004 was released in April 2004.

No Sleeves
Les Savy Fav Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The singer of the band
Has been encased
In a circuit board formed
From arsenic and old lace.
The piano has been dropped
A see-note hits the cop
So he would turn away
While we're cleaning up the slop.

This is the bishop's finger
This is the bishop's hand
Onto Jesus' body
The people place demands.
They're pointing with their pistols
While we're reaching for the sky
The soundtrack of their lives
Is an eye for an eye...

hail hail the talk show
Cocked after cocktails
I lied and I lied...
God save the techno
The sequencers don't know
When it died, when it died...

edison put the gun in our hands
The black bear put
The muzzle to its muzzle.
The dogwood didn't care
But the maple was troubled.

Trademark, this is a trademark
This move was trademarked in 1883.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Les Savy Fav's song "No Sleeves" are cryptic and thought-provoking, as they touch on a variety of themes and images that may not seem immediately coherent. One interpretation of the song is that it's commenting on the state of technology and its effects on society, as evidenced by the line "The singer of the band / Has been encased / In a circuit board formed / From arsenic and old lace." This could be seen as a metaphor for how technology can control us and prevent us from truly expressing ourselves.

The piano dropping and the "see-note" hitting a cop could represent a moment of chaos or disruption, while the line "This is the bishop's finger / This is the bishop's hand / Onto Jesus' body / The people place demands" could be referencing the power structures within religion and how they can be used to manipulate people. The reference to pistols and reaching for the sky could be seen as a critique of violence or the tendency to resort to aggression when under pressure.

The chorus of the song, with its repeated refrain of "hail hail the talk show / Cocked after cocktails / I lied and I lied... God save the techno / The sequencers don't know / When it died, when it died..." seems to be a commentary on the emptiness and superficiality of popular culture, particularly in reference to talk shows and the music industry. The final lines of the song, with the references to Edison and trademarks, could be commenting on the commodification of creativity and innovation and how these things can be reduced to mere products.

Line by Line Meaning

The singer of the band
The person who sings in the band

Has been encased
Has been completely surrounded

In a circuit board formed
Within a chip designed

From arsenic and old lace.
Made of poisonous material and old-fashioned fabric

The piano has been dropped
The instrument has fallen

A see-note hits the cop
A certain musical note reaches the police officer

So he would turn away
So he would look away

While we're cleaning up the slop.
While we're cleaning the mess

This is the bishop's finger
This belongs to the finger of a bishop

This is the bishop's hand
This is part of the bishop's hand

Onto Jesus' body
Placed onto the body of Jesus