Rolodex Incident
Lloyd Cole Lyrics


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Cole

Tripped on your Rolodex
Brought up a cloud of dust
I had to take an antihistamine
Before I could move on
and assess the damage done
The fallout to contain
The nonedescript manuscript
on which you wrote
In case of loss
In case of loss
It said return to this address
So here we are
except you don’t live here anymore
And I guess I’m leaving
I guess I’m getting around to leaving
And then again




Remember all I asked
was just a little quiet please

Overall Meaning

In Lloyd Cole's song "Rolodex Incident," the singer finds a Rolodex and begins to look through it. As they flip through the cards, a cloud of dust is stirred up causing them to need an antihistamine. The Rolodex belonged to someone who doesn't live there anymore, leaving the singer feeling a sense of loss. They come across a nondescript manuscript with the words "In case of loss" written on it with a return address. However, the person they are looking for isn't there anymore. These events ultimately lead the singer to pack up and leave.


The Rolodex is a symbol of the past and is associated with memories, as it contains names and phone numbers. The cloud of dust that is brought up represents the singer's reaction to the memories that are being unearthed. The antihistamine can be interpreted as an attempt by the singer to control their emotions and stay composed. The nondescript manuscript with the words "In case of loss" is a message from the person who left, indicating that they were leaving something important behind for the singer to find should they return.


In the last few lines, the singer mentions that all they asked for was a little quiet. This can be interpreted as a plea for peace, quiet, and stability. The singer's need for calm reveals that they are in a state of emotional turmoil, triggered by the events that occurred after discovering the Rolodex.


Line by Line Meaning

Tripped on your Rolodex
I accidentally stumbled upon your collection of contacts, which was in a Rolodex format.


Brought up a cloud of dust
The Rolodex had been sitting unused for a while and all the dust was churned up when I tripped on it.


I had to take an antihistamine
I had an allergic reaction to the dust kicked up by the Rolodex and had to take medication to combat it.


Before I could move on and assess the damage done
I had to recover from the allergic reaction I had and then assess the damage to the Rolodex and its contents.


The fallout to contain
I had to deal with the aftermath of the accident and contain it to prevent any further damage.


The nonedescript manuscript on which you wrote
A plain, unremarkable paper on which you had written something important.


In case of loss
The contents of the paper were instructions to follow in case something was lost.


It said return to this address
The instructions told the person who found the lost item to return it to a specific address.


So here we are
I followed the instructions and found myself at the specified address.


except you don’t live here anymore
Unfortunately, the person who had written on the paper did not live at that address anymore.


And I guess I’m leaving
As there was no one to return the lost item to, I had to leave the address and move on.


I guess I’m getting around to leaving
I'm slowly starting to leave, but I'm not in a rush.


And then again, remember all I asked was just a little quiet please
In retrospect, I realize that I didn't need to go through all this trouble if the other person had just given me a little peace and quiet.




Contributed by Declan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

michael magee

Exquisite! Essence of Lloyd for me.

Lou Cat

Just amazing, I keep coming back to this. This is home.

Sébastien Rivière

Sûrement l'un des plus beaux morceaux de Mr Cole. Puissant, sobre, un chef-d'œuvre.

Laurent Ledoux

I agree. Definitely one of its most haunting songs.

Laurent Ledoux

I agree.

amaranta arcadia castillo gómez

La mejor canción de Lloyd Cole y sobre la que quiero hacer un video.

Lou Cat

Oh, and thank you, Ramon for the effort to post this.

Niti Portanova

Beautiful.

Eileen Healy

Is Lloyd Cole an seimneoir is fearr. Fear thar álainn é. Tá sé ar fheabhas. Tá an ceal seo ar álainn ar fad. Níor chlois mé aon rud cosúill seo i bhfad i gcéin. F

Sébastien Rivière

"Haunting songs". Merci bcp Laurent. Puis je te contacter sur Fb?

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