Facing That
M83 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's back, maybe the instruments failed and maybe they didn't, there's only one way to find out
Sorry
It wasn't your fault, Ellen . . . but make sure you get the reports to Washington before morning
Tell them to bring the satellite down for a full examination . . . Pete, can you handle recovery procedure all right by yourself?
All I have to do is wait until 43 North, push a couple buttons?
White is going to want to know where she went and why, that's going to mean examination of every instrument on board. Before anything else goes wrong, I'm heading home
Goodnight
Goodnight
This is Anderson, acknowledge. Where are you? . . . yes, yes . . . it's true, I am your only friend, nobody even knows you exist, but they will . . . it'll be the greatest day in the history of mankind
Come to bed, Tom
The lyrics of M83's song Facing That contain snippets of radio chatter that seem to be taken from a space mission. The conversation appears to be centered on a problem that has occurred with the instruments on the mission and the subsequent recovery procedure. The tension in the voices of the mission control personnel is palpable as they discuss the need to examine every instrument on board to determine where things went wrong. The lyrics then take us to a different scene where a man named Tom is being called to bed by someone else. The significance of this exchange is unclear, but it leaves the listener feeling like there is some larger story being told through these disconnected snippets of conversation.
Overall, these lyrics are quite cryptic and open to interpretation, but they suggest a larger narrative of loss, failure, and the fleeting nature of human existence. The space mission seems to represent a grand human endeavor that has gone awry, while Tom's lonely existence suggests that even the most ambitious pursuits may ultimately leave us feeling empty and alone.
Line by Line Meaning
Radio chatter
The conversation begins with a radio message.
It's back, maybe the instruments failed and maybe they didn't, there's only one way to find out
There's something suspicious which may be an instrument failure and they need to figure out what it is.
Sorry
Someone apologizes for something that happened earlier.
It wasn't your fault, Ellen . . . but make sure you get the reports to Washington before morning
Ellen is being told that the fault does not lie with her and she is asked to submit reports before morning.
Yes sir
The person acknowledges the order given by their superior.
Tell them to bring the satellite down for a full examination . . . Pete, can you handle recovery procedure all right by yourself?
They need to examine the satellite carefully, and the recovery is assigned to Pete.
All I have to do is wait until 43 North, push a couple buttons?
Pete asks a question about his task while confirming the procedure.
White is going to want to know where she went and why, that's going to mean examination of every instrument on board. Before anything else goes wrong, I'm heading home
White wants to know something and before any problem occurs again, the person wants to go home.
Goodnight
Conversation ends with a goodnight.
This is Anderson, acknowledge. Where are you? . . . yes, yes . . . it's true, I am your only friend, nobody even knows you exist, but they will . . . it'll be the greatest day in the history of mankind
Anderson is trying to contact somebody and promises that the day they exist, it will be a glorious day for mankind.
Come to bed, Tom
Someone calls Tom to come to bed.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANTHONY GONZALEZ, NICOLAS FROMAGEAU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rosenrot
possibly based on the poem "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa...? because it's about the Vietnam war, and the memorial wall- the radio chatter, it just reminded me of that.
My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way—the stone lets me go.
I turn that way—I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own in letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash.
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse
but when she walks away
the names stay on the wall.
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's
wings cutting across my stare.
The sky. A plane in the sky.
A white vet's image floats
closer to me, then his pale eyes
look through mine. I'm a window.
He's lost his right arm
inside the stone. In the black mirror
a woman’s trying to erase names:
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.
Gabriell
incrível, cada musica, cada composição, tudo realmente muito fantástico!
michael
You can absolutely hear the precursors to their later work here. This type of gorgeous ambient noise music is what M83 perfected with Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
Rosenrot
possibly based on the poem "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa...? because it's about the Vietnam war, and the memorial wall- the radio chatter, it just reminded me of that.
My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way—the stone lets me go.
I turn that way—I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own in letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash.
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse
but when she walks away
the names stay on the wall.
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's
wings cutting across my stare.
The sky. A plane in the sky.
A white vet's image floats
closer to me, then his pale eyes
look through mine. I'm a window.
He's lost his right arm
inside the stone. In the black mirror
a woman’s trying to erase names:
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.
klaatu baradaNIKTO
thank you for this <3
Victor Rocha
"It's true, I am your only friend, nobody else even knows you exist ... but they will"
bob lackey
That is Lee Van Cleef delivering that line from the 1956 science fiction film "It Conquered the World". The movie is on YouTube. It's well acted but cheap. It was shot in 5 days in Los Angeles.
Victor Rocha
@neak o I'm listening to this album everytime when I go out... And in this music, this sentence is so beatiful but also Heart Breaking ...
N O
Victor Rocha my favorite part
Camilo Israel Chavez
I have a strange obsession with this song.
RazorSharp
Me too. It is addictive.