Now, with July 4th right around the corner, I could stop there. I’d have a perfectly good PSA, the judge would be satisfied and I would be one step closer to having that unfortunate Easter Sunday incident expunged from my record. But I have a reason for telling you this. As part of Ken’s physical therapy, he sat down at a piano for the first time in his life and learned to play. Today, Ken’s a pretty damn good barrelhouse player, despite the fact that he has a very unorthodox style and can only play in C, owing to those missing fingers. And go figure, Django Reinhardt, Tony Iommi and Jerry Garcia all overcame similar challenges by approaching their instruments differently.
I have no idea if Marco Mahler has all his appendages (I may actually be a tad disappointed if he does), but he’s clearly doing the guitar thing a little differently than the majority of the singer-songwriter flock. A sculptor by trade, I will leave the “guitar as paintbrush” metaphors to Adrian Belew and simply say Mahler hears the world a little differently than you or I. On June 29th, he will release Laptop Campfire Speed , the next step in his ongoing process of rethinking (or is that unthinking?) guitar. His 2007 debut, Design In Quick Rotation , was the work of a man with a singular, perhaps obsessive, vision, and may be the best record you’ve never heard from that year. If you’re not prepared to take my word for it, take advantage of Mahler’s generosity and join his weekly free song club, which doles out free alternate and demo versions of songs from the new record each week.
I’m not sure if calling his music math-folk is accurate, but Marco Mahler is what I imagine a collaboration of Nick Drake, Fugazi and Kraftwerk on Unplugged would sound like. Rarely have such complex and contrarian melodies united with such deceptive simplicity. Eschewing anything as pedestrian as a chord, Mahler’s guitars bubble, buzz and briefly dance at the edge of the frame before drifting off into the corners of your consciousness. Focus on any one instrument, any one riff, and you may wonder if the man has all of his faculties, but step back and the effect is often breathtaking. Add his impressionistic lyrics, rarely delivered above a whisper, and Laptop Campfire Speed is one of those rare and wonderful releases capable of cutting through the noise by hardly making a sound. Very highly recommended.
- My Old Kentucky Blog (June 22 2010)
Lawnmowing Daydreams
Marco Mahler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When i heard somebody scream
My songs are made of logs
The airfare forecast looked really really great
And i just cannot wait
Brew trailer on a mountain
I'd roll it out and turn it into a boat
From the insane asylum to the happy home
The board the board the board room
You just missed the biggest boom
It is obvious that he used to think through ice
Hybrid frozen lies
Faxing church bells
The small-town-seen-it-all weekly tv addiction
Chemical smokes contradiction
Oh this not my hell
Lease my wire credit card offer
Fake windows and invisible bugs
Four season interest and an mp3 blog
Free shipping on your birds in the soffit
Magnetic stove developer's profit
And all the nights i spent sleeping on greyhound buses
I'd rather be sleeping on one of your chairs
Let's go and whack some fish over the head amazing grace
Touch manual space fill it with a face
Up on the ladder the sunlight splits you in two
It means, i still don't know what it means
You thought you knew me and it seems
That all these lawnmowing daydreams
Are just not what they used to be
The song "Lawnmowing Daydreams" by Marco Mahler has a surrealistic and stream of consciousness approach to its lyrics that take the listener on a journey through the singer's inner thoughts and musings. The first stanza has the imagery of daydreaming while mowing the lawn, however, the pleasant scene is interrupted by somebody screaming. The next line is a metaphorical one, where he says his songs are made of logs, which could be an indication of the creative process. He then talks about the weather forecast being good, and how he wants to go on a mountain trip to turn a trailer into a boat. The mention of the insane asylum to the happy home could signify a transformation in his life. The boardroom mention, talks about opportunities missed.
Line by Line Meaning
I was busy with lawnmowing daydreams
I was lost in my own thoughts and daydreams while mowing the lawn
When i heard somebody scream
I was startled by someone screaming and it brought me back to reality
My songs are made of logs
The things I create are made of raw, natural materials
The airfare forecast looked really really great
The predicted cost of air travel was very appealing
And i just cannot wait
I am very excited and eager to experience the things I am anticipating
Brew trailer on a mountain
I want to create a makeshift brewing station on a mountain
I'd roll it out and turn it into a boat
I would repurpose the brewing trailer to become a boat
From the insane asylum to the happy home
I have gone from a state of mental instability to a state of happiness
I was broke too long too long alone
I have experienced long periods of financial hardship and loneliness
The board the board the board room
I am fixated on the corporate world and the idea of a board room
You just missed the biggest boom
You have missed a great opportunity or trend
It is obvious that he used to think through ice
He used to be very calculated and rational in his thinking
Hybrid frozen lies
Deceitful ideas that are a mix of truth and falsehood
Faxing church bells
Sending cryptic messages that are difficult to decipher
The small-town-seen-it-all weekly tv addiction
Being overly invested in the mundane events of a small town, as portrayed on a weekly television show
Chemical smokes contradiction
The use of chemicals contradicts the idea of natural, organic materials
Oh this not my hell
This is not the worst thing I have ever experienced
Lease my wire credit card offer
Accepting a seemingly good deal for a credit card that turns out to be a trap
Fake windows and invisible bugs
Things that seem real, but are actually fake or non-existent
Four season interest and an mp3 blog
An online blog that caters to a wide variety of interests and features music
Free shipping on your birds in the soffit
An absurd marketing offer for shipping birds in a home's eave overhang
Magnetic stove developer's profit
A magnetized stove designed to increase profits for the developer
And all the nights i spent sleeping on greyhound buses
I have spent countless nights sleeping on buses while traveling
I'd rather be sleeping on one of your chairs
I would prefer to be sleeping in a comfortable and inviting environment
Let's go and whack some fish over the head amazing grace
Let's go fishing and catch some fish, then use the phrase 'amazing grace' to humorously suggest knocking them out before cooking
Touch manual space fill it with a face
Human connection is important, even in a digital age
Up on the ladder the sunlight splits you in two
The sun shining down on someone positioned on a ladder creates an interesting visual effect, but its meaning is yet to be determined
It means, i still don't know what it means
The previous thought and visual still eludes my understanding
You thought you knew me and it seems
People have formed judgments about me, but they may not know the true me
That all these lawnmowing daydreams
All the thoughts and ideas that come to mind while mowing the lawn
Are just not what they used to be
These thoughts and ideas don't hold the same meaning or appeal they once did
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.