The members of Mew started playing music together in 1995. Mew first achieved success in Denmark with their album Frengers, although their debut album, A Triumph for Man, had been met with much critical acclaim back in 1997. At the 2003 Danish Music Critics Award Show, Mew won the awards for "Album of the Year" and "Band of the Year." Until this point Mew was relatively unknown outside of Denmark; however after a European tour supporting R.E.M. Mew began to attract wider attention. After releasing the critically-acclaimed album And The Glass Handed Kites, featuring contributions from J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr, Mew has built on their success in Denmark as well as attracting attention from other countries in Europe and Asia. In the summer of 2006, they toured as the supporting act for Bloc Party in the U.S. as well as for Kasabian in the U.S. and Canada in the fall. After these tours, they returned to Denmark to work on new material.
On March 14th, 2007, Mew embarked on their first ever headlining tour in America with Oh No! Oh My! as the supporting act. Their fifth studio album, No More Stories/Are Told Today/I'm Sorry/They Washed Away//No More Stories/The World Is Grey/I'm Tired/Let's Wash Away, was released in August 25, 2009. They've also toured with Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon and Sigur Rós. In 2010, they released a greatest hits compilation called Eggs are Funny. They began performing new material in 2012 at Roskilde Festival, and released their sixth studio album, +- in 2015. Madsen left the band the same year, and the band began writing new material for their new album shortly after they concluded their tour. They released their seventh studio album, Visuals, after releasing a few singles in the months preceding its release. They embarked on tours for the album, as well as a tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of their breakthrough album Frengers in 2018.
Discography:
* A Triumph for Man (1997, re-released 2006)
* Half the World Is Watching Me (2000, re-released Aug 2007)
* Frengers (2003)
* And the Glass Handed Kites (2005)
* No More Stories... (2009)
* Eggs are Funny (2010)
* +- (2015)
* Visuals (2017)
Beautiful Balloon
Mew Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can you tell me
How I'm supposed to screw this up?
Add my tremolo
Likes to shine on yours and mine
All my emptiness
Is confined in metric rhyme
Make all your lies come true
Follow the things you need
Make your whole life complete
There's a puking girl trying
There's a puking girl trying
To defend herself
If spontaneously congealed into nothing
Idiot, you could have become you
There's a friend
Trapped in this dream, too
It's like I said before
Like in the notes you tore
Laying there on the floor
Until you knock the door
What did you hope to find?
Leaving it all behind
Should I say goodnight to you?
Really I tender feel for sin
Tell me honestly, am I adorable?
In her beautiful balloon
She's got hands
But she cannot reach the moon
Wish I was gay
Then I wouldn't have to play
All her games
Get her started
The lyrics of Mew's song Beautiful Balloon are elusive and open to interpretation. The song begins with a reference to a shooting star and the singer's desire not to mess things up. The use of the tremolo is a metaphor for the singer's attempt to connect with someone else. The reference to metric rhyme suggests that the singer is trying to fit in with someone who has a structured and organized life. The line "Make all your lies come true / I've been a liar too" suggests that the singer is willing to go along with someone else's falsehoods or delusions in order to maintain a relationship. The chorus encourages the listener to follow their desires and dreams.
The second stanza is more difficult to interpret. The reference to a "puking girl" suggests someone who is vulnerable, and the line "trying to defend herself" implies that she is being attacked for some reason. The line "If spontaneously congealed into nothing" is a puzzling one, but it seems to suggest that the girl is disappearing into thin air. The lines "Idiot, you could have become you / There's a friend / Trapped in this dream, too" suggest that the singer is frustrated with himself for not being able to be his true self, and that there are others who are similarly stuck in a dream world.
The third stanza begins with a reference to previous notes that have been torn up and left on the floor. The line "Until you knock the door" suggests that the singer is waiting for something to happen, they are in a limbo of sorts. The line "What did you hope to find? / Leaving it all behind" suggests that the singer is trying to find something that they have been searching for a long time. The chorus then follows once again, reiterating the importance of following one's desires and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a shooting star
There's something rare and beautiful happening
Can you tell me
Can you explain what's going on?
How I'm supposed to screw this up?
How can I mess this up like I always do?
Add my tremolo
Join in with my music style
Likes to shine on yours and mine
Our combined talents make something special
All my emptiness
I feel hollow inside
Is confined in metric rhyme
I can only express myself through music
Make all your lies come true
You can make anything happen if you say it's true
I've been a liar too
I've told my fair share of lies as well
Follow the things you need
Chase after what's important to you
Make your whole life complete
You can achieve happiness if you pursue your passions
There's a puking girl trying
Someone is struggling to overcome their difficulties
To defend herself
She's fighting to protect herself
If spontaneously congealed into nothing
If everything suddenly ceased to exist
Idiot, you could have become you
You missed out on becoming your true self
There's a friend
Someone close to me
Trapped in this dream, too
Who's also stuck in a difficult situation
It's like I said before
I've mentioned this previously
Like in the notes you tore
Just like that piece of paper you ripped up
Laying there on the floor
Scattered on the ground
Until you knock the door
A chance to change your circumstances
What did you hope to find?
What were you expecting to discover?
Leaving it all behind
Starting anew and moving on
Should I say goodnight to you?
Is it time to say goodbye?
Really I tender feel for sin
I have a soft spot for sinful behavior
Tell me honestly, am I adorable?
Can you honestly say that I'm cute?
In her beautiful balloon
Up in her wonderful creation
She's got hands
She's capable of doing anything
But she cannot reach the moon
But some things are simply out of reach
Wish I was gay
I wish I could be carefree and happy
Then I wouldn't have to play
I wouldn't have to pretend or put on a show
All her games
All of the games and tricks she plays
Get her started
Encourage her to begin
Lyrics © Fintage House Publishing
Written by: BO RUNE MADSEN, JOHAN HASLUND WOHLERT, JONAS BJERRE TERKELSBOEL, SILAS UTKE GRAAE JOERGENSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alan Bran
There's a shooting star
Can you tell me
How I'm supposed to screw this up?
Add my tremolo
Likes to shine on yours and mine
All my emptiness
Is confined in metric rhyme
Make all your lies come true
I've been a liar too
Follow the things you need
Make your whole life complete
There's a puking girl trying
There's a puking girl trying
To defend herself
If spontaneously congealed into nothing
Idiot, you could have become you
There's a friend
Trapped in this dream, too
It's like I said before
Like in the notes you tore
Laying there on the floor
Until you knock the door
What did you hope to find?
Leaving it all behind
Should I say goodnight to you?
Really I tender feel for sin
Tell me honestly, am I adorable?
In her beautiful balloon
She's got hands
But she cannot reach the moon
Wish I was gay
Then I wouldn't have to play
All her games
Get her started
Alan Bran
There's a shooting star
Can you tell me
How I'm supposed to screw this up?
Add my tremolo
Likes to shine on yours and mine
All my emptiness
Is confined in metric rhyme
Make all your lies come true
I've been a liar too
Follow the things you need
Make your whole life complete
There's a puking girl trying
There's a puking girl trying
To defend herself
If spontaneously congealed into nothing
Idiot, you could have become you
There's a friend
Trapped in this dream, too
It's like I said before
Like in the notes you tore
Laying there on the floor
Until you knock the door
What did you hope to find?
Leaving it all behind
Should I say goodnight to you?
Really I tender feel for sin
Tell me honestly, am I adorable?
In her beautiful balloon
She's got hands
But she cannot reach the moon
Wish I was gay
Then I wouldn't have to play
All her games
Get her started
sl4rvid
I love this album.. =) so sad and beautiful
nebnep
Elsker stadig det nummer. Det er så smukt! Indiestøjrock classic.
Ki
Just checked out their water slide song from their new album +-. Great song but I was hoping they would go back to this type of discordant sound, I really miss it and they kinda veered off
RedVIII
@***** Yeah, I totally agree. Their new stuff is way too poppy and with too much synth and stuff going on in the background. I miss their old sound as well.
NotOrdinaryInGames
The strangest line Jonas' brain ever spewed out.
Edward James
this is the best album from mew so far.
Fantomex
@Petter Nerman They're doing a "Mew and the Glass Handed Kites" 15th anniversary 2020!!
Petter Nerman
This album is absolutely amazing, and I really hope that one day I'll get to listen to Panda and the others live, as they never play songs older than the Frengers album.
Jacob Harris
Edward James its amazing but um no. theyre all amazing. listen to and the glass handed kites