Dirty Paws
Monsters & Men Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
So for a while things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
The lyrics of the song Dirty Paws by Monsters & Men tell a story about a son of an animal who had a pet dragonfly. The dragonfly ran away but came back with a story about a beast with dirty paws and a furry coat. The song talks about how the beast and its furry friends took down the queen bee and her men and made the forest green again. The story mentions that the forest was once green, but it was colored black by those killing machines. The bees had declared a war and the sky wasn't big enough for them all. The birds got help from dirty paws and creatures of snow.
The story in the song can be interpreted in different ways, but one interpretation can be how nature and animals work together to restore balance and order. The dirty paws and the creatures of snow represent the harmony and balance that can be achieved by working together, while the queen bee and her men represent the imbalance and destruction that can be caused by selfish and greedy behavior.
Overall, Dirty Paws is a beautifully crafted song that tells a story of harmony, conflict, and triumph. The creative characters in the story and the vivid descriptions of the forest and its inhabitants make the song a visual experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Jumping up and down the floor
I am jumping around energetically on the floor
My head is an animal
My thoughts and emotions are wild and untamed
And once there was an animal
A long time ago there was a creature
It had a son that mowed the lawn
This animal had a child that took care of the lawn
The son was an OK guy
The son was a decent person
They had a pet dragonfly
They kept a dragonfly as a pet
The dragonfly it ran away
The dragonfly escaped and left home
But it came back with a story to say
It returned with a tale to tell
Her dirty paws and furry coat
Referring to a particular creature with muddy paws and a furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
She sprinted down a hill within a forest
The forest of talking trees
The woodland consisting of trees that can talk
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The trees sang songs about animals and nature
The bees had declared a war
The bees had engaged in a conflict
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The bees felt there wasn't enough space above for them
The birds, they got help from below
The birds received assistance from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
The muddy-pawed animal and the snow creatures also offered help
So for a while things were cold
For a period of time, the circumstances were frigid and icy
They were scared down in their holes
The creatures were frightened and retreated to their hiding places
The forest that once was green
A woodland that had once been filled with vegetation
Was colored black by those killing machines
The peaceful place was now contaminated and discolored by machinery used for destruction
But she and her furry friends
But the muddy-pawed animal and its furry companions
Took down the queen bee and her men
Confronted and defeated the queen bee and her army
And that's how the story goes
That's the end of the story
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
The story was about the creature with four muddy paws
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ARNI GUDJONSSON, NANNA BRYNDIS HILMARSDOTTIR, RAGNAR THORHALLSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@disenartcoltamayo9493
Jumping up and down the floor
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an OK guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
So for a while, things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
@skylala
For anyone wondering:
The song is about WW2.
Germany was the bees
France and Britain were the birds
Americans as dirty paws
Russia as creatures of the snow
"The forest" is Europe
"The holes" are the trenches
"The killing machines" are the newly introduced artillery and turrets
The U.S. was called 'dirty paws' because of the presence in most international wars
And "The four dirty paws" are the wars that were 'popularly' fought - Revolutionary, Civil, WW1, and WW2.
Edit: I should have probably mentioned that this was my take on it, also this was like 5 years ago and I was kinda dumb back then. Still kinda am LMAO
@confused_rabbit09
My older brother played this on repeat at night when we were going from Tennessee to Pennsylvania. We went every other day to see my grandpa in the hospital. Now every time I hear it it reminds me of peaceful nights in a crowded car, driving down a quiet highway as the sun either went down or started to come up. Thee only two people awake were me and my brother. He was always driving so he never realized I was awake.
(somehow I had no notifications that I got likes and replies on this and when I looked back at this comment and saw them I got really happy)
@gavinabney4023
Hold onto memories like that
@tmtmbrn
I’ve read many YouTube comments in my life. That being said, I read this comment one week ago and was still thinking about it and came back to reread it. As I said, I’ve read many comments, none ever making me actually tear up, until I read this comment. It wasn’t the part about your grandfather, it was the part about being with your brother and him not realizing it. Thinking that you were alone in a moment, but low and behold, you weren’t, particularly driving down a highway during the two most dramatic moments of the day (sunrise/sunset). I wanted to let you know that a person that you never met and never will found profound beauty in that statement that. I’ve driven many sunrises and sunsets on the freeway alone and had a deep feeling of appreciation for life come over me, but just like your brother thought he was alone and actually wasn’t maybe I wasn’t alone either and that unexplainable sense of appreciation that snuck up on me was something more than can ever be explained with simple words from simple beings.
@rojiroco
@@tmtmbrn Thank you for this comment.
@Julia-sp2kt
tmtmbrn beautiful comment
@confused_rabbit09
tmtmbrn I’ve never had someone reply to one of my comments like that and it makes me so happy you thought that . Whenever your driving down the highway again think of all the other people sitting alone in their cars maybe miles ahead or miles behind , but you’re both on the same highway at the same time so your never truly alone
@xstrawberrykitkatx
I'm obsessed with songs that:
1. tell stories
2. tells that story in a way that has to be interpreted
@jjm8274
Ikr I really like songs that tell stories
@exodusuno6687
same i love them glad im not the only one
@RyoPotter
The Devil Went Down to Georgia...