Monsters of Folk originally came together in 2004 and toured as Bright Eyes, with Jim James and M. Ward, and developed the name Monsters of Folk while on tour. The band released their self-titled debut album on September 22, 2009 on Shangri-La Music.
Map Of The World
Monsters of Folk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the wall in your room
Green pins where ya wanna to go
White pins where ya been
There isn't even ten,
You're already feeling old
Pretty face stair back
From a magazine stack
You're feeling bored
Look through a telescope lens
It doesn't make sense
You think you've been there before
Some far off feelings
Some up close kind of ache
White screen reason to
Look the other way
There's a place by the lake
That you go when it's late
It was summer and the crowds were gone
And you sit all alone with
With your thoughts, gettin' stoned
Just waitin' for some peace to come
Like the thing that'cha
Tried that you thought you liked
For a minute then it all felt wrong
So your changin' again
All your clothes, all your friends
Just the same as it ever was
That far off feeling
That up close kind of ache
Some white screen reason to
Look the other way
Iahh
Ouu
Iahh
La dum
La dum
La dum
La dum
It's a road that you've paved
Over Indian graves and
You wonder why your dreams are crazed
So you cling to your wife,
Your kids, and you life
There's nothin' that you're gonna save
Put the razor to your face,
Hot water for a shave
Kill the shadow of yesterday
Clean shirt, clean pants,
Clean sleet second chance
You're goin' by another name
Some far off feeling
Some up close kind of ache
That instant karma
That always comes too late
Iahh
Ouu
Iahh
La dum
La dum
La dum
La dum
La dum
The lyrics of Monsters of Folk's song "Map of the World" delve into the introspective and existential crisis that the singer is undergoing. The mood of the song starts off rather melancholic with the singer's realization of how little they have accomplished in their life so far, as evidenced by the scarcity of white pins on the map of the world hanging on the wall in their room. The white pins represent places that the singer has already visited, while the green pins illustrate their aspirations for the future. The song also touches upon the common theme of loneliness by describing how the singer turns to marijuana, magazines, and telescopes to fill the void.
The song's chorus talks about a "far off feeling" and an "up close kind of ache," alluding to the vagueness and complexity of the singer's emotional state. Even though the singer feels stuck in their life and has resorted to changing their clothes and friends, they still cannot shake off this feeling of unrest. The bridge of the song talks about how the singer is struggling with their identity and place in the world. They are unsure of their choices and their dreams seem unattainable. The song ends on an ambiguous and slightly unsettling note as the singer shaves off their shadow of yesterday and takes on a new identity.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a map of the world
You have a map of the world on your wall
On the wall in your room
The map is in your room, on the wall
Green pins where ya wanna to go
You put green pins on the places you'd like to visit
White pins where ya been
You put white pins on the places you've already visited
There isn't even ten,
But you haven't put down even ten pins
You're already feeling old
Despite being young, you already feel old
Pretty face stair back
A pretty face stares back at you
From a magazine stack
It's from a stack of magazines you read when feeling bored
That you read when
You specifically read these magazines when you're feeling bored
You're feeling bored
You're feeling bored right now
Look through a telescope lens
You look through a telescope lens
It doesn't make sense
But what you see doesn't make sense
You think you've been there before
It gives you a strange feeling of familiarity
Some far off feelings
You have some distant feelings
Some up close kind of ache
But you also have a more immediate ache
White screen reason to
You have a reason to look away from the white screen
Look the other way
You turn your attention elsewhere
There's a place by the lake
You have a special place by the lake
That you go when it's late
You go there late at night
It was summer and the crowds were gone
You were there in the summer when there were no crowds
And you sit all alone with
You sit there alone with
With your thoughts, gettin' stoned
Your thoughts, while getting high
Just waitin' for some peace to come
You're waiting for peace to come to you
Like the thing that'cha
Like the thing that you
Tried that you thought you liked
You tried it and thought you liked it
For a minute then it all felt wrong
But after a while, it didn't feel right anymore
So your changin' again
So you're changing again
All your clothes, all your friends
You're changing your clothes and your friends
Just the same as it ever was
But it's really just the same as it always was
That far off feeling
You still have that distant feeling
That up close kind of ache
Along with the immediate ache
Some white screen reason to
Again, you have a reason to look away from a white screen
It's a road that you've paved
You've paved a road
Over Indian graves and
But it's been paved over Indian graves
You wonder why your dreams are crazed
You wonder why your dreams are so outlandish
So you cling to your wife,
So you hold on tight to your wife
Your kids, and you life
And your kids and life
There's nothin' that you're gonna save
But really, there's nothing you can save
Put the razor to your face,
You put a razor to your face
Hot water for a shave
And use hot water to shave
Kill the shadow of yesterday
You shave away the memories of yesterday
Clean shirt, clean pants,
You put on a clean shirt and pants
Clean sleet second chance
A new chance, with a clean slate
You're goin' by another name
You're going by a different name now
That instant karma
You face an instant karma
That always comes too late
But it always comes too late
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CONOR M OBERST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alchestbreach1
[Verse 1]
There's a map of the world on the wall in your room
Green pins where you want to go
White pins where you've been, there isn't even ten
And you're already feeling old
Pretty faces stare back from the magazine stack
That you read when you're feeling bored
Look through a telescope lens it doesn't make sense
You think you've been there before
[Chorus]
Some far off feeling, some up close kind of ache
A wide screen reason to look the other way
[Verse 2]
There's a place by the lake that you go when it's late
In the summer when the crowds are gone
You sit all alone with your thoughts getting stoned
Just waiting for some peace to come
Like the thing that you tried that you thought that you liked
For a minute then it all felt wrong
So you change it again all your clothes, all your friends
It's the same as it ever was
[Chorus]
That far off feeling, that up close kind of ache
Some wide screen reason to look the other way
[Verse 3]
It's the road that you paved over Indian graves
And you wonder why your dreams are crazed
So you cling to wife, your kids, your life
There's nothing that you're gonna save
Put the razor to your face, hot water for a shave
Kill the shadow of yesterday
Clean shirt, clean pants, clean slate, second chance
You're going by another name
[Chorus]
Some far off feeling, an up-close kind of ache
That instant karma always comes too late
@davemakesawave
The best song on the album without a doubt. Oh and what a surprise, Connor wrote this one :)
@ectoplasma5
My favourite too.
@stillspiderinthesnow
Can we get another MOF album, please? I know many people would die for another chance to see you guys live as well. Make it happen!
@beckyarchie
I listen to this nearly every night before bed, and it really inspires me to make something of the next day. I don't always succeed, but the hopefulness I feel as I go to sleep is such a great feeling.
@alchestbreach1
[Verse 1]
There's a map of the world on the wall in your room
Green pins where you want to go
White pins where you've been, there isn't even ten
And you're already feeling old
Pretty faces stare back from the magazine stack
That you read when you're feeling bored
Look through a telescope lens it doesn't make sense
You think you've been there before
[Chorus]
Some far off feeling, some up close kind of ache
A wide screen reason to look the other way
[Verse 2]
There's a place by the lake that you go when it's late
In the summer when the crowds are gone
You sit all alone with your thoughts getting stoned
Just waiting for some peace to come
Like the thing that you tried that you thought that you liked
For a minute then it all felt wrong
So you change it again all your clothes, all your friends
It's the same as it ever was
[Chorus]
That far off feeling, that up close kind of ache
Some wide screen reason to look the other way
[Verse 3]
It's the road that you paved over Indian graves
And you wonder why your dreams are crazed
So you cling to wife, your kids, your life
There's nothing that you're gonna save
Put the razor to your face, hot water for a shave
Kill the shadow of yesterday
Clean shirt, clean pants, clean slate, second chance
You're going by another name
[Chorus]
Some far off feeling, an up-close kind of ache
That instant karma always comes too late
@LineageDanceCompany
I found these guys at the library and for some reason picked them up for no reason. It was fate! You guys are so amazing!
@josephwhen363
exactly how I found them
@DeadlyDarlin
Best live show I've ever been to. Simply life changing.
@jjacksonsplaylist
My favorite people. I've always loved Conor Oberst and M. Ward, but this takes it to new levels.
@philipsmog
I'm guessing Conor wrote most of this one? Really good. He can really churn out good quality songs at a fast clip, they're not hits but cumulatively they are, I mean, his career is a hit.