Dirty Paws
Of Monsters And 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
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
The lyrics to Of Monsters and Men's "Dirty Paws" tell the story of a society of forest creatures who experience conflict between the bees and the birds. The singer describes a pet dragonfly who went on an adventure, and later shares a tale of a beast with dirty paws who helped to stop the war between the bees and the birds. The song is told in a whimsical and imaginative way, painting a picture of a world full of talking trees and magical creatures.
The song explores the themes of conflict and cooperation, and how smaller creatures can band together to overcome larger obstacles. The line "The birds, they got help from below, from dirty paws and the creatures of snow" shows that even those who might seem small and insignificant can make a big difference. The overall message of the song is one of hope, suggesting that even in the face of overwhelming conflict, there can be a happy ending if everyone works together.
Line by Line Meaning
Jumping up and down the floor
I am excited and full of energy
My head is an animal
My thoughts are wild and uncontrollable
And once there was an animal
There was a creature that lived in this forest
It had a son that mowed the lawn
This creature had a child that helped take care of the forest
The son was an OK guy
The child was a decent person
They had a pet dragonfly
They kept a dragonfly as a companion
The dragonfly it ran away
The dragonfly left its home
But it came back with a story to say
But it returned with a tale to tell
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She was covered in dirt and had a thick coat of fur
She ran down the forest slope
She sprinted down the hillside of the woods
The forest of talking trees
The woods where trees spoke to each other
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The trees sang songs about nature
The bees had declared a war
The bees began a conflict
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The bees and other creatures couldn't peacefully coexist
The birds, they got help from below
The birds received aid from the creatures on the ground
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
The animals with soiled paws and snow-creatures assisted the birds
So for a while, things were cold
For some time, the situation was grim
They were scared down in their holes
The animals and insects hid in their burrows, alarmed
The forest that once was green
The formerly vibrant woods
Was colored black by those killing machines
Was now covered in oil from the machines that were causing destruction
But she and her furry friends
She and her companions
Took down the queen bee and her men
Defeated the leader of the bees and her subordinates
And that's how the story goes
That's how things happened in the tale
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
The narrative of the creature with filthy 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...