Koyaanisqatsi: Koyaanisqatsi
Philip Glass Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi




Koyaanisqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi

Overall Meaning

The repeated use of the word "Koyaanisqatsi" in the song is a reference to the Hopi Native American word for "life out of balance." The lyrics are repeated over and over again, giving a sense of unease and disturbance. This sense of chaos and imbalance is reflected in the music itself, which is full of dissonant sounds and irregular rhythms.


The song was composed for the 1982 experimental film of the same name, which was directed by Godfrey Reggio. The film explores the relationship between man and nature, and the ways in which modern technology has disrupted the balance of the natural world. The music is an integral part of the film, providing a powerful and haunting soundtrack to the stunning and often disturbing visuals.


Overall, the lyrics of "Koyaanisqatsi" are a powerful statement about the state of the modern world, and the ways in which we have disrupted the natural balance of the planet. The repetition of the word drives this point home, emphasizing the sense of unease and disruption that permeates the song and the film.


Line by Line Meaning

Koyaanisqatsi
Life out of balance


Koyaanisqatsi
Chaos and confusion


Koyaanisqatsi
Disintegration


Koyaanisqatsi
Life in turmoil


Koyaanisqatsi
Catastrophe


Koyaanisqatsi
Deterioration


Koyaanisqatsi
A state of imbalance


Koyaanisqatsi
A world out of control


Koyaanisqatsi
Life in disarray


Koyaanisqatsi
A society in decline


Koyaanisqatsi
Nature at odds with man


Koyaanisqatsi
When life is out of balance




Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
Written by: Philip Glass

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Trevor Grismore

I will never, never forget the first time I heard this. It was the middle of the night. I was really sick with a 103° fever, a headache, body aches, and everything else. I'd been taking all kinds of medicine trying to make something feel better, and I was exhausted and couldn't sleep. My fever was so high, I could feel the heat in my eyeballs. I was a mess. I was laying in bed frustrated, tired, and feeling terrible, and I decided to get up for awhile.

I pulled up YouTube on my computer and scrolled through a ton of videos. Nothing looked good. I scrolled through what had to be over 100 videos before I came across this. It might not have been this exact video, but the video was this entire album. I had never heard of Philip Glass or Koyaanisqatsi before. I was almost taken aback when it popped up, it looked very strange. I remember thinking, "What is that? Koya... what?". Then I saw how long it was and thought "Forget that". I scrolled past it and watched some other videos.

About 30 minutes pass, and I go back to the YouTube homepage. Now this video is on the second or third line of my recommended videos. My opinion changed about the length of the video. I felt so sick and miserable, I wanted something long so I could play it and be done looking for awhile. I decided I'd give this a try.

It's hard to put into words how I felt hearing it. I had never heard anything quite like it. Between the fever, the medicine, the exhaustion, it being the middle of the night, and the strangeness and uneasiness of the music, it was a profound experience. Profound is the only word I can think of to describe the feeling.

I listened to the entire album, and then sat in the darkness and silence thinking about what I had just heard. It was so unusual, and I felt like my brain had been on a rollercoaster. So I decided to listen to it a second time, start to finish. At this point it's been hours. It's still dark out, but twilight was just starting. I had gone on a full journey with this album twice, and just like the first time, I sat in darkness and silence after it was over and was dumbstruck.

In the days and weeks after, I didn't listen to it again. I figured it had to have been a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I figured everything collided at once that night, and there'd be no set of circumstances that would align that way again. Then I was recommended Akhnaten about a month later, also by Philip Glass. I wasn't sick, I hadn't taken any medicine, I was well-rested, and I decided to listen to it. Akhnaten made me feel like Koyaanisqatsi did, but even more. Then I listened to Koyaanisqatsi again, and felt the same profound shock I had a month earlier. I don't know what it is about Philip Glass, but everytime I listen to his music, it's flips a switch in my head. I love it.

If it weren't for that miserable, sleepless, fever-dream of a night, I might not have ever listened to this. Thank god for that fever.



notKevin

Lyrics for Prophecies:

Yaw itam it
Awk haykyanayawk
Yaw oova iwiskövi

Naanahoy lanatini
Naap yaw itamit hiita kya-hak
Hiita töt sqwat angw ipwaye
Yaw itam hiita qa löl mat awkökin

Yaw yannak yangw sen kisats
Köö tsaptangat yaw
Töövayani oongawk

Translation:
If we
Dig precious things from the land
We will invite disaster

Near the day of Purification
There will be cobwebs
Spun back and forth
In the sky


A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky
Which could burn the land
And boil the oceans

Koyaanisqatsi (life out of balance)



All comments from YouTube:

XatoMonstar

Wow... I was tripping on mushrooms with this music blasting thru my house, I started speaking in tongues and what felt like evil entities trying to take control of me while the tongues i spoke out loud kept them outside or away from me.... this was an experience like no other Ive had before, i literally felt I was in the spirit world and that this reality was just ficticious. I felt how I died 4 different ways each more real than the last.... What an Intense Trip... (also Im an atheist or was until today, now I just know I dont know shit)

Also, LOVED THE WHOLE ALBUM

Aldric

We are living in the apocalypse, soon there will be sights seen upon this world which has not been seen before, there will be a great cataclysm and a great dying, then at the end the Lord shall return for his harvest.

XatoMonstar

@Aldric Im starting to believe all religions are based on mushroom trips our ancestors had, and all those "gods/demons/angels/monsters/etc" it's their best interpretations of those trips, being it so hard to put in words they started creating religions and religions kept getting farther away from nature and being more corrupted by greedy humans.

MR. FILM REVIEW!

@XatoMonstar research "Truthiracy" on a video search...

DoDo Boodrough

God works through us in amazing ways. I first heard this from my oldest son when I saw the video this music goes with. If you haven't seen the video, get it NOW, and you won't need schrooms.😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

39 More Replies...

Linkamus

I've probably watched this film over 50 times, and listened to the soundtrack many more. It is ingrained in my soul. Absolute masterpiece.

Grazia Cavasino

I watched this film only once, when it first came out. It struck me so much that I couldn't watch it any more, even if I tried later many times. I am deeply troubled also by the music, wich is an absolute masterpiece - both the entire threefold project, films and soundtracks, are. That's the power of true art.

Matías Meroño

Amen

Eddie Mush

First time I saw this film I was really stoned and it was one of the greatest things ever.

Matías Meroño

Sometimes, in different situations and in not so spiritual moments, those fleeter images emerge from I don't know where. Like the hand in the bed of the hospital or the slow motion disappointed face of someone's girlfriend in Las Vegas. A late and windy afternoon in September 2013 I was there, in Horseshoe Canyon, in front of The Great Gallery, alone.

More Comments

More Versions