Consequence of Sounds
Regina Spektor Lyrics

My rhyme ain't good just yet,
The singer's rhyming ability hasn't been perfected yet.

My brain and tongue just met,
The singer is just learning to use language.

And they ain't friends, so far,
The singer is struggling to communicate.

My words don't travel far,
The artist's words don't have much meaning or effect.

They tangle in my hair,
The artist's words get stuck and confused.

And tend to go nowhere,
The singer's words don't have a clear direction or purpose.

They go right back inside,
The singer's words aren't heard or understood by others.

Right past my brain and eyes
The artist's own mind doesn't even grasp the meaning of the words.

Into my stomach juice
The artist's words become meaningless and forgotten.

Where they don't serve me use,
The artist's words don't have any practical value or usefulness.

All melted calories,
The singer's words are like empty calories, providing no nourishment.

Nutrition values.
The artist's words lack substance or meaning.

And I absorb back in
The singer internalizes their own meaningless words.

The words right through my skin
The singer's words affect them deeply.

They sit there festering inside my bowels
The singer's words cause them discomfort and confusion.

The consonants and vowels
Language as a whole.

The consequence of sounds
The effects of language on the artist and their environment.

Got a soundtrack in my mind,
The singer constantly hears music in their head.

All the time. Kids-
Sometimes the music is noisy and chaotic, like children playing.

Screamin' from too much beat up
The music is loud and abrasive.

And they don't even rhyme,
The music lacks structure and coherence.

They just stand there, on a street corner,
The music seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

Skin tucked in
The music is uncomfortable and unappealing.

And meat side out and shot,
The music is violent and aggressive.

And I'd like to turn them down
The singer wants to silence the noise in their head.

But there ain't no knob.
The singer can't control the music in their head.

Run into picket fences
The singer encounters obstacles and barriers.

Not into picket lines.
The artist isn't interested in joining any particular cause or movement.

All this hippie-shit for the 60's
The artist is dismissive of the counterculture of the 60s.

And another cliche for our time.
The singer thinks that contemporary culture is also full of cliches and platitudes.

But a one of these days your heart
Someday the singer will die.

Will just stop ticking,
The artist's heart will stop beating.

And they sorta just don't find you till your cubicle is reeking.
After the artist dies, nobody will notice or care for a while.

Did you know that the gravedigger's still
Even after the artist dies, people will continue to bury the dead.

Gettin' stuck in the machine
The process of burying the dead becomes impersonal and mechanical.

Even tough it's a whole other daydream.
The artist is emphasizing the difference between life and death.

It's another town it's another world,
Death is like entering another world.

Where the kids are asleep, where the loans are paid
Death is like entering a world where concerns of life no longer matter.

And the lawns are mowed.
Death is like entering a place of eternal rest.

Whad'ya think'
The artist is posing a rhetorical question.

All the gravediggers were gone'
Even after the artist dies, the world will continue to bury the dead.

Just cause one song is done
Death is like the end of a song.

There's always another one,
There will always be more people who die and need to be buried.

Waiting right around the bend,
Death is always close at hand.

Till this one ends,
People will continue to die until the end of time.

Then it begins
Death is a never-ending cycle.

Squeaky clean, then it starts all over again.
Death is followed by a new beginning.

The weather report keeps on
The artist is talking about the constant flow of information.

Tossing and turning,
This information is unpredictable.

Predicting and warning,
This information is often negative and foreboding.

And warning and warning of,
This information is repetitive.

Possibly it could be news publications and,
The artist is speculating about the possible sources of this information.

Possibly it could be news TV stations. That
The artist believes that the media is partly responsible for this constant stream of information.

Very same morning right next to her coffee
The singer is describing a specific event.

She noticed some bleeding and heard hollow coughing and
This event was unsettling and distressing.

National Geographic was being too graphic,
The artist is criticizing the media for showing disturbing images.

When all she had wanted to know was the traffic
The artist believes that the media should focus on more practical and useful information.

The worlds got a nosebleed it said
The world is in crisis.

And we're flooding but we keep on cutting
Human activity is damaging the planet.

The trees and the forests!'
The artist is concerned about environmental destruction.

And we keep on paying those freaks on the TV,
The singer is critical of the media and its pundits.

Who claim they will save us but want to enslave us.
The singer doesn't trust those in power.

And sweating like demons they scream through our speakers
The singer is describing the loud and aggressive voices of those in power.

But we leave the sound on 'cause silence is harder.
The artist suggests that it's easier to accept authority than to question it.

And no one's the killer and no one's the martyr
The artist suggests that no one is blameless and no one is a hero.

The world that has made us can no longer contain us
Human civilization has created problems that it cannot solve.

And profits are silent then rotting away 'cause
The singer is suggesting that capitalism is a major source of these problems.

The consonants and vowels
Language as a whole.

The consequence of sounds.
The effects of language on the artist and their environment.