An Australian electronic group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1979, Severed… Read Full Bio ↴An Australian electronic group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1979, Severed Heads have released albums ranging from experimental industrial noise to synthpop influenced dance music.

The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. This later changed to Garry Bradbury, Paul Deering, and Tom Ellard; Ellard has been the only one to remain throughout the group's career, with changing lineups throughout its two and a half decades of existence, later working mainly with Stephen Jones. Robert Racic was an integral part of the band during the late eighties/early nineties.

Severed Heads performed a final concert in Sydney in January 2010. Tom Ellard uploaded a farewell video of Sevs in Space to Youtube, which may be considered as a requiem of sorts.

In early 2008, Ellard added the following text to the bottom of the official site's front page, "Severed Heads do not have a MySpace page. It is a fake. The band is dead,". (www.sevcom.com).

Somewhere Over the Gigapus
Severed Heads Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

And while you sleep aircraft carry your head
They fly oblique to the oceans that you have chosen

Maybe Honalulu on the 5th of November
Maybe Saigon on the 12th of May
Maybe Eastern Sydney in the middle of autumn
Maybe spring in Tokyo Bay
Maybe in a movie in the middle of Africa

Maybe in a muddle by the IRA
Maybe in a photobooth, maybe in a car
Maybe, just maybe you′ll live from afar

And while you sleep the cargo cult unloaded your life
It prayed to your dreams
It predicted your demise

Maybe Honalulu on the 5th of November
Maybe Saigon on the 12th of May
Maybe Eastern Sydney in the middle of autumn
Maybe spring in Tokyo Bay
Maybe in a movie in the middle of Africa
Maybe in a muddle by the IRA
Maybe in a photobooth, maybe in a car
Maybe, just maybe you'll live from afar

And while you sleep...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song Somewhere Over the Gigapus by Severed Heads takes the listener on a journey into the unknown where the possibility of death looms. The opening lines of the song suggest that while the person is sleeping, their head is being carried by an aircraft. The lyrics go on to state that the airplane is flying obliquely over oceans chosen by the person. This captures the essence of the song's theme which seems to center on the idea of a journey, either dreaming or traveling, from which there may not be a return.

The song then delves into possible locations where the person could be, either physically or mentally, with each line starting with the word "maybe". We hear of possible locations like Honolulu or Saigon, Eastern Sydney or Tokyo Bay. The lyrics continue to suggest other possible scenarios where the person could be found, like a movie in the middle of Africa or a photobooth or even in a car.

Towards the end of the song, the lyrics speak of a cargo cult that is unloading the person's life, praying to their dreams and predicting their demise. The song's fading echoes of "and while you sleep" suggest the idea of a never-ending journey into the unknown.

Line by Line Meaning

And while you sleep aircraft carry your head
As you lay resting, airplanes transport your existence

They fly oblique to the oceans that you have chosen
They travel diagonally towards the seas you have decided upon

Maybe Honalulu on the 5th of November
Possibly in Honolulu on the fifth day of November

Maybe Saigon on the 12th of May
Potentially in Saigon on the twelfth day of May

Maybe Eastern Sydney in the middle of autumn
Perhaps in eastern Sydney during the midst of fall

Maybe spring in Tokyo Bay
Maybe in Tokyo Bay during the season of spring

Maybe in a movie in the middle of Africa
Possibly featured in a film located in the center of Africa

Maybe in a muddle by the IRA
Perhaps caught in a confusing situation with the Irish Republican Army

Maybe in a photobooth, maybe in a car
Possibly situated in a photo booth or within a vehicle

Maybe, just maybe you'll live from afar
You may just manage to live your life from a distance

And while you sleep the cargo cult unloaded your life
While you slumbered, the cargo cult took apart and discarded your existence

It prayed to your dreams
It beseeched your aspirations

It predicted your demise
It anticipated your end