Sleepytime Gorilla Museum formed in 1999 in Oakland, California, United Sta… Read Full Bio ↴Sleepytime Gorilla Museum formed in 1999 in Oakland, California, United States. The band was founded by Nils Frykdahl (guitars, flutes, vocals) and Dan Rathbun (bass, log, trombone, lute, vocals) of the band Idiot Flesh, with Carla Kihlstedt (violins, percussion guitar, autoharp, organ, bulbul, vocals) of Tin Hat Trio, 2 Foot Yard and The Book of Knots, after the three worked together in Charming Hostess. Matthias Bossi (drums, glockenspiel, xylophone, vocals) and Michael Mellender (percussion, assorted melodic instruments, vocals) both joined in 2004. Previous members include percussionist Moe! Staiano, founding drummer David Shamrock, and drummer/manager Frank Grau.

The band tour the U.S. frequently in a renovated vintage Green Tortoise bus, and their live performances have featured puppet shows, pseudo-scientific scholarly presentations, and performances by members of the Butoh group inkBoat. SGM's music has been categorized as anything from avant-prog to art rock to experimental metal to RIO (Rock In Opposition). Many reviewers have remarked that the group is altogether unclassifiable.

The band uses many homemade devices as instruments, such as the viking row-boat and the spring-nail guitar. Rathbun plays a stringed bass instrument of his own construction called The Log which uses piano strings and is perhaps 7 feet long; it is played with two sticks: one in the left hand generally used as a fret, another in the right hand striking the strings. Mellender's percussion instruments consist of restaurant kitchen equipment, trash can lids, and other "found" metal objects, in addition to traditional percussion instruments.

They've announced their imminent end, as their last concerts will be held early April around California. But 2011 will still see a new album, a movie and a live DVD.

Angle of Repose
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am made of tons of tiny countries
With closely guarded borders
Each country has a castle
Each castle has a throne
You are the tiny king
Of your very own

I sneak across at night

When the crossing is easy
I watch and I wonder
At your curious customs,
But I forget them all by day

Did the night invade the day?
Or was it day invaded night?
Were you among the last to be found?
Did you have your hands
In the ground?

I buried the dead and they came stories
I planted the stories, they came up singing
I planted the song and it came up dancing
I buried the dance and it
Came up facing home

I buried the dead and they came laughing
I planted the laugher, it came up singing
I planted the song and it came up fighting
I buried the battle, it came up facing home

I buried the dead and they came up laughing
I buried the laughter and cried

This garden we’ve planted will come up around us
And take us all down in a great big avalanche

Of useless things, of persistently plastic things,
Of things that cost us this tiny world of tiny kings

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's song "Angle of Repose" describe a metaphorical world made up of tiny countries, each with its own castle and throne. The singer, who seems to belong to no specific country, crosses borders at night and observes the customs of the different kingdoms. The line "I forget them all by day" suggests that the singer is not fully committed to any one country or culture, and is free to explore and learn without attachment. The second stanza poses a series of questions, asking whether the night or day invaded each other, and whether the listener played a role in burying the dead or planting stories. The final stanza suggests that the kingdoms and cultures that make up the world are meaningless and frivolous, and will ultimately bring about their own destruction.

Overall, the lyrics of "Angle of Repose" can be interpreted as a commentary on the dangers of nationalism and cultural isolationism. By imagining a world made up of individual countries with hard borders and closely guarded thrones, the song highlights the divisions between cultures and the difficulty of crossing those borders. The final stanza suggests that these divisions will ultimately be the downfall of the tiny kings and their castles, as they place greater value on "useless things" than on the well-being of the world as a whole.

Line by Line Meaning

I am made of tons of tiny countries
I am made up of various small and isolated parts within me.

With closely guarded borders
These parts have strict boundaries that are not easily crossed.

Each country has a castle
Each isolated part has its own fortress of protection.

Each castle has a throne
Each fortress has its own ruler in charge.

You are the tiny king, Of your very own
You are the ruler of your own isolated part within me.

I sneak across at night, When the crossing is easy
I sometimes cross over into these isolated parts, especially when it is effortless to do so.

I watch and I wonder, At your curious customs,
While I am there, I observe and think deeply about the distinct ways in which each isolated part functions.

But I forget them all by day
However, I often forget or overlook these observations when I return to my own part.

Did the night invade the day?
Did the darkness overcome the light?

Or was it day invaded night?
Did the light overpower the darkness?

Were you among the last to be found?
Were you one of the last to be discovered or revealed?

Did you have your hands In the ground?
Were you involved in this process of discovery or unearthing?

I buried the dead and they came stories
I buried the past, and from it emerged tales of the past.

I planted the stories, they came up singing
I shared these stories, and from them arose music.

I planted the song and it came up dancing
I created this music, and it gave birth to movement and dance.

I buried the dance and it Came up facing home
I put an end to the dancing, and it returned to its origin.

I buried the dead and they came laughing
I covered the past, and humor emerged from it.

I planted the laugher, it came up singing
I expressed this humor, and it resulted in melody.

I planted the song and it came up fighting
I created a song, and it led to conflict and struggle.

I buried the battle, it came up facing home
I tried to end this conflict, but it returned to its origin.

I buried the dead and they came up laughing
I covered up the past again, and more laughter ensued.

I buried the laughter and cried
I tried to put an end to the humor, but it caused me sorrow instead.

This garden we’ve planted will come up around us, And take us all down in a great big avalanche, Of useless things, of persistently plastic things, Of things that cost us this tiny world of tiny kings
This collection of isolated parts we have within us will ultimately overtake us and result in our downfall due to our fixation on trivial and meaningless possessions that ultimately destroy our world of individual separation.

Contributed by Arianna S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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