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.
Sleep Is Rong
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Lyrics
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Never forget this
Reeling in the sweet grip
Never let this slip
Your eyes are yours to close
Never let go Sleep is wrong
"Do not go gently
Into that good night
Dying of the light"
Your eyes are yours to close
Never let go Sleep is wrong
When I grow up I'm never gonna sleep
When I grow up I'm never gonna cry
When I go out I'm never coming home
When I grow up I'm never gonna die
The Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's song "Sleep Is Rong" is a poignant and thought-provoking examination of the nature of sleep and death. The lyrics suggest that sleep may be seen as a form of blissful surrender - the body and mind let go, submitting to a state of unconsciousness. However, the song also presents an alternative viewpoint, suggesting that sleep may be "wrong". This assertion is expressed through the repetition of the phrase "Your eyes are yours to close, never let go Sleep is wrong", imploring the listener to resist the urge to sleep and engage with life on a more conscious level.
The line "Do not go gently into that good night, rage against the dying of the light" is a direct quote from the poem of the same name by Dylan Thomas, which deals with the concept of death and the struggle to stay alive. Here, the band seems to be suggesting that we should adopt an attitude of defiance in the face of our own mortality, refusing to accept the inevitability of death and striving to live life to the fullest. The final verse, which reads "When I grow up I'm never gonna sleep, when I grow up I'm never gonna cry, when I go out I'm never coming home, when I grow up, I'm never gonna die" hints at the ultimate futility of this struggle - no matter how hard we try to cheat death, it will inevitably catch up with us in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Writhing in the old bliss
Enjoying the familiar comfort
Never forget this
Remembering the feeling
Reeling in the sweet grip
Being captivated by the sensation
Never let this slip
Not wanting to lose it
Your eyes are yours to close
You have control over your sleep
Never let go Sleep is wrong
Don't give in to the need for sleep
"Do not go gently
Into that good night
Rage against the
Dying of the light"
Fight against death despite the inevitability
When I grow up I'm never gonna sleep
Not wanting to waste time sleeping
When I grow up I'm never gonna cry
Refusing to show vulnerability
When I go out I'm never coming home
Not intending to return
When I grow up I'm never gonna die
Rejecting the finality of death
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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