The Flaming Lips are known for their lush, multi-layered arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song titles. They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which typically feature animal suits, puppets, streamers, video projections and complex stage light configurations.
In 2002, Q magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die". In 2006, Oklahoma City named a street Flaming Lips Alley in their honor.
The group recorded several albums and EPs for Restless Records in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they scored a #9 hit on the Billboard Alternative charts (and #55 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart) in 1994 with "She Don't Use Jelly". Although it would be their only hit single, the band has maintained critical respect and, to a lesser extent, commercial viability with sonically majestic albums such as 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic, 1999's The Soft Bulletin, 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and 2006's At War with the Mystics. The Flaming Lips' 12th studio album, Embryonic, was released in October of 2009. A complete cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was released in May 2010. The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, their collaborative album which features artists like Ke$ha, Bon Iver, Nick Cave and Erykah Badu, was released on Record Store Day, April 2012.
Their next studio album, tentatively titled The Terror, will be released in January 2013.
Their song "Do You Realize??" is the official State Rock Song of Oklahoma.
www.flaminglips.com
1000 Foot Hands
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hands a thousand feet up
How could it survive?
Seems it'd be more beat-up
Hear it loud
Love and light combine
It's like a shiny sound
See
I thought I wasn't mad
See
I thought I wasn't mad
But I lost what I had
But I lost what I had
Realizing the speed of life
As it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it passed
Oh, as it pa-
Facing the divide
Which way will it lead us?
Killing off the guide
Using thoughts as beacons
Hear it loud
Love and light combine
It's like a shiny sound
Loves to love, it shines
The Flaming Lips's song "1000 Foot Hands" is a complex lyric that takes the listener on an imaginative journey through multiple layers of meaning. At the core, the song seems to be about the idea of resilience and survival in the face of overwhelming odds. The opening lines ask, "How was it designed? Hands a thousand feet up / How could it survive? Seems it'd be more beat-up." The imagery of thousand-foot hands suggests something otherworldly or fantastical, and yet the singer wonders how such a thing could possibly remain intact.
As the song progresses, the lyrics shift to a more ethereal and abstract focus. The lines "Hear it loud / Love and light combine / It's like a shiny sound / Loves to love, it shines" seem to describe some sort of transcendental experience, with the "shiny sound" representing the overwhelming power of love and light. The singer has a moment of realization, "See / I thought I wasn't mad / But I lost what I had," which perhaps comes from experiencing this transcendent moment.
The final lines hint at a struggle between the forces of good and evil, or positive and negative impulses. "Facing the divide / Which way will it lead us? / Killing off the guide / Using thoughts as beacons" suggests that the singer is at a crossroads and must choose his or her path wisely.
Overall, the song is a meditation on the power of resilience, love, and the will to survive in the face of difficult circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Hands a thousand feet up
Questioning how something can exist so high up and still function properly
How could it survive?
Further questioning the durability of this elevated entity
Seems it'd be more beat-up
Assuming that due to its height, wear and tear would be more noticeable
Hear it loud
Encouraging the listener to listen attentively
Love and light combine
Emphasizing the positivity and radiance of the sound
It's like a shiny sound
Comparing the sound to something bright and effervescent
Loves to love, it shines
Describing the sound as loving and brilliant
See
Asking for attention in a moment of reflection
I thought I wasn't mad
Candidly admitting to a previous thought process
But I lost what I had
Acknowledging a loss of something that was once cherished
Realizing the speed of life
Understanding how quickly life moves
As it passed
Reflecting on a moment that is now in the past
Facing the divide
Contemplating a potential split or crossroads
Which way will it lead us?
Questioning the direction to take at the aforementioned divide
Killing off the guide
Suggesting that the previous direction or guide should be abandoned
Using thoughts as beacons
Considering using personal insight as navigation
Hear it loud
Reiterating the importance of listening attentively
Love and light combine
Repeated emphasis on the positivity and radiance of the sound
It's like a shiny sound
Reiterating the comparison to something bright and effervescent
Loves to love, it shines
Reiteration of the sound being loving and brilliant
Lyrics Ā© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: WAYNE COYNE, STEVEN DROZD, MICHAEL IVINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark
this song is soooo good. so sunny. i prefer the early mix. they shouldve polished it up and added it to bulletinš.
sparsely Trismegistus
It shines :)
Lexahayd
my dad listens to the flips too much
Moriandur
| : ---3) we will always love you