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
2HB
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Celluloid pictures of living
Your death could not kill our love for you
Take two people, romantic
Smoky nightclub situation
Your cigarette traces a ladder
Here's looking at you kid
Celebrate years
Wipe away tears
Long time, since we're together
Now I hope it's forever
Ideal love flies away now
White jacket, mmm, black tie wings too
You gave her away to the hero
Words don't express my meaning
Notes could not spell out the score
But finding not keeping's the lesson
Here's looking at you kid
Hard to forget
Here's looking at you kid
At least not yet
Your memory stays
It lingers ever
Will fade away never
The Flaming Lips's song 2HB is a tribute to Humphrey Bogart, an actor famous for his roles in classic Hollywood films such as Casablanca and The Big Sleep. The lyrics express admiration for Bogart's on-screen persona and the lasting impact it had on viewers, despite his real-life death. The opening line, "Oh I was moved by your screen dream," speaks to the power of film to affect us emotionally and transport us to another world. The singer of the song is reflecting on the enduring allure of Bogart's image, even after many years have passed.
The song then goes on to describe a scene in a smoky nightclub, where two people are having a romantic moment. The use of the line "Your cigarette traces a ladder" paints a vivid picture of the sensual atmosphere, and the reference to Casablanca's famous line "Here's looking at you, kid" adds to the filmic quality of the song. The lyrics then take a slightly darker turn, with the reference to Bogart's character giving away his love interest to the hero. The final lines of the song express the idea that memories can be forever, and that even though ideal love may fly away, the memory of it lingers on.
Overall, 2HB is an ode to the power of film and the lasting impression that actors like Humphrey Bogart can leave on us. It's a song that captures the romanticism and nostalgia of classic Hollywood, while also acknowledging the bittersweet nature of love and its fleetingness.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh I was moved by your screen dream
I was deeply affected by the dream portrayed on screen
Celluloid pictures of living
The motion pictures brought to life our imaginations
Your death could not kill our love for you
Even though you have passed away, our love for you remains eternal
Take two people, romantic
A pair of lovers sharing a romantic moment
Smoky nightclub situation
A hazy atmosphere in the nightclub
Your cigarette traces a ladder
As you smoke your cigarette, the smoke creates a path upwards
Here's looking at you kid
I am looking at you, my dear
Celebrate years
Let's celebrate the time we've spent together
Here's looking at you kid
Again, I am looking at you, my dear
Wipe away tears
Don't cry, let me wipe your tears
Long time, since we're together
It has been a while since we last met
Now I hope it's forever
I hope for our relationship to last forever
Ideal love flies away now
The concept of an ideal love has become unattainable
White jacket, mmm, black tie wings too
Your outfit is a combination of a white jacket and black tie, resembling wings
You gave her away to the hero
You let go of your lover and accepted the hero instead
Words don't express my meaning
My feelings cannot be put into words
Notes could not spell out the score
Even music cannot express my emotions fully
But finding not keeping's the lesson
The lesson is that sometimes finding something is not the same as keeping it
Here's looking at you kid
Once again, I am looking at you, my dear
Hard to forget
You are hard to forget
Here's looking at you kid
One last time, I am looking at you, my dear
At least not yet
I am not ready to forget you just yet
Your memory stays
Your memory still remains
It lingers ever
The memory of you never fades away
Will fade away never
Your memory will never fade away
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRYAN FERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind