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
Breathe
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
And shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say
Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.
The lyrics to The Flaming Lips/Stardeath and White Dwarfs' song "Time / Breathe" are a cover of the Pink Floyd song medley from their album "The Dark Side of the Moon." These lyrics reflect deep contemplation on the passage of time, the monotony of daily life, and a sense of existential angst. The song explores the themes of lost opportunities, the fleeting nature of youth, and the realization that life is finite.
The opening lines suggest a sense of boredom and aimlessness, as the singer describes wasting time and waiting for something meaningful to come their way. They reflect on the passing of time, realizing that ten years have slipped away without them even noticing. The line "No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun" implies that opportunities have passed them by and they now feel a sense of urgency to catch up.
The chorus describes the futile pursuit of trying to catch up with time and the feeling of being overwhelmed by its relentless pace. The sun serves as a metaphor for time, which is constant and unyielding, while the realization of aging and mortality becomes more evident with each passing day.
The second verse explores the sense of frustration and disillusionment that comes with the perception of time slipping away. Plans and aspirations that once held meaning now seem insignificant or never come to fruition. The phrase "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way" references the common tendency for people to repress their emotions and silently struggle with their discontent.
The final verse brings the song to a contemplative conclusion. The phrase "The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say" reflects a sense of dissatisfaction and regret, as if the singer expected to have accomplished more or have a greater impact in their life.
Overall, the lyrics express a deep sense of reflection on the passage of time, the missed opportunities, and the sobering awareness of mortality. It prompts listeners to consider how they are spending their time and what truly matters in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Slowly passing the ordinary moments that compose a monotonous day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
You squander and throw away the hours with little thought or purpose
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Idly roaming about on a small patch of land in your familiar town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Anticipating the arrival of someone or something that will guide you
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
Weary of basking in the sunlight, opting to remain indoors to observe the rainfall
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
You are youthful, and life stretches out ahead of you, providing ample time to waste
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
Eventually, you realize that ten years have passed you by
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
No one instructed you when to begin, causing you to overlook the initial opportunity
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Frantically trying to catch up to the setting sun, but it continues to descend
And racing around to come up behind you again
Hastily maneuvering to reappear behind you once more
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
The sun remains unchanged in a comparative sense, but you have aged
And shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Finding yourself increasingly breathless and advancing another day nearer to mortality
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Each year feels narrower, and time always seems elusive
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Ambitions that either amount to nothing or result in incomplete, hastily written notes
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
Clutching onto a state of silent despair is considered typical in English culture
The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say
The time has passed, the song has concluded, and yet I believed I had more profound thoughts to express
Home, home again
Returning to the familiarity of home once again
I like to be here when I can
I enjoy being present in this place whenever possible
When I come home cold and tired
After arriving home feeling cold and weary
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
It is comforting to heat my bones close to the fire
Far away across the field
In the distance, on the other side of the field
The tolling of the iron bell
The resonating sound of the metal bell striking
Calls the faithful to their knees
Summons the devoted to kneel in reverence
To hear the softly spoken magic spells
For the purpose of listening to the gently spoken incantations of enchantment
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: David Jon Gilmour, Nicholas Berkeley Mason, George Roger Waters, Richard William Wright
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
rangers1919
Nice. I always loved this version but it's almost never online anywhere.
J. Smith
.....WHOA!
Brian the Snape
Fuuuuck yeah!
bas tet
god damn it the quality is terrible
Tyler Phillips
quit complaining
Jeremy
Cultural appropriation. Guy with Indian headress (lol)
333ferret
Really weird to see especially knowing what happened a few years later with Kliph haha