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
Funeral In My Head
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stop all your vibrating
Birds flying out of a mountain
Somewhere the snow cools my fever
I just have stumps left for fingers
Wonderin' can you still play guitar?
Just like a baby
Labia in the sunlight
When will you stop all your buzzing
Snow crushing hummingbird
(All day)
Somewhere the star burns the universe
Gold eagle paints in my fingers
(All day)
Can of spaghetti diseases
Hoping that you can still play guitar?
Just like a baby
Just like the smoke rings
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
Labia in the sunlight
The Flaming Lips' "Funeral In My Head" is a surreal, psychedelic song that can be difficult to decipher at first listen. The opening lines seem to be an exhortation to someone to be quiet and stop making noise, possibly someone who is hyperactive or annoying. The mention of birds flying out of a mountain adds to the sense of surrealism, as does the sudden reference to snow cooling a fever. The following lines are even more bizarre, with the singer claiming to have stumps for fingers and asking if the other person can still play guitar. It's unclear whether this is meant literally or metaphorically, but it seems to suggest some kind of disability or inability to make music.
The next verse is no less weird, with the singer asking when the other person will stop buzzing and the reference to "snow crushing hummingbird" adding to the sense of confusion. The line "somewhere the star burns the universe" is poetic but again doesn't seem to have an obvious connection to the rest of the song. The final lines are perhaps the most provocative, with the repeated mentions of "labia in the sunlight" seeming to suggest sexual imagery or perhaps a metaphor for openness and vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
When will you shut your mouth
Asking someone to stop talking incessantly
Stop all your vibrating
Telling someone to calm down or stop being so jittery
Birds flying out of a mountain
Describing a surreal or fantastical scene
Somewhere the snow cools my fever
Finding relief or comfort from a difficult situation
I just have stumps left for fingers
Feeling helpless or inadequate
Wonderin' can you still play guitar?
Questioning one's own abilities or someone else's
Just like a baby
Comparing oneself to a naive or inexperienced person
Just like the smoke rings
Describing something fleeting or ephemeral
Labia in the sunlight
A nonsensical phrase used for its sound or imagery
When will you stop all your buzzing
Asking for peace and quiet or an end to annoying behavior
Snow crushing hummingbird
An assault on something small or delicate
Somewhere the star burns the universe
A powerful or overwhelming force
Gold eagle paints in my fingers
A feeling of creativity or inspiration
Can of spaghetti diseases
A bizarre or unsettling image
Hoping that you can still play guitar?
Expressing doubt or insecurity about musical ability
Labia in the sunlight
Repeating the nonsensical phrase for emphasis or effect
Labia in the sunlight
Continuing the repetition
Labia in the sunlight
Still repeating the phrase
Labia in the sunlight
Persisting with the repetition
Labia in the sunlight
Continuing to repeat the phrase
Labia in the sunlight
Repeating the phrase until it loses all meaning
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, RONALD JONES, STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Dr.JeremyDunks
This song was fuel for me to continue on when I was struggling with psychological issues many years back. It simultaneously allowed me to grieve in private and be strong enough to function in public.
@hereliescontempt
this song was super impactful for me a few years ago. it makes me really happy to see that this video is still on youtube and i can still read all of these beautiful comments. i hope all of you that weren't doing well are doing better now. <3
@MrRadiolips
This song is a treasure.
@aaronmumbles3202
this is one of the most beautiful flaming lips song of all the catalog
@tommyjoe97
I just wish Spotify had this I'd literally pay extra
@Jeteplue
It does now, so cough up! 😁
@j.nicholastkacz3399
epic. I remember listening to this around the time Yoshimi was released - not as a b-side but pirated on the web. why oh why wasn't this on the record?! The artwork looks to be done by Wayne.
@hardtoseecoming1541
I sure do want this to play at my funeral :)
@nerdycat9180
Wow I bet this would be awesome live...
@CPD0123a
Sounds to me like it should fall somewhere between Yoshimi and Embryonic on their musical timeline. Interesting that they were already laying the brickwork for that sound that early. How didn't I hear of this song until now???