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
Kundalini Express
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For the transcendental run
The train now standing
Leaves for higher planes
Due to a derailment
There will be no other train
So why not hop on this one?
Each carriage is connected
As is every single train
The rails all form a track
Which is a link within a chain
The chain's connected to another chain now
You will need no ticket
If you wish to ride on this train
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
The song is in your heart
Your heart is in the song
The song is of the earth
The song is of the sky
You are disintegrating
Into everything around
Reintegrating
The worm we dug from higher ground
You have let go of ego
Ego is no longer you
Closer to nirvana
Since the porters whistle blew
The Flaming Lips's song Kundalini Express is a psychedelic, spiritual journey that is open to interpretation. The first stanza of the song is an announcement, inviting the listener to embark on a journey to higher planes, away from the mundane. The second stanza refers to a derailment and that this train is the only way to get to these higher planes. The listener is encouraged to join in, and the porter's “glad refrain” is a cheerful invitation to hop on the train.
Each carriage on the train is connected to every other carriage, as is every train connected to a vast chain that forms a track. There are no tickets to ride, as the journey to the higher planes is an individual and spiritual one. The chorus of the song repeats "All aboard the express kundalini," with the word "kundalini" referring to an inner energy force that can be awakened as part of the spiritual journey to enlightenment. The song is a message to look inside and take the inner journey towards a higher spiritual plane.
The last stanza of the song speaks of disintegrating into everything around, letting go of the ego, and reconnecting with the universe. The reference to the worm dug from higher ground is a metaphor for the journey of spiritual transformation. The listener is encouraged to let go of the ego and surrender to the journey, becoming closer to nirvana as the porter's whistle blows.
Overall, Kundalini Express is a song about spiritual awakening, journeying to higher planes, and letting go of the ego to connect with the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
This is an announcement
The opening line of this song is an announcement about a transcendental run.
For the transcendental run
The announcement is specifically about a transcendental run.
The train now standing
The train is currently standing.
Leaves for higher planes
The train is going to take passengers to higher planes.
Due to a derailment
There has been a derailment.
There will be no other train
As a result of the derailment, there will be no other train available.
So why not hop on this one?
Given that there will be no other train, why not hop on this one?
Hear the porter's glad refrain
The porter is singing a happy tune.
Each carriage is connected
All the carriages of the train are connected.
As is every single train
This is true for every single train.
The rails all form a track
The rails together form a track.
Which is a link within a chain
This track is a link within a chain.
The chain's connected to another chain now
This chain is connected to another chain.
You will need no ticket
There is no need for a ticket to ride on this train.
If you wish to ride on this train
If you want to go on this journey, you can hop on this train.
All aboard the express kundalini
Board the train called 'express kundalini.'
All aboard the express kundalini
The previous line is repeated to emphasize boarding the train.
All aboard the express kundalini
The previous line is repeated to emphasize boarding the train.
The song is in your heart
There is a song in your heart.
Your heart is in the song
Your heart is part of this song.
The song is of the earth
This song is about the earth.
The song is of the sky
This song is also about the sky.
You are disintegrating
You are coming apart.
Into everything around
You are becoming one with everything around you.
Reintegrating
You are integrating back into the world.
The worm we dug from higher ground
The singer is referring to a worm they dug up from higher ground.
You have let go of ego
You have let go of your sense of self-importance.
Ego is no longer you
You are no longer defined by your ego.
Closer to nirvana
You are now closer to achieving a state of nirvana.
Since the porter's whistle blew
This development has happened since the porter blew their whistle.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANIEL GASTON ASH, KEVIN HASKINS, DAVID JAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind