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
One Shot
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One shot goes in the sand
One more day in this fucking town
I'm going to crack a hole in my hand
Mom's in the water
Dad's in the car
Jesus is standin' on the beach
One shot goes to the mother's womb
One shot goes to their head
One more dream like that last night
I'm gonna crack a hole in my bed
One shot goes to the water
Dad's in the car
Jesus is walkin' on the water
he's floatin' with a joint as big as a star
Mom's in the water. Dad's in the car
Jesus is floatin'. Jesus is floatin'
Jesus is floatin'. Jesus is floatin'
Jesus is floatin'. Jesus is floatin'
The Flaming Lips’s song One Shot is a surreal stream-of-consciousness piece, featuring a series of disjointed images and ideas. The song opens with the line “One shot goes to the poet's head,” which can be interpreted in several ways. The “one shot” could refer to a drink, perhaps suggesting that the singer is getting drunk and losing control of his thoughts. Alternatively, the “one shot” could refer to a bullet, suggesting that the singer is becoming dangerously unhinged.
The second line “One shot goes in the sand” is equally mysterious. It suggests a missed opportunity or a wasted chance, but does not give any additional context. The third line “One more day in this fucking town” conveys a sense of frustration and restlessness. The singer is stuck in a place he doesn’t want to be in, and is starting to feel like he’s losing his mind.
The next verse introduces the singer’s parents, with the line “Mom’s in the water, Dad’s in the car.” This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the singer feeling abandoned and alone, with no support or guidance from his parents. The line “Jesus is standing on the beach, he’s floating with a glow in the dark sitar” adds to the surreal quality of the song. It’s unclear what the significance of Jesus and the sitar might be, but the image evokes a sense of otherworldliness and strangeness.
Line by Line Meaning
One shot goes to the poet's head
The poet is taking a shot, most probably of alcohol, which is affecting their head.
One shot goes in the sand
One shot gets wasted and is shot into the sand.
One more day in this fucking town
The singer is tired of their current situation and wants to leave the town they are in.
I'm going to crack a hole in my hand
The artist is feeling frustrated, agitated, and wants to express themselves physically by causing self-harm.
Mom's in the water
The artist's mother is in water, the context of which is open to interpretation.
Dad's in the car
The singer's dad is in the car, again the context of which is open to interpretation.
Jesus is standin' on the beach
The singer is imagining Jesus standing on the beach, the image is surreal and abstract.
he's floatin' with a glow in the dark sitar
The surreal image of Jesus floating in the dark while playing the instrument sitar.
One shot goes to the mother's womb
The line refers to a pregnancy, with a shot being given to the mother's womb, possibly for some medical reason.
One shot goes to their head
Someone takes a shot which affects their head.
One more dream like that last night
The singer had a dream last night, which they found significant and wants to experience another similar dream.
I'm gonna crack a hole in my bed
The artist is feeling agitated, frustrated and wants to express themselves physically by causing damage to their bed.
One shot goes to the water
Someone takes a shot which gets spilled in the water.
Jesus is walkin' on the water
The image of Jesus walking on water, another surreal representation.
he's floatin' with a joint as big as a star
Jesus is again portrayed as floating, incorporating a large joint which is adding to the abstractness of the image.
Mom's in the water. Dad's in the car. Jesus is floatin'. Jesus is floatin'
These are repeated lines, which according to the context, signify the artist's perception of their surroundings and holds ambiguous meaning.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brent Bear
The hidden side of The Flaming Lips. I like it!
Cacique Sealth
The best too!
schlockvalue
Check out the version on the "Day That Andy Gibb Died" CD... it doesn't have all of the weird dropouts that the officially released version does.