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
Scratching the Door
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
what did I see
a great big hole in the ground where the world used to be
and it smelled like it'd been burned
and it wasn't gonna turn
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
I went out for a walk in the mornin
to see my friend
and it didn't take too long
and I knew that it was wrong
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
It smelled like it'd been burned
and It wasn't gonna turn
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
I went out for a walk in the mornin'
to smell the air
I breathed it in and there was nothin' there
My lungs get full of pain
and I'm drinkin' acid rain
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
The Flaming Lips’ song “Scratching the Door” is a powerful commentary on the catastrophic effects of human activities on the environment. The song opens with the singer taking a morning walk and stumbling upon a terrible sight, a great big hole in the ground where the world used to be. The hole smells like it’s been burned and it’s not going to turn. These disturbing visuals suggest that a massive environmental disaster has taken place, possibly caused by human actions. The singer expresses his disbelief at the fact that such a catastrophic event could happen on a beautiful day like today.
The second verse of the song is equally disturbing as the singer goes out to see a friend and discovers that the planet has come to an end. He knew that it was wrong and it didn’t take too long. This suggests that the damage done to the environment was the result of reckless and irresponsible human behavior. The singer’s protestation that he never thought this would happen on a beautiful day like today creates a sense of urgency and despair. In the final verse, the singer goes out to smell the air and finds nothing there. His lungs fill up with pain as he breathes in acid rain, another powerful metaphor for the destruction that humans have unleashed upon the planet.
Overall, “Scratching the Door” is a haunting commentary on the damage that humans have done to the environment. The images of a burned-out world, acid rain, and the absence of any natural life create a sense of urgency and hopelessness that is hard to ignore. The lyrics suggest that humans need to take responsibility for their actions and make changes before it’s too late.
Line by Line Meaning
I went out for a walk in the mornin
I took a stroll in the morning
what did I see
And what did I come across
a great big hole in the ground where the world used to be
But to my surprise, I saw a massive pit where the world once existed
and it smelled like it'd been burned
It had a scent of something set ablaze
and it wasn't gonna turn
The situation was irreversible
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
I was stunned, as I never reckoned such an occurrence could happen on a day like that
to see my friend
I had left to meet my acquaintance
and discovered that the planet had come to an end
To my dismay, I learned that the realm had ended
and it didn't take too long
The destruction happened relatively quickly
and I knew that it was wrong
I sensed that it was an immoral occurrence
I went out for a walk in the mornin'
Again, I took another walk the next morning
It smelled like it'd been burned
The smell of scorch lingered in the air
and It wasn't gonna turn
It was a non-reparable situation
I went out for a walk in the mornin'
Once more, I went for a walk early in the morning
to smell the air
To breath the fresh air
I breathed it in and there was nothin' there
But when I inhaled, there seemed to be no air
My lungs get full of pain
I felt my chest stuffed with discomfort
and I'm drinkin' acid rain
It appeared that I was consuming rain tainted with acid
and I never thought that it would happen on a day like today
I never envisioned this to arise on such a day
Contributed by William S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.