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
The Ceiling Is Bendin
The Flaming Lips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When it seems like love is all around
Seems when people can't get love
They substitute it with a bunch of drugs
If love was a drug that was real cheap
Everybody could get some sleep
I been wandering for quite a while
Seems when love don't get to far
They buy a real expensive car
If love was a car that was real cheap
Everybody would drive a jeep
Let's give love the marketing scam
Let's give love the marketing scam
Make it something they can understand
Let's give love the marketing scam
Let's give love the marketing scam
And get on with it
I've been wandering for quite a while
When it seems like love is all around
Seems when people don't have nobody
They spend their time makin' lots of money
If love was money and it was cheap
Everybody could get some sleep
"The Ceiling Is Bendin" is a thought-provoking song that discusses the different things people often do to try to fill the void left by a lack of love. The lyrics allude to the idea that people tend to substitute love for things like drugs, expensive cars or making money, hoping that these things will somehow provide them with the happiness that love can bring. The song suggests that if love was more accessible, like a cheap drug or a car everyone could afford like a Jeep, then people would be able to live more fulfilling lives. The lyrics show a deep understanding of the fact that love is a basic human need and that without it, people often feel lost, desperate and unhappy.
The lyrics ask that marketers give love the same attention they give to other products, as love is important and should be seen as such. The song encourages listeners to make love something that is understood more easily, and to focus less on materialistic things that don't provide the same benefits.
The song is a reminder that love is an essential part of what makes us human and without it, people often find themselves lost, wandering and searching for something that they can't quite place. "The Ceiling Is Bendin" challenges us to prioritize love above all else and to see it as a necessary component of a happy and fulfilling life.
Line by Line Meaning
I been wandering for quite a while
I have been aimlessly moving around for a long time.
When it seems like love is all around
At times, it appears like love is ubiquitous and existing everywhere.
Seems when people can't get love
It appears that when individuals cannot acquire love,
They substitute it with a bunch of drugs
they resort to consuming a variety of drugs to replace love.
If love was a drug that was real cheap
If love were an inexpensive drug,
Everybody could get some sleep
everyone could get some proper rest.
Seems when love don't get to far
Apparently, when individuals do not attain much love,
They buy a real expensive car
they purchase a very costly automobile.
If love was a car that was real cheap
If love were an inexpensive car,
Everybody would drive a jeep
everyone would be driving a jeep.
Let's give love the marketing scam
We should trick people into buying into the idea of love.
Make it something they can understand
We should present love in a way that people can easily grasp and relate to.
And get on with it
Then, we should proceed with this plan.
Seems when people don't have nobody
It seems that when people do not have anyone else in their lives,
They spend their time makin' lots of money
they devote their time to earning a lot of money.
If love was money and it was cheap
If love were analogous to money and were affordably priced,
Everybody could get some sleep
everyone could rest comfortably.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind