Ancient Mars
The Zolas Lyrics
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That one day I’ll come back for you.
Find you in the campus library aisles and I’d say
Oh my ancient Mars.
When the rusty rocks were covered in groves
And the pyramids foretold acidic snows
All was still breathing like my hands on your toes and I said
Several billion golden years ago
I lost a planet that I loved to the cold
Civilization blooms and then it erodes. And that’s it
Oh my ancient Mars.
The Zolas's song "Ancient Mars" touches upon themes of time travel, lost love, and the cyclical nature of civilization. The singer expresses a desire to believe in the possibility of time travel in order to one day go back to a time when they were with a loved one. They imagine finding their loved one in the library amongst the aisles of books, exclaiming "Oh my ancient Mars." The imagery of Mars is used to suggest a ruined and desolate landscape, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the state of the singer's relationship.
The chorus of the song goes on to describe the ancient Mars as a place where "rusty rocks were covered in groves" and "pyramids foretold acidic snows," painting a picture of a planet that was once vibrant and alive but has since decayed. The line "All was still breathing like my hands on your toes" adds texture to the metaphor of Mars, as if the planet is a symbol of a lost love, in the same way that the body of a loved one might still be warm even though they are gone forever.
The final verse reflects on the cyclical nature of civilization, as the singer likens the loss of their loved one to losing a planet. They note that civilization blooms and erodes in cycles, ending the song with yet another reference to ancient Mars. The song leaves the listener with a sense of longing and melancholy, offering a powerful meditation on the inevitability of loss and the hope that we might one day reclaim what we have lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to believe in time travel
I have an intense desire to believe that time travel is possible
That one day I'll come back for you.
In the future, I hope to have the ability to return to you
Find you in the campus library aisles and I'd say
When I see you again, I imagine that we'd be in the university library and I would say
Oh my ancient Mars.
My feelings upon seeing you again are similar to my admiration for the planet Mars in its ancient state
When the rusty rocks were covered in groves
At a time long ago when the rocks had a reddish tint and were covered in small hills
And the pyramids foretold acidic snows
The pyramids indicated that snowfall on Mars was acid-based
All was still breathing like my hands on your toes and I said
In that tranquil atmosphere, I felt at peace, much like when I held your feet
Oh my ancient Mars.
The expression of my wonder at the ancient state of Mars still holds true
Several billion golden years ago
Billions of years in the past, during the Golden Age of Mars
I lost a planet that I loved to the cold
Mars underwent a decline in temperature, which left me feeling as if I had lost a dear companion
Civilization blooms and then it erodes. And that's it
The rise and fall of civilization is a natural process which ultimately finishes
Oh my ancient Mars.
Despite this, I still find myself compelled by the ancient history of Mars
Contributed by Gavin O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@torscabinetofcuriosities
Same, and now I really love this band. I seem to discover my favorite bands in the weirdest ways:
-The Shins through an episode of How I Met Your Mother which included one of their songs
-Arcade Fire by seeing the phrase on a T-shirt and looking it up, discovering it's a band (now I love them so much that my profile pic is an Arcade Fire album cover)
-The Decemberists by winning a book called "Wildwood" in a raffle, the author of which I discovered was the frontman of a band
-Florence + the Machine by accidentally clicking on the wrong album on Spotify, wanting to listen to the Beatles
-Sufjan Stevens by doing a school project on the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, after which my teacher recommended I listen to the Sufjan Stevens song about the exposition
-Radical Face by hearing a song played on a plane while it was boarding, and Shazamming it
-Typhoon by ducking into a record shop one winter day simply because I was cold, and seeing an album sleeve on the wall which had "Recommended if you like: Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists" written in Sharpie on it.
Serendipity! And my heart goes out to Elisa Lam: you have brought me, even in death, to great music. You loved mysteries so much, you became one.
@hallie5387
I want to believe in time travel
That one day I’ll come back for you.
Find you in the campus library aisles and I’d say
Oh my ancient Mars x4
When the rusty rocks were covered in groves
And the pyramids foretold acidic snows
All was still breathing like my hands on your toes and I said
Oh my ancient Mars x4
Several billion golden years ago
I lost a planet that I loved to the cold
Civilization blooms and then it erodes. And that’s it
Oh my ancient Mars x4
Oh my ancient mars x4
@GlenLehane
I actually didn't know about this band, I was looking up stuff about Elisa Lam and discovered this. I think it's quite touching that the Zolas wanted to show that she was a real person living life
RIP Elisa
@torscabinetofcuriosities
Same, and now I really love this band. I seem to discover my favorite bands in the weirdest ways:
-The Shins through an episode of How I Met Your Mother which included one of their songs
-Arcade Fire by seeing the phrase on a T-shirt and looking it up, discovering it's a band (now I love them so much that my profile pic is an Arcade Fire album cover)
-The Decemberists by winning a book called "Wildwood" in a raffle, the author of which I discovered was the frontman of a band
-Florence + the Machine by accidentally clicking on the wrong album on Spotify, wanting to listen to the Beatles
-Sufjan Stevens by doing a school project on the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, after which my teacher recommended I listen to the Sufjan Stevens song about the exposition
-Radical Face by hearing a song played on a plane while it was boarding, and Shazamming it
-Typhoon by ducking into a record shop one winter day simply because I was cold, and seeing an album sleeve on the wall which had "Recommended if you like: Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists" written in Sharpie on it.
Serendipity! And my heart goes out to Elisa Lam: you have brought me, even in death, to great music. You loved mysteries so much, you became one.
@j-skullz
This is one of my favourite music videos for that reason, I often feel like when people talk about her death they forget she was also a person with a life like you or i. It's a sad thing that a lot of these unsolved mysteries the internet obsesses over often end up with the people involved being dehumanised just so some armchair detective can say their bizarre conspiracy theory is more correct than the other bizarre conspiracy theories. Don't get me wrong I wanna see these cases solved too, but so justice can be done for people like Elisa and her family not so more people can discuss whether or not she was possessed by a demon in the CCTV footage, it's just disrespectful. People really need to stop treating a young girl's tragic death as if it were some shitty creepypasta, just my two cents.
RIP Elisa
@shannonlapalm736
I have just discovered Dark Poutine, even though I live in Langley B.C. and have been listening to their back catalogue, I had never heard of the Zolas or the podcast. I had known about the Elisa Lam disappearance and suspicious death, but both Dark Poutine, and the director for The Zolas video, have done an admirable job in their respective artforms.
@tiavomscheidt5874
Shout out to Dark Poutine who brought me here. All the love for this song. All the peace for Elisa Lam. Poor girl
@Snowfoxie1
Me too. I love their representation of her life.
@daveagreg
Same here...Dark Poutine did a great job and I like this music vid.
@Flannerhaggen
I love how the elevator closing sets her free in the end. It's a beautiful perception.
@Snowfoxie1
Flannerhaggen Gergerger she seemed like such a wonderful person. This really captures that.
@Brerenee23
I AM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS BAND