To date, TMBG have released 22 studio albums. Flood has been certified platinum and their children's music album Here Come the ABCs has been certified gold. The band also won a Grammy Award in 2002 for their song "Boss of Me", which served as the theme to Malcolm in the Middle. The band has sold over 4 million records.
Linnell and Flansburgh (often nicknamed "the two Johns" or "John and John") first met as teenagers growing up in Lincoln, Massachusetts. They began writing songs together while attending Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School but didn't officially form a band at that time. The two attended separate colleges after high school (Flansburgh attended Pratt Institute), and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. The two reunited in 1981 after moving to Brooklyn (to the same apartment building on the same day) to continue their career.
Taking their name from the 1971 movie They Might Be Giants, the duo began performing their own music in and around New York City — Flansburgh on guitar, Linnell on accordion and saxophone, and accompanied by a drum machine and/or a prerecorded backing track on audio cassette. Their atypical instrumentation, along with their songs which featured unusual subject matter and clever wordplay, soon attracted a strong local following. Their performances also featured absurdly comical stage props such as oversized fezzes and large cardboard cutout heads of newspaper editor William Allen White. Many of these props would later turn up in their first music videos.
At one point, Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment was burgled, forcing them to take a break from performing. During this hiatus, they began recording their songs onto an answering machine, and then advertising the phone number in local newspapers such as The Village Voice, using the moniker "Dial-A-Song". They also released a demo cassette, which earned them a review in People magazine. The review caught the attention of Bar/None Records, who offered them a recording contract, which they accepted.
The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, which became a college radio hit. The video for "Don't Let's Start", filmed in the New York State Pavilion built for the 1964 New York World's Fair in Queens, became a hit on MTV, earning them a broader following. In 1988, they released their second album, Lincoln, named after the duo's hometown. It featured the song "Ana Ng" which reached #11 on the US Modern Rock chart.
In 1989, They Might Be Giants signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year. Flood earned them a gold album, largely thanks to the success of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" which reached number three on the US Modern Rock chart, as well as "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)".
In 1990, Throttle magazine interviewed They Might Be Giants and clarified the meaning of the song "Ana Ng": John Flansburgh said, "Ng is a Vietnamese name. The song is about someone who's thinking about a person on the exact opposite side of the world. John looked at a globe and figured out that if Ana Ng is in Vietnam and the person is on the other side of the world, then it must be written by someone in Peru." (Derek Thomas, Throttle, August 1990.)
Further interest in the band was generated when two cartoon music videos were created by Warner Bros. for Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". The videos reflected TMBG's high "kid appeal", resulting from their often absurd songs and poppy melodies.
In 1991, Bar/None Records released the B-sides compilation Miscellaneous T. Though consisting of previously released material (except for the "Purple Toupee" b-sides, which were not available publicly), giving new fans a chance to hear earlier non-album work without having to hunt down the individual EPs.
In early 1992, They Might Be Giants released Apollo 18, a space-themed album which coincided with TMBG being named Musical Ambassadors for International Space Year. Singles from the album included "The Statue Got Me High", "I Palindrome I" and "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)". Apollo 18 was also notable for being one of the first albums to take advantage of the CD player's shuffle feature. The song "Fingertips" actually comprised 21 separate tracks — short snippets which could be listened to as one song, but could also be played in random order, interspersed between the album's full-length songs. Due to mastering errors, the UK and Australian versions of Apollo 18 contained "Fingertips" as one track.
Following Apollo 18, Flansburgh and Linnell decided to recruit a supporting band: Kurt Hoffman of the Ordinaires on reeds and keyboards, longtime Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Jonathan Feinberg.
John Henry was released in 1994. Influenced by their more conventional lineup, this album marked a departure from their previous releases with more of a guitar-heavy sound. It was released to mixed reviews among fans and critics.
Their next album, Factory Showroom, was released in 1996 to little fanfare. The band had moved away from the feel of John Henry, and Factory Showroom includes the more diverse sounds of their earlier albums, despite the inclusion of two guitarists, the second being Eric Schermerhorn who provided several guitar solos.
They left Elektra after the duo refused to do a publicity show, amongst other exposure-related disputes.
In 1998, they released a mostly-live album Severe Tire Damage from which came the single "Doctor Worm", a studio recording.
For most of their career, TMBG have made innovative use of the Internet. As early as 1992, the band was sending news updates to their fans via Usenet newsgroups. In 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first major label recording artist to release an entire album exclusively in mp3 format. The album, Long Tall Weekend. is sold through eMusic.
Also in 1999, the band contributed the song "Dr. Evil" to the motion picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Over their career, the band has performed on numerous movie and television soundtracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World and Ed and His Dead Mother. They also performed the theme music "Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould, for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. More recently, they composed and performed the music for the TLC series Resident Life, the theme song for the Disney Channel program Higglytown Heroes, and songs about the cartoons Dexter's Laboratory and Courage the Cowardly Dog.
During this time the band also worked on a project for McSweeney's, a publishing company and literary journal. The band wrote a McSweeney's theme song and forty-four songs for an album that was meant to be listened to with the journal, with each track corresponding to a particular story or piece of artwork. Labeled They Might Be Giants vs. McSweeney's, the disk appears in issue #6 of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.
TMBG composed the single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as to the show's compilation CD, bringing a new audience to the band. Another song to feature in the series was "Spiraling Shape". "Boss of Me" became the band's second top-40 hit in the UK which they performed on long running UK television programme Top of the Pops, and in 2002, won the duo a Grammy Award.
On September 11, 2001, they released the album Mink Car on Restless Records. It was their first full album release of new studio material since 1996, and their first since parting ways with Elektra. The making of that album, including a record signing event at a Manhattan Tower Records, was included in a documentary directed by AJ Schnack titled Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). The film was released on DVD in 2003.
In 2002 they released their first album "for the entire family", No! Using the enhanced CD format, it included an interactive animation for most of the songs. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed.
In 2004, the band created one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could purchase and download MP3 copies of their music, both new releases and many previously released albums. By creating their own store, the band could keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. With the redesign of the band's website in 2010, the store was relaunched.
Also in 2004, the band released their first new "adult" rock work since the release of No!, the EP Indestructible Object. This was followed by a new album, The Spine, and an associated EP, The Spine Surfs Alone. It was at this time that Dan Hickey was replaced by Marty Beller who had previously collaborated with TMBG. For the album's first single, "Experimental Film", TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner creators Matt and Mike Chapman to create an animated music video. The band's collaboration with the Brothers Chaps also included several Puppet Jam segments with puppet Homestar, and the music for a Strong Bad email entitled "Different Town." More recently they recorded a track for the 200th Strong Bad e-mail, where Linnell provided the voice of The Poopsmith.
TMBG also contributed "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", a political campaign song from the presidential election of 1840, to the 2004 Future Soundtrack For America compilation, a project compiled by John Flansburgh with the help of Spike Jonze and Barsuk Records. The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured high-profile acts such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes. All proceeds went to progressive organizations such as Music for America and MoveOn.org.
Flansburgh and Linnell made a guest appearance in "Camp", the January 11, 2004 episode of the animated sitcom Home Movies, each lending their voices to two characters: a pair of camp counselors and two members of a strange hooded male bonding cult. On May 10, 2004, they appeared on episode 140 of Blue's Clues called "Bluestock" alongside several other stars, such as Toni Braxton, Macy Gray, and India Arie.
Following the Spine on the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from touring to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!.
2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!. The Disney Sound label released the CD and DVD separately on February 15, 2005. To promote the album, Flansburgh and Linnell along with drummer Marty Beller embarked on a short tour, performing for free at many Borders Bookstore locations. In November 2005, Venue Songs was released as a two-disc CD/DVD set narrated by John Hodgman. It is a concept album based on all of the "venue songs" from their 2004 tour.
TMBG covered the Devo song "Through Being Cool" in the 2005 Disney movie, Sky High.
Since December 2005, They Might Be Giants have been releasing podcasts on a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, basis. Each edition includes remixes of previous songs, rarities, covers, and new songs and skits recorded specifically for the podcast.
The band wrote fourteen original songs for the 2006 Dunkin' Donuts ad campaign, "America Runs On Dunkin'", including "Things I Like To Do", "Pleather" and "Fritalian". In the aired advertisement, Flansburgh sings "Fritalian" along with his wife, Robin Goldwasser. A 2008 commercial features the song "Moving".
The band have produced and performed three original songs for Playhouse Disney series: one for Higglytown Heroes and two for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They also recorded a cover of the Disney song, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" for the movie Meet the Robinsons and wrote and performed the theme song for The Drinky Crow Show. The band was recruited to provide original songs for the Henry Selick-directed movie of Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline, but were dropped because their music was not "creepy" enough. Only one song, entitled "Other Father Song", was kept for the film with Linnell singing as the titular "Other Father".
Their twelfth album, The Else, was released July 10, 2007, on Idlewild Recordings (and distributed by Zoë Records for the CD version), with an earlier digital release on May 15 at the iTunes Music Store. Advanced copies were made available to stations by mid-June 2007. The album was produced by Pat Dillett (David Byrne) and The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys). On February 12, 2009, They Might Be Giants performed the song "The Mesopotamians" from the album on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In the rest of 2007, They Might Be Giants wrote a commissioned piece for Brooklyn-based robotic music outfit League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots and performed for three dates at the event, and covered the Pixies "Havalina" for American Laundromat Records Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES compilation.
The band's thirteenth album, Here Come the 123s, a DVD/CD follow-up to 2005's critically-acclaimed Here Come the ABCs children's project, was released on February 5, 2008. On April 10, 2008, They Might Be Giants performed the song "Seven" from the album on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In 2009, the album won the Grammy Award for "Best Musical Album For Children" during the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.
The band's fourteenth album was Here Comes Science, a science-themed children's album. This album introduced listeners to natural, formal, social and applied sciences. It was released on September 1, 2009. On November 3, They Might Be Giants sent out a newsletter stating "The Avatars of They", a set of sock puppets the Johns manipulate for shows, will have an album in 2012, suggesting another kids album. However, a new adult album is also slated to be released in 2010.
The band took their name from the 1971 film They Might Be Giants (starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward), which is in turn taken from a Don Quixote passage about how Quixote mistook windmills for evil giants.
According to Dave Wilson, in his book Rock Formations, the name They Might Be Giants had been used and subsequently discarded by a friend of the band who had a ventriloquism act. The name was then adopted by the band, who had been searching for a suitable name.
They'll Need A Crane
They Might Be Giants Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But happiness can't see that love is sad
That love is sad
Sadness is hanging there
To show love somewhere something needs a change
They need a change
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
Lad's gal is all he has
Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
The love of lad
Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
But cause a little pain
They cause him pain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
And there's a restaurant we should check out where
The other nightmare people like to go
I mean nice people, baby wait,
I didn't mean to say nightmare
Lad looks at other gals
Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
He isn't bad
Call off the wedding band
Nobody wants to hear that one again
Play that again
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane
The song "They'll Need A Crane" by They Might Be Giants appears to be about the disintegration of relationships, with the lyrics describing a couple whose love is no longer enough to sustain them. The phrase "they'll need a crane" appears repeatedly in the song, suggesting that the couple's problems are too big for them to handle alone.
The first verse talks about how love can blind people to each other's sadness. While one person might prioritize the other's happiness, they might not realize that their love is struggling. By the time they do see it, it might be too late. The second verse describes how the actions of one partner might unintentionally cause pain for the other. This doesn't necessarily mean that they don't love each other anymore, but it's causing strain on their relationship. The bridge of the song expresses exhaustion and the desire to move on from the relationship, suggesting that the couple is at a breaking point.
The chorus, with its repeated refrain of "they'll need a crane," can be interpreted in different ways. It might suggest that the couple needs a tool to help them repair what is broken between them - a metaphorical crane that can help them take apart their old relationship and rebuild it from the ground up. Alternatively, the chorus might indicate that things have gone too far for the couple to fix their problems, and that they'll need outside help to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Love sees love's happiness
When you're in love, you focus on the happy moments shared with your partner.
But happiness can't see that love is sad
However, when you're happy, you may not always realize or understand when your partner is feeling sad.
That love is sad
Love can be difficult and sometimes it comes with sadness.
Sadness is hanging there
Sadness is present and apparent in the relationship.
To show love somewhere something needs a change
The sadness is a sign that a change is needed in the relationship.
They need a change
The couple needs to make a change in order to find happiness in their relationship again.
To take the house he built for her apart
In order to move forward and make a change, the couple needs to break apart what they have built together.
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
Breaking apart what they have built together won't be easy, it's going to require force and effort.
To pick the broken ruins up again
After breaking apart their life together, they need to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding.
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
The rebuilding process will involve healing and helping each other to see a brighter future.
Lad's gal is all he has
The woman in Lad's life is very important to him.
Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
Gal's happiness is very much tied to how Lad treats her and the love he shows her.
Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
Sometimes Gal may unintentionally say things that hurt Lad.
But cause a little pain
Even though Gal may not mean to hurt him, her words can still cause Lad pain.
Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
Lad is feeling stress and pressure in his life, and may not want to be bothered at work.
I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
Lad is feeling burnt out and as a result, may be losing his love for Gal.
And there's a restaurant we should check out where
Lad and Gal may want to explore new and exciting things together in order to bring some life back into their relationship.
The other nightmare people like to go
Lad may have accidentally referred to the type of people who frequent this restaurant as 'nightmares', but he didn't mean to.
I mean nice people, baby wait,
Lad is trying to correct his mistake and let Gal know that the people who go there are actually nice.
Lad looks at other gals
Lad may be tempted by other women, even when he is in a committed relationship with Gal.
Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
Gal may be attracted to other men, even if she loves Lad.
Call off the wedding band
Lad and Gal may need to put their plans for the future on hold until they work through their current problems.
Nobody wants to hear that one again
They may need to take a break from their current situation and focus on rebuilding their relationship before moving forward with any plans.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN FLANSBURGH, JOHN LINNELL, JOHN C. FLANSBURGH, JOHN S. LINNELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joaquín Melnik
Acá la letra traducida asi nomás al castellano rioplatenese:
They´ll need a crane
El amor ve la alegría del amor
Pero esa alegría no puede ver que el amor es triste
La tristeza anda por ahí
Para mostrarle al amor que algo en algún lugar necesita un cambio
Necesitan un cambio
Van a necesitar una grúa
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor
La chica era todo lo que tenía
La alegría de la chica dependía del chabón
Del amor del tipo
Alguna de las cosas que la flaca le dijo al tipo
No significaban algo realmente malo pero causaron algo de dolor
Causaron su dolor
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor
No me llames de nuevo al trabajo
Por favor, no, le sigo cayendo mal al jefe
Sólo estoy cansado y no te amo más
Y este es el restaurante al que deberíamos ir
A donde la otra gente espantosa le gusta ir
Digo linda gente, bancá
No quise decir espantoso
El flaco anda viéndose con otras pibas
La piba piensa que un Jim Bens es más guapo que un flaco
Que no está mal
Cancelen a la banda de la boda
Nadie quiere escuchara de nuevo
¡Una más!
Van a necesitar una grúa x 9
Adam Borseti
They Might Be Giants: play a happy melody over an upbeat, new wavey type beat, but sing really sad lyrics.
Hugely inspirational to me and the way I write music now. Such a great band!
Theo
ok
sharrison586
I love this band. This song is so sad but it still manages to be hilarious. That's genius.
Jonee Lillard
"Baby, wait, I didn't mean to say nightmare..."
oddvertex
She wants to see you again - slowly twisting in the wind.
X. X.
I love this tune. It´s sad and there´s more truth in it than most people are willing or able to see. And it´s fun. What a great combination.
somesquirrel
this is a very sad song, I just wonder what type of people live in the comments section. The type of people who are commenting on this video are the type of people I want to know. It's such a small subsection of the population. This is my favorite tmbg's album. Send me private messages if you are bored or lonely. It's me too. anyway also please send me private messages.
Coco Flojo
My brain is full up of TMBG lyrics and whenever I need a way to allude to an emotion one invariably pops up. Today it was "Nobody wants to hear that one again," but I've been hearing it a lot lately...
Joaquín Melnik
Acá la letra traducida asi nomás al castellano rioplatenese:
They´ll need a crane
El amor ve la alegría del amor
Pero esa alegría no puede ver que el amor es triste
La tristeza anda por ahí
Para mostrarle al amor que algo en algún lugar necesita un cambio
Necesitan un cambio
Van a necesitar una grúa
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor
La chica era todo lo que tenía
La alegría de la chica dependía del chabón
Del amor del tipo
Alguna de las cosas que la flaca le dijo al tipo
No significaban algo realmente malo pero causaron algo de dolor
Causaron su dolor
Van a necesitar una grúa
Para llevar la casa que construyó lejos de ella
Para romper con esto
Van tener que usar
Una bola de metal colgando de una cadena
Para remendar el corazón de ella
Para ayudarle a él a empezar
Para que vean un mundo ajeno al dolor
No me llames de nuevo al trabajo
Por favor, no, le sigo cayendo mal al jefe
Sólo estoy cansado y no te amo más
Y este es el restaurante al que deberíamos ir
A donde la otra gente espantosa le gusta ir
Digo linda gente, bancá
No quise decir espantoso
El flaco anda viéndose con otras pibas
La piba piensa que un Jim Bens es más guapo que un flaco
Que no está mal
Cancelen a la banda de la boda
Nadie quiere escuchara de nuevo
¡Una más!
Van a necesitar una grúa x 9
wigoutwigout
This is the saddest song ever written!
I only realised this once I was able to compare to one of my prior relationships and it really hit home...