470 Nanometers
Toby Driver Lyrics


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With his ear pressed up against the air
He listened to gravity
On a newly-built train
Gliding silent through the Holocene
And through the countryside
Past the grouses stained the ultramarine
Of comic book eventide
Can you fell the flow
And the pull of the tail?
The viscosity of space and name?
The eddy of minds chained in slavery
Embraced by the face in the flame?

Tapped by midnight's wand of dew
The peering eye decumbent
Flared into an aleph hailing
Starry sputum disassociated
Cosmic epithelium a-trailing
He watched a planet drifting through

And the plane pulled itself through the air




Slow as honey
The whole sky moved with it

Overall Meaning

In Toby Driver's song "470 Nanometers," the lyrics depict a scene of a person listening to the force of gravity while riding a newly-built train. As the train glides through the Holocene and countryside, the singer observes the surroundings with an attentive ear, paying attention to the viscosity of space and name, and the eddy of minds chained in slavery, all the while embraced by the face in the flame.


As midnight's wand of dew taps against the earth, the singer continues peering and eventually watches a planet drifting through. The last lines of the song paint a visual of a plane pulling itself through the air as slow as honey, with the entire sky moving in tandem with it. Overall, "470 Nanometers" is a thoughtful and introspective song, examining the nuances of space and time in a introspective and evocative way.


Line by Line Meaning

With his ear pressed up against the air
He was paying close attention to his surroundings


He listened to gravity
He was thinking deeply about the forces that shape our world


On a newly-built train
He was riding on a modern form of transportation


Gliding silent through the Holocene
The train passed quietly through the geological epoch we currently inhabit


And through the countryside
He observed the natural beauty around him


Past the grouses stained the ultramarine
He saw birds with blue plumage against the evening sky


Of comic book eventide
The sky looked like the colorful backdrop of a comic book scene


Can you feel the flow
He asked a rhetorical question about our perception of natural forces


And the pull of the tail?
He continued his inquiry into the nature of gravity


The viscosity of space and name?
He wondered about the density of the universe and the significance of names


The eddy of minds chained in slavery
He expressed frustration about the concept of mental slavery


Embraced by the face in the flame?
He asked if we are controlled by the fiery passion of our desires


Tapped by midnight's wand of dew
He referred to the way that nighttime can alter our perceptions of the world


The peering eye decumbent
He envisioned someone watching the world while lying down


Flared into an aleph hailing
His thoughts suddenly focused on an idea or concept (an aleph)


Starry sputum disassociated
He described a feeling of separation from the world


Cosmic epithelium a-trailing
He imagined the universe as having some sort of biological component


He watched a planet drifting through
He observed the movement of a celestial body


And the plane pulled itself through the air
He observed an airplane flying in the sky


Slow as honey
The plane moved through the air with a leisurely pace


The whole sky moved with it
The airplane seemed to be affecting the entire sky around it




Writer(s): Toby Driver

Contributed by Sebastian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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