In late 2010 the band's bandcamp account featured their single ‘Ffunny Ffrends’, a sort of alien beatnik pop music that echoed 60s psychedelia and krautrock minimalism with just a hint of gentle weirdness that suggested its roots might equally lie in the verdant indie of the equally distant New Zealand scene.
Ruban Nielson is a New Zealand native who transplanted to Portland, Oregon, USA with his band The Mint Chicks. UMO was a project conceived as Ruban’s escape hatch to a new musical dimension where his vision of junkshop record collector pop could be realised in a sound that recalled Captain Beefheart, Sly Stone and RZA jamming on some kids TV theme too dark to ever be broadcast.
The eponymous UMO debut album was released in 2011 on Fat Possum Records, followed by II (2013), Multi-Love (2015), Sex & Food (2018), IC-01 Hanoi (2018) and V (2023).
Little Blu House
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side
Oh, to be high on the mountainside
Oh, to be high on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent
And I could stay here for a while
Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side
Oh, to be safe on the mountainside
Oh, to be safe on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent
And I could stay here for a while
Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side
Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side
Oh, to be high on the mountainside
Oh, to be high on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent
And I could stay here for a while
The lyrics to Unknown Mortal Orchestra's "Little Blu House" paint a picture of a desire for safety and escape. The repetition of "Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side" brings to mind a rural, isolated setting, and the desire to be high on the mountainside conveys a longing for physical elevation as well as emotional distance from the troubles of the world below. The repeated phrase "Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent" suggests a wish to evade danger or persecution, and the desire to stay in this idyllic setting "for a while" indicates a preference for a temporary escape rather than a permanent retreat.
Line by Line Meaning
Little blue houses sitting high on the mountain side
The singer is describing the little blue houses that sit on the high mountain side.
Oh, to be high on the mountainside
The singer wishes to be high on the mountainside like the little blue houses.
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent
The singer hopes that the wolves will no longer be able to track them.
And I could stay here for a while
The artist would like to stay in the safety of the high mountain for a while.
Oh, to be safe on the mountainside
The artist wishes to feel safe on the mountainside.
Contributed by Lauren J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MaxResDefault
Little blu house is sitting high on the mountainside
Oh to be high on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent and I could stay there for a while
Little safehouse is sitting high on the mountainside
Oh to be safe on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent and I could stay there for a while
Alex Rigsbee
This is incredible and extremely underrated. This is my third favorite on the album, behind bicycle and funny friends.
Luke Sanderson
oh, man. this is SO good. i love ruben! he's my brah! these guys are amazing live!
Angelee Mehta
My brother and I drove from DC to see you guys in Richmond last week! Sorry you were sick Ruban :( Jake and Julien, you guys were awesome too! I'm about to get your album on vinyl, it's going to sound soo good in my record player. Hope to see you guys again in the future!
thegonz1
Such a good opener to an always killer set by these guys!
mark queen
THEY ARE SO UNDERRATED.
MrTakkocat
I think this song sounds much better live. Saw them when they opened for Grizzly Bear in DC. Amazing show.
MaxResDefault
Little blu house is sitting high on the mountainside
Oh to be high on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent and I could stay there for a while
Little safehouse is sitting high on the mountainside
Oh to be safe on the mountainside
Maybe all the wolves could lose my scent and I could stay there for a while
Mario 22
Simplemente maravilloso
piu poi
concordo
Arianna Ayesha Valdez
<3