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).
Ur Life One Night
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not love, it's a close call
You poor thing you've got
To stop calling it love
You've got to be ignorin'
The first girl
She's so clever
She said
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
She wants you, and love don't come into the equation
What she loves, is sex in parked cars and the Photo Booth at Cha Cha
She's not a hologram, got damn, you can't ignore it
She's such fun
She says "don't run", she says
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
You're cornered, and she just needs revolution
That's cute, but she's no pearl of Gisborne
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
Unknown Mortal Orchestra's song "Ur Life One Night" is a song about a fleeting romantic encounter that is more centered around physical attraction than true love. The singer warns someone who has fallen in love too quickly that what they are feeling is not love, but rather a "close call." They need to stop calling it love and realize that the first girl they encounter may not be "the one." The girl is described as clever and someone who could be the "love of your life just for one night."
The song suggests that this girl is not interested in love but rather sex in parked cars and a fun night out at places like the Photo Booth at Cha Cha. The singer emphasizes that she is not a hologram but someone who should not be ignored. The girl may be a temptation for the person who has fallen in love too quickly, but the singer cautions that she is no pearl of Gisborne, meaning that she may not be worth risking true love for.
Overall, the song speaks to how easy it is to get caught up in infatuation and the importance of recognizing the difference between love and attraction. It also highlights the danger of getting too caught up in a fleeting encounter and risking true love for a temporary thrill.
Line by Line Meaning
If she'd fallen in love, first blood, you didn't notice
You failed to recognize that she fell for you initially
It's not love, it's a close call
It's not love, but rather narrowly avoided disaster
You poor thing you've got
You're in a sorry state
To stop calling it love
To stop categorizing it as love
You've got to be ignorin'
You must ignore
The first girl
The initial girl you meet
She's so clever
She's astute
She could be the love of your life
She may be the person you're destined to be with forever
Just for one night
But only for a single evening
She wants you, and love don't come into the equation
She desires you for sex solely, and feelings are irrelevant
What she loves, is sex in parked cars and the Photo Booth at Cha Cha
Her preferred pleasures are car sex and taking photos in the Cha Cha booth
She's not a hologram, got damn, you can't ignore it
She's real, not a projection, and you must recognize her existence
She's such fun
She's entertaining and amusing
She says "don't run", she says
She advises not to flee
You're cornered, and she just needs revolution
You're stuck, and she wants to break free
That's cute, but she's no pearl of Gisborne
It's nice, but she's not something extraordinary
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: RUBAN NIELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zyon Alejandro
If she’d fallen in love, first blood, you didn’t notice
It’s not love, it’s a close call
You poor thing you’ve got
To stop calling it love
You’ve got to be ignorin'
The first girl
She’s so clever
She said
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
She wants you, and love don’t come into the equation
What she loves, is sex in parked cars and the Photo Booth at Cha Cha
She’s not a hologram, got damn, you can’t ignore it
She’s such fun
She says “don’t run”, she says
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
You’re cornered, and she just needs revolution
That’s cute, but she’s no pearl of Gisborne
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
Heytor Terra
Espero que mais brasileiros tenham visto a homenagem ao gato louco do faustão no final do vídeo.
Não é verdade, desculpe. Minha cabeça é bem aleatória, não sei o motivo de lembrar disso e pq não desisti de postar.
HDSoil
If she’d fallen in love, first blood, you didn’t notice
It’s not love, It’s a close call
You poor thing you’ve got
To stop calling it love
You’ve got to be ignorin
The first girl
She’s so clever
She said
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
She wants you, and love don’t come into the equation
What she loves, is sex in parked cars and the Photo Booth at Cha Cha
She’s not a hologram, got damn, you can’t ignore it
She’s such fun
She says “don’t run”, she says
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
You’re cornered, and she just needs revolution
That’s cute, but she’s no pearl of Gisborne
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
Josh F
Sounds like a crazy Prince track. UMO has definitely become one of my favorite current bands. Ruban has tremendous breadth in his songwriting and playing, and the band really grooves. They were super in the rain at Summerstage NYC this summer. Keep up the great songwriting, arranging and videos, and I'll keep coming back, Ruban.
Zyon Alejandro
If she’d fallen in love, first blood, you didn’t notice
It’s not love, it’s a close call
You poor thing you’ve got
To stop calling it love
You’ve got to be ignorin'
The first girl
She’s so clever
She said
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
She wants you, and love don’t come into the equation
What she loves, is sex in parked cars and the Photo Booth at Cha Cha
She’s not a hologram, got damn, you can’t ignore it
She’s such fun
She says “don’t run”, she says
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
You’re cornered, and she just needs revolution
That’s cute, but she’s no pearl of Gisborne
She could be the love of your life
Just for one night
Lauren Eyton-Jones
Omg that is nothing like what I thought he was saying! Ok then.
Aslonz
Was about to look up lyrics but then I was like nah cause I knew youd be here.
Paul Martin
I'm kinda shocked at the amount of dislikes. There's not too many videos THIS creative coming out. And they do it so frequently it's insane.
Areke47
everyone keeps saying this sounds like a prince track... the chorus is so stevie wonder its crazy. he makes the instrumentation mimic stevie's melodics
Lola Bola
This is chill as hell. Nice job everyone ^_^
FreeThinker73
Song sounds like something PRINCE would compose.......why are so many people saying that the video sucks? It's very creative
hippiecheezburger
Ate some pot brownies and this album was so incredibly funky, Ruban had great execution, style and influence
Funky
I just found this channel... AND I LOVE IT.