Wasner and Stack have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore, MD, and chose their name from the honorary state tree of Maryland. If Children is the culmination of many months of recording, polishing and perfecting to achieve what Any Given Tuesday best described as, “. .. . mingling in a room full of shoegaze, alt-country, folk, and noise, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, and making friends with everyone.” If Children is an exuberant debut – noisy and restrained in turn, Wye Oak describe their philosophy: "We'd like to think that if a song is good enough, it'll stand on its own regardless of how much noise you pile on top. On the other hand, we do like noise." Listen, and we think you will have to agree!
The droll tone and fleeting sweetness of a Yo La Tengo are cut into the more deeply textural concerns of shoegaze in the Baltimore group's work. It's an interesting alignment, given the contrast in senses of humor. But Wye Oak successfully shed tonnage from the latter without losing potency.
Milk and Honey
Wye Oak Lyrics
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I hope that I'm alive to see
Let the honey flow
Watch the cat below
Grow, you know
Smarter than it looks
The lines above are from the first verse of "Milk and Honey" by Wye Oak. This song is about the simple pleasures of life and how we should cherish them while we still can. The opening line "Save some blue chips for me" refers to the idea of saving good fortune or luck for the future. The singer is hopeful that they will be alive to experience these moments.
The next lines "Let the honey flow, watch the cat below, grow you know, smarter than it looks" talk about the beauty of nature and how we should take time to appreciate it. Honey flowing can be seen as a metaphor for how life can be sweet and enjoyable if we let it be. Watching the cat below can represent the small things in life that can bring us joy. Lastly, "smarter than it looks" implies that even the seemingly innocent things in life have more depth and value than we may initially realize.
Overall, "Milk and Honey" is a reminder to slow down, appreciate the simple things, and to be present in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Save some blue chips for me
Please save some valuable things or opportunities for me, as I hope to be alive long enough to enjoy them.
I hope that I'm alive to see
I have a wish to still be living when something desirable happens.
Let the honey flow
Allow the good things in life to come easily, like the sweet flow of honey.
Watch the cat below
Observe the happenings below you with caution, similar to how one may watch a cat's movements closely.
Grow, you know
Keep growing and improving, as you already know you should be doing.
Smarter than it looks
Something may appear simple or unintelligent, but it actually possess intelligence or depth beyond what is immediately visible.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JENNIFER LYNN WASNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind