A music video to accompany the release of "Tessellate" was first released on YouTube on 9 July 2012. The video was directed by Ben Newbury and is an artistic reworking of the famous painting The School of Athens by Raphael, using 21st century characters in a room similar to the painting's background (PanthΓ©on, in Paris). To reinforce the connection, one of the characters at the very beginning of the clip is wearing a printed T-shirt of the painting.
Tessellate
alt-J Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're a shark and I'm swimming
My heart still thumps as I bleed
And all your friends come sniffing
Triangles are my favorite shape
Three points where two lines meet
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go
'Til morning comes
Let's tessellate
Go alone my flower
And keep my whole lovely you
Wild green stones, alone my lover
And keep us on my heart
Three guns and one goes off
One's empty, one's not quick enough
One burn, one red, one grin
Search the graves while the camera spins
Chunks of you will sink down to seals
Blubber rich in mourning
They'll nosh you up, yes, they'll nosh the love away
But it's fair to say, you will still haunt me
Triangles are my favorite shape
Three points where two lines meet
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go
My love, it's very late
'Til morning comes
Let's tessellate
Alt-Jβs song Tessellate is a song that can be interpreted in various ways. The song appears to be about a love triangle that involves cheating, and the three points that make up the triangle. The first verse highlights the pain experienced by the lover who is being cheated on as they feel like they are being attacked by a predatory shark. The lover's heart still beats strongly, which is the basis of the love triangle.
In the next verse, the chorus comes in and lyrics say "Triangles are my favorite shape, three points where two lines meet.β This could be interpreted as the love triangle, with the three points being the three individuals involved in the triangle. The song then shifts a bit to talk about the search for something better, represented by the βgreen stonesβ and the loneliness one can feel when searching for happiness. The chorus comes back for the next verse where the singer proclaims that the love triangle will always haunt them, showing pain that one can feel, even after the relationship has ended.
Overall, the song appears to be about the pain, confusion and the hard to unravel sheets of a very complicated love triangle.
Line by Line Meaning
Bite chunks out of me
You are taking pieces of me away, leaving me vulnerable.
You're a shark and I'm swimming
You are the predator, and I am struggling to survive.
My heart still thumps as I bleed
Even though you hurt me, I still have feelings for you and my heart races from the pain.
And all your friends come sniffing
Your associates are investigating the situation, perhaps to join in or make their own judgement.
Triangles are my favorite shape
Triangles represent the complexity and interconnectedness of love triangles, and how the three points create balance and harmony between people.
Three points where two lines meet
The points represent the people or lovers on the two intersecting lines, creating a sense of unity and balance.
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go
We are in this together, with our backs facing the same direction, ready to face whatever comes our way.
My love, it's very late
The timing of our love is not ideal, and it may have consequences for us.
'Til morning comes
We are in this for the long haul, and we'll face the ups and downs together until the end.
Let's tessellate
Let's become intertwined in each other's lives, with our love creating a beautiful and complex mosaic.
Go alone my flower
You are my delicate and beautiful flower, and I want you to explore the world on your own.
And keep my whole lovely you
But I want you to remember that I love all of you, including your flaws and imperfections, and I will always be there for you.
Wild green stones, alone my lover
You are unique and independent, like wild stones, and I will always love you for who you are.
And keep us on my heart
Our love will always have a place in my heart, wherever life takes us.
Three guns and one goes off
There are three people in this love triangle, and one will always come out on top, with the other two left to deal with the aftermath.
One's empty, one's not quick enough
One person is emotionally depleted, while the other is too slow to realize what is going on, making them vulnerable.
One burn, one red, one grin
Each of us is experiencing different emotions, with one person hurting, another angry, and the final person trying to make light of the situation.
Search the graves while the camera spins
The trials and tribulations of life are ongoing, a rollercoaster that is sometimes out of our control.
Chunks of you will sink down to seals
You may feel like you are being torn apart, with pieces of yourself being devoured by those who surround you.
Blubber rich in mourning
You will feel terrible pain and sorrow, but this is a natural process of grieving and coming to terms with what has happened.
They'll nosh you up, yes, they'll nosh the love away
Others may try to take advantage of your vulnerability and eat you up, taking away the love that was shared between you and another.
But it's fair to say, you will still haunt me
Even though we may move on, the memories and scars from our love will stay with us, haunting us forever.
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management
Written by: Augustus Figaro Niso Unger-Hamilton, Charlie Andrew, Gwilym David Dylan Sainsbury, Joe Jerome Newman, Thomas Stuart Green
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@elizabethtabares5180
Bite chunks out of me
You're a shark and I'm swimming
My heart still thumps as I bleed
And all your friends come sniffing
Triangles are my favorite shape
Three points where two lines meet
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go
My love, it's very late
'Til morning comes
Let's tessellate
Go alone my flower
And keep my whole lovely you
Wild green stones, alone my lover
And keep us on my heart
Three guns and one goes off
One's empty, one's not quick enough
One burn, one red, one grin
Search the graves while the camera spins
Chunks of you will sink down to seals
Blubber rich in mourning
They'll nosh you up, yes, they'll nosh the love away
But it's fair to say, you will still haunt me
Triangles are my favorite shape
Three points where two lines meet
Toe to toe, back to back, let's go
My love, it's very late
'Til morning comes
Let's tessellate
@nickobree5207
Listening to this song and checking out the lyrics, I see the song as a PoV from three people in a love triangle, where two people love one person. One of them is deeply in love with the protagonist but is misunderstood and mistreated, the other one is more confident and possessive, and the third is the main protagonist who enjoys the attention she is getting.. This is how I see it.
So the first verse is the PoV from our first character, Mr. Misunderstood, he feels helpless and torn down by the girl he loves, her friends too mistreat him and although he only wants to love her, she does nothing but hurt him, and he has accepted this with lyrics like "Bite chunks out of me, You're a shark and I'm swimming, My heart still thumps as I bleed" Even here, you can see he loves her and keeps doing so through the pain.
The next set is the Chorus, this is the PoV of our protagonist, who says that "Triangles are my favorite shape" because she enjoys the attention from two guys that she gets, "Toe to Toe, Back to Back let's go." Is what I see, an allegory for a western standoff, where the two guys are fighting it out for the love of the girl.
The third set, the Verse now is Mr Possessive, with lyrics like "Go alone my flower" and "And keep us on my heart" it makes the point that he likes her to only think about him, and he is aware this other guy is infatuated with her, this is him telling her to not go down that path, and to keep her mind on Mr Possessive, not Mr Misunderstood.
The next Verse is about three guns, each gun being a different person, "Three guns and one goes off, One's empty, one's not quick enough" Now at first we don't know who it is who shot the gun, Ie.. Took one other person's life, but we know that it is Mr Misunderstood's turn in his verse, and this means it could be him who shot? Who killed Mr Possessive? No.. "One burn, one red, one grin" The "One Burn" is the death of our Mr Misunderstood, we know this because of "One Grin" which would come from Mr Possessive, who doesn't like Mr Misunderstood because of the last verse, the "One Red" is the emotions of the Protagonist, who in my eyes is angry at how the triangle is broken..
Then the next verse comes from the girl's perspective, and she is mourning the death of the guy she lost, maybe the decision of having a love triangle like this is haunting her? Or maybe the lingering feeling that his death is her fault. "You will still haunt me
"
The final chorus is Mr Possessive, Triangles are his favorite shape, the love triangle he enjoyed because in the end he came out as the winner in this mess, in his eyes, everything went well.
This is how I see the song, it's probably not what Alt-J were thinking when it was written and sung, but I like to over-analyse and enjoy the storytelling that my imagination can conjure!
@bradleypeterson2322
Wish I knew more people who liked this type of music.
@s0.weirdd
Bradley Peterson oh me too, i've been searching people who likes this music but i don't find it in my country HAHA and i just think ''why i born here?'' D: it's sad.
@skepticonolion5970
Bradley Peterson This music is a genius Work !
Fools come and say " illuminati ' without trying to resolve the secrets of this master chief !
@dcasasorozco
***** no, and stop being an spammer, I'm tired of the same comment on every Alt J video
@skepticonolion5970
***** You know more music ? smt like Alt J ? :)
@GabrielDayot
Bradley Peterson Me. Indie is the best. <3
@FlyingTiger2099
Alt-J: unofficial soundtrack of every cool thing, everywhere.
@InvisibleYetVisible
I promise you, you couldn't be further from reality.
@ChrisD__
@@InvisibleYetVisible Official soundtrack of the Ingress anime though.
@InvisibleYetVisible
@@ChrisD__ maybe. But this shite music is nowhere near good