Ira's Brief Life As a Spider
of Montreal Lyrics


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All the baby spiders in the nursery
waving to each other clinging to their mothers
and smile at their dads
smile at their dads who say
Now that's a clever lad


One particular spider, who's parents had named Ira,
fell out of his mother's arms and became lost inside the giant insect hospital.
Since mother spiders give birth to so many babies at one time
it is exceedingly difficult to keep track of all of them
and sometimes a baby will get lost without it's mother ever being aware of its absence.
Ira was just such a case.
He crawled about for hours crying but his mother couldn't hear him for Ira was a mute.
This is where the story gets interesting.

He opened his mouth and discovered a lake in a crater on his tongue.
He was thirsty so he drank from the lake.
This proved to be a fatal mistake
as the lake was really a cake filled with poisonous snakes, and Ira died.

A nurse discovered dead baby Ira and sank with grief.
She gently lifted him up to her breast and carried him weeping to the head nurse
to see if any baby spiders had been reported missing.
The head nurse checked her missing baby spider file
and told her that No, no missing baby spiders have been reported.
The nurse holding dead baby Ira then asked if they could have a funeral for him.
The head nurse, being a very caring grasshopper,
agreed that that would be the proper thing to do.
So they dug a small hole near a yellow tulip, held a brief but moving requiem
and with great sadness buried baby Ira.

Miraculously, Ira was quickly reincarnated as a wild horse on the far off planet called Nearly.
on Nearly, wild horses hold the majority in the senate and Ira has discovered pudding.
His favorite is the kind without raisins.


All the baby spiders in the nursery
waving to each other clinging to their mothers
and smile at their dads




smile at their dads who say
Now that's a clever lad

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Ira's Brief Life As a Spider" by of Montreal tell a tragic and spiritual story about the life and death of a mute baby spider named Ira who got lost in the insect hospital. The song starts with a description of the nursery where all the baby spiders are happily waving to each other and clinging to their mothers. They smile at their fathers who are proud of their cleverness. However, Ira, who fell out of his mother's arms and became lost inside the hospital, was not so lucky. He cried for hours but couldn't communicate his distress as he was a mute spider. Then he discovered a lake in a crater on his tongue and drank from it, but it turned out to be a cake filled with poisonous snakes that killed him.


The story takes a spiritual turn when a nurse discovered Ira's body and asked for a funeral for him. The head nurse agreed, and they buried him with great sadness near a yellow tulip after a brief but moving requiem. However, Ira's journey doesn't end there as he was reincarnated as a wild horse on the far-off planet called Nearly. There, he has discovered pudding and enjoys eating the kind without raisins.


The song's lyrics use vivid and imaginative language and metaphorical creatures to convey a message of acceptance and comfort in the face of death, and the belief in the continuity of life.


Line by Line Meaning

All the baby spiders in the nursery waving to each other clinging to their mothers
A scene at the spider nursery, where the baby spiders were holding onto their mothers and waving at each other.


and smile at their dads smile at their dads who say Now that's a clever lad
The dads of the baby spiders were watching their children wave at each other and feeling proud of them.


One particular spider, who's parents had named Ira, fell out of his mother's arms and became lost inside the giant insect hospital.
Ira, a spider who was named by his parents, fell out of his mother's arms and got lost in the insect hospital.


Since mother spiders give birth to so many babies at one time it is exceedingly difficult to keep track of all of them and sometimes a baby will get lost without it's mother ever being aware of its absence.
Mother spiders give birth to multiple babies at once, making it challenging to keep track of all of them. Sometimes, a baby spider can get lost without its mother noticing.


Ira was just such a case. He crawled about for hours crying but his mother couldn't hear him for Ira was a mute. This is where the story gets interesting.
Ira was one such baby spider who got lost and started crying. However, his mother couldn't hear him since he was mute. This is where the story becomes engaging.


He opened his mouth and discovered a lake in a crater on his tongue. He was thirsty so he drank from the lake. This proved to be a fatal mistake as the lake was really a cake filled with poisonous snakes, and Ira died.
Ira found a lake in a crater on his tongue and drank from it to quench his thirst. Unfortunately, the lake turned out to be a cake filled with poisonous snakes, and Ira died after consuming it.


A nurse discovered dead baby Ira and sank with grief. She gently lifted him up to her breast and carried him weeping to the head nurse to see if any baby spiders had been reported missing.
A nurse found the dead baby spider, Ira, and felt extremely saddened by it. She picked him up and took him to the head nurse, hoping any missing baby spiders were reported.


The head nurse checked her missing baby spider file and told her that No, no missing baby spiders have been reported. The nurse holding dead baby Ira then asked if they could have a funeral for him.
The head nurse checked the records of missing baby spiders but could not find any. The nurse who found Ira then asked if they could organize a funeral for him.


The head nurse, being a very caring grasshopper, agreed that that would be the proper thing to do. So they dug a small hole near a yellow tulip, held a brief but moving requiem and with great sadness buried baby Ira.
The head nurse, who was a compassionate grasshopper, agreed to hold a funeral for Ira. They dug a small hole by a yellow tulip, had a short but emotional requiem, and buried Ira with a lot of sadness.


Miraculously, Ira was quickly reincarnated as a wild horse on the far off planet called Nearly. on Nearly, wild horses hold the majority in the senate and Ira has discovered pudding. His favorite is the kind without raisins.
Miraculously, Ira was reborn as a wild horse on a remote planet called Nearly. On this planet, wild horses had a majority in the senate, and Ira's newfound love for pudding, especially the raisin-free kind, made him happy in his new life.




Contributed by Juliana G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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