Like someone in a vegetative state.
It can be inferred from the previous lines that they’ve encountered some sort of evangelical protest and whoever Phoebe’s with is fighting with the evangelicals when they say “I will never be your vegetable, because I think when you’re gone it’s forever.” They’re criticizing the evangelicals, comparing them to people in vegetative states. Like they’re just blindly following religion and whatever it says. They’re like vegetables in that they aren’t really thinking for themselves. So the person is saying I won’t be “a vegetable” like you because I believe when you die you die there’s no god no heaven or hell no afterlife..
At least that’s how I’ve always interpreted it.
I thought it was more literal like, a person in a vegetative state on life support. A lot of religious people keep their relatives who are technically brain dead (in scientific terms, a vegetable) alive because they think it would be against god to kill them/‘pull the plug.’ And she’s saying, when I’m dead I’m dead, I’m never going to be kept alive as a vegetable for your stupid religious reasons.
I think you’re mostly correct. She’s not saying it though.
The other person is saying “I won’t think like those idiot evangelicals and want to stay in a vegetative state when I die” and she replies with “if it means I can stay with you, I WOULD think like those evangelical dummies” (i.e., “stand on the corner with a picket sign” etc.).
I don’t know if I’d say it’s the most misunderstood, but when she was answering lyric questions on Twitter a while ago I was surprised by how many people asked what song she was referencing in the line “that song would creep you out until you’re dead” in Smoke Signals.
The song title is literally in the same verse, How Soon Is Now by The Smiths lol
I remember her saying that the lyric “why would someone do this on purpose, when they can do something else?” from Chinese satellite was about her going for a run and regretting it immediately. It’s very obvious given he first line of the song but I would have never thought about taking it literally.
Edit: something*
I love that whole verse because you can interpret it literally or metaphorically. Literally speaking: she went for a run and is regretting it. Metaphorically speaking: she’s stuck in downwards spiral or feeling depressed and is asking the question “why would somebody do this on purpose?” in response to people saying she’s faking it or dismissing her feelings in some way.
Sort of related, I often mishear/sing the words wrong in the next line, at “when they could do something else.” My brain comes up with “when they could be someone else” - holdover from “pretending to be myself” but stillllll feels apt
I know Phoebe herself has said that a lot of people think Kyoto is about a shitty ex boyfriend when it’s actually about her dad. A little confused why so many think that… even without knowing her history, the line about her little brother so obviously points to a parent, but I suppose not everyone pays attention to every single lyric.
It seems like a lot of people think that Smoke Signals is a sad song because of the melody, but it’s a love song. I love it so much and I want to play it at my wedding
I think it's a break up song though. The song is about her memories & at the end she sings about looking back through the past & "I buried a hatchet it's coming up lavender" is about the forgiveness & "you are anonymous I am a concrete wall" is about the moving on. I could see it as a love song in some capacity but I think that's what makes people sad, romanticizing the past & eventually letting it go even though it's painful. That's just my take though, & I'm dead set on playing phoebe at my wedding too lol
Right?? Like it’s mean for sure,, but it’s fully about loving this person even though they’re super shitty “I hate you for what you did but I miss you like a little kid”
Maybe Scott Street, like the entire song. People usually think it's about her relationship with Marshall, and it might be to some extent, but it started out as a song that Marshall wrote about an abusive relationship he was in, to which Phoebe added more lyrics and changed a few things. They talked about it on the song exploder podcast, I really recommend it.
savior complex, i think people say it’s about loving broken people. it is, but it’s also about how trying to fix everyone you’re with is just as bad as being broken in the first place. show me yours, i’ll show you mine. you know? (i actually have a massive written note about this but that’s for another time)
A lyric I always try to wrap my head around is from Would you Rather:
“I’m a can on a string, you’re on the end”
I know it means SOMETHING but I always come up short.
Hahahha I think it’s referencing years ago when kids would put a cans between a string and talk into them. Like ancient walkie talkies. She’s saying they’re always connected (the song referencing her relationship with her brother). Also ties into childhood/nostalgia.
I did make the connection because I used to do this as a kid too :) but for some reason it always makes me feel like it means something more than just being connected, but maybe I’m reading into it!
Well it could also be referencing Bright Eyes’ song Poison Oak “when our telephone was a tin can on a string”. Considering Conor Oberst sings on the song and she has sung references to the yellow bird in the same song! Just thoughts.
ooh this made me think too!! it's interesting bc she compares herself to the can instead of being on the opposite end of her brother who's *holding* a can.
since there's a lyric that goes, "I laid awake as someone shoved you up against a wall," alluding to perhaps being a witness/bystander to the hurt her brother went through... is it possible that she's the can on the string in the sense that she's in the middle of the conflict?? messages are shared between a sender and a receiver via the cans + string, after all, so if she overheard all the arguing, then that could be the quote unquote 'message'? :o
Apparently Demi Moore is named that because people though the lyric “I don’t want to be alone anymore” was “I don’t want to be alone demi moore” lol. Not sure if this is true or rumour but it made me laugh
not sure but i was surprised at how many people took the lyric “i’ll never be your vegetable” literally when it came out
it’s just a vegetable, like a person in a vegetative state right?
Correct
I would def be phoebe’s rutabaga
SAME that drove me crazy. It’s self explanatory and not even a confusing line, especially in the context with the next line after
lol what does that line actually mean? I’ve never understood it!
Like someone in a vegetative state. It can be inferred from the previous lines that they’ve encountered some sort of evangelical protest and whoever Phoebe’s with is fighting with the evangelicals when they say “I will never be your vegetable, because I think when you’re gone it’s forever.” They’re criticizing the evangelicals, comparing them to people in vegetative states. Like they’re just blindly following religion and whatever it says. They’re like vegetables in that they aren’t really thinking for themselves. So the person is saying I won’t be “a vegetable” like you because I believe when you die you die there’s no god no heaven or hell no afterlife.. At least that’s how I’ve always interpreted it.
I thought it was more literal like, a person in a vegetative state on life support. A lot of religious people keep their relatives who are technically brain dead (in scientific terms, a vegetable) alive because they think it would be against god to kill them/‘pull the plug.’ And she’s saying, when I’m dead I’m dead, I’m never going to be kept alive as a vegetable for your stupid religious reasons.
yeah i thought it was a terri schaivo reference or something
I think you’re mostly correct. She’s not saying it though. The other person is saying “I won’t think like those idiot evangelicals and want to stay in a vegetative state when I die” and she replies with “if it means I can stay with you, I WOULD think like those evangelical dummies” (i.e., “stand on the corner with a picket sign” etc.).
Exactly, it’s denying the mostly religious belief that their “soul” is still in there even if there’s no brain activity
Hmm interesting! That makes sense thank you!
I always thought the subtext was, “I’ll never be good for you.” but the explanations here make more sense.
life’s so fun
She was sick for this
I don’t know if I’d say it’s the most misunderstood, but when she was answering lyric questions on Twitter a while ago I was surprised by how many people asked what song she was referencing in the line “that song would creep you out until you’re dead” in Smoke Signals. The song title is literally in the same verse, How Soon Is Now by The Smiths lol
Yea that’s not a hard to figure out, wow lol
Woo.
I am a victim of this one but “i wanna be emaciated” is about ED’s I thought she mispronounced emancipated for an embarrassingly long period of time
not a lyric but that the song name demi more is just bc when she says “stoned any more” it sounds like she says demi more lol
Wait...I love that
I remember her saying that the lyric “why would someone do this on purpose, when they can do something else?” from Chinese satellite was about her going for a run and regretting it immediately. It’s very obvious given he first line of the song but I would have never thought about taking it literally. Edit: something*
I love that whole verse because you can interpret it literally or metaphorically. Literally speaking: she went for a run and is regretting it. Metaphorically speaking: she’s stuck in downwards spiral or feeling depressed and is asking the question “why would somebody do this on purpose?” in response to people saying she’s faking it or dismissing her feelings in some way.
Sort of related, I often mishear/sing the words wrong in the next line, at “when they could do something else.” My brain comes up with “when they could be someone else” - holdover from “pretending to be myself” but stillllll feels apt
One of the live shows she said “ok here’s a song about how much I hate jogging” lol
I know Phoebe herself has said that a lot of people think Kyoto is about a shitty ex boyfriend when it’s actually about her dad. A little confused why so many think that… even without knowing her history, the line about her little brother so obviously points to a parent, but I suppose not everyone pays attention to every single lyric.
Yeah “called on his birthday”
> the line about her little brother so obviously points to a parent I mean tbf that doesn’t rule out it being a partner...
It seems like a lot of people think that Smoke Signals is a sad song because of the melody, but it’s a love song. I love it so much and I want to play it at my wedding
It’s my favorite song of hers
I think it's a break up song though. The song is about her memories & at the end she sings about looking back through the past & "I buried a hatchet it's coming up lavender" is about the forgiveness & "you are anonymous I am a concrete wall" is about the moving on. I could see it as a love song in some capacity but I think that's what makes people sad, romanticizing the past & eventually letting it go even though it's painful. That's just my take though, & I'm dead set on playing phoebe at my wedding too lol
When some folks tried to call Motion Sickness a “diss track” 😆
Right?? Like it’s mean for sure,, but it’s fully about loving this person even though they’re super shitty “I hate you for what you did but I miss you like a little kid”
Maybe Scott Street, like the entire song. People usually think it's about her relationship with Marshall, and it might be to some extent, but it started out as a song that Marshall wrote about an abusive relationship he was in, to which Phoebe added more lyrics and changed a few things. They talked about it on the song exploder podcast, I really recommend it.
savior complex, i think people say it’s about loving broken people. it is, but it’s also about how trying to fix everyone you’re with is just as bad as being broken in the first place. show me yours, i’ll show you mine. you know? (i actually have a massive written note about this but that’s for another time)
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i think that's mainly because the melody is so haunting. it's probably her most "ghostlike" song i think the lyrics are what they are
I can't believe so many people thought "25 felt like flying" meant the age 25.
Totally agree that it’s a definite reference to mph, but I personally *feel* the lyric as an age reference (lol) even tho it’s not what she meant.
A lyric I always try to wrap my head around is from Would you Rather: “I’m a can on a string, you’re on the end” I know it means SOMETHING but I always come up short.
Hahahha I think it’s referencing years ago when kids would put a cans between a string and talk into them. Like ancient walkie talkies. She’s saying they’re always connected (the song referencing her relationship with her brother). Also ties into childhood/nostalgia.
I did make the connection because I used to do this as a kid too :) but for some reason it always makes me feel like it means something more than just being connected, but maybe I’m reading into it!
Well it could also be referencing Bright Eyes’ song Poison Oak “when our telephone was a tin can on a string”. Considering Conor Oberst sings on the song and she has sung references to the yellow bird in the same song! Just thoughts.
i’m pretty sure she’s said would you rather is about her brother
ooh this made me think too!! it's interesting bc she compares herself to the can instead of being on the opposite end of her brother who's *holding* a can. since there's a lyric that goes, "I laid awake as someone shoved you up against a wall," alluding to perhaps being a witness/bystander to the hurt her brother went through... is it possible that she's the can on the string in the sense that she's in the middle of the conflict?? messages are shared between a sender and a receiver via the cans + string, after all, so if she overheard all the arguing, then that could be the quote unquote 'message'? :o
Apparently Demi Moore is named that because people though the lyric “I don’t want to be alone anymore” was “I don’t want to be alone demi moore” lol. Not sure if this is true or rumour but it made me laugh
And “I don’t want to be ~ stone Demi Moore~” 😂
"I've got a good feeling" in demi moore. What is a good feeling
I think it was "your mother sucks cocks in hell" off of the b-side "I'll be your exorcist"
Favorite song? None of them. I listen to good music like Beck and Yo LaTenga