Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[WtOB?]

its pretty obvious its about ed's wife. im pretty sure lightning bolt is about ed's wife too. how boring. he's been with her for 13 years or something and has 2 kids with her and decides now to write all his songs about her like he just met her.

[WtOB?]

Putting FD after The End actually makes it pretty badass. The End being the end of the world, and FD being the post-apocalypse. This is a love song at the end of the world, and the bridge is describing the natural disasters that killed everyone but the two lovers left standing.

that'd be cool. but it's at the end of the record and suggests the opposite to me. that there are many days ahead and they'll all be lovely and calm, while outside the chaos continues but not for them cos they've found each other awww how lovely.

[WtOB?]

the hurricanes and cyclones being that crazy ol world out there.

[harmless]

its pretty obvious its about ed's wife. im pretty sure lightning bolt is about ed's wife too. how boring. he's been with her for 13 years or something and has 2 kids with her and decides now to write all his songs about her like he just met her.

It's about whatever the listener wants it to be about, since there's no instruction booklet on how to read the songs. Just because it's primarily a cheesy love song (it is), it doesn't mean they didn't intend either of these songs to be more in the context of the album. I personally think the extra layers of these songs are pretty plausible and permissible, and I'm not stretching to see them. But as I say, it all depends on context. If these songs are surrounded by apocalypse and rage, there's no reason that these songs can't fit that context.

[harmless]

the hurricanes and cyclones being that crazy ol world out there.

Of course, that's the primary meaning of that bridge. But you know, things aren't just black and white, this or that.

[harmless]

And if you don't like the song at all anyway, you're not going to care about extra layers. This is true of every song in the catalogue.

[WtOB?]

its pretty obvious its about ed's wife. im pretty sure lightning bolt is about ed's wife too. how boring. he's been with her for 13 years or something and has 2 kids with her and decides now to write all his songs about her like he just met her.

It's about whatever the listener wants it to be about, since there's no instruction booklet on how to read the songs. Just because it's primarily a cheesy love song (it is), it doesn't mean they didn't intend either of these songs to be more in the context of the album. I personally think the extra layers of these songs are pretty plausible and permissible, and I'm not stretching to see them. But as I say, it all depends on context. If these songs are surrounded by apocalypse and rage, there's no reason that these songs can't fit that context.

sure. perhaps the hurricanes and cyclones are the things referred to on the rest of the album, they rage on while ed and the fam are indoors playing hungry hungry hippos and watching the wiggles.

[WtOB?]

so it ends up being a way to calm down after the chaos of the rest of the album.

[harmless]

Putting FD after The End actually makes it pretty badass. The End being the end of the world, and FD being the post-apocalypse. This is a love song at the end of the world, and the bridge is describing the natural disasters that killed everyone but the two lovers left standing.

that'd be cool. but it's at the end of the record and suggests the opposite to me. that there are many days ahead and they'll all be lovely and calm, while outside the chaos continues but not for them cos they've found each other awww how lovely.

Yes, but the 'chaos' has been defined by the rest of the album (hopefully). And that chaos is apocalyptic chaos, even if it's not over yet. So it's as if they're going to be two of the ones that are OK. I guess I don't find that cheesy, that's all. Whether it sounds it on the album will depend on the rest of the songs. That, I think, is why the song is on the end of the album. If we get the exact same song in 'My Father's Son', my theory goes kaput.

[stupidmop]

Putting FD after The End actually makes it pretty badass. The End being the end of the world, and FD being the post-apocalypse. This is a love song at the end of the world, and the bridge is describing the natural disasters that killed everyone but the two lovers left standing.

that'd be cool. but it's at the end of the record and suggests the opposite to me. that there are many days ahead and they'll all be lovely and calm, while outside the chaos continues but not for them cos they've found each other awww how lovely.

Yeah I was pretty intrigued when we thought for a second it was the album opener, I was hoping it was gonna be the calm before the storm.

[harmless]

so it ends up being a way to calm down after the chaos of the rest of the album.

The cheesy pop song on the end credits of the apocalypse movie.

[harmless]

its pretty obvious its about ed's wife. im pretty sure lightning bolt is about ed's wife too. how boring. he's been with her for 13 years or something and has 2 kids with her and decides now to write all his songs about her like he just met her.

It's about whatever the listener wants it to be about, since there's no instruction booklet on how to read the songs. Just because it's primarily a cheesy love song (it is), it doesn't mean they didn't intend either of these songs to be more in the context of the album. I personally think the extra layers of these songs are pretty plausible and permissible, and I'm not stretching to see them. But as I say, it all depends on context. If these songs are surrounded by apocalypse and rage, there's no reason that these songs can't fit that context.

sure. perhaps the hurricanes and cyclones are the things referred to on the rest of the album, they rage on while ed and the fam are indoors playing hungry hungry hippos and watching the wiggles.

And maybe they're in the basement waiting for the end to come? They've stocked up on tinned food etc. and they're watching the hurricane reports.

[Blenheim Augustine]

we can just stop listening after yellow moon, which will be a great track i just know it.

Moon/and/so/I/aaaaa-ah-aa-ah

[harmless]

we can just stop listening after yellow moon, which will be a great track i just know it.

Moon/and/so/I/aaaaa-ah-aa-ah

Nice fiddle there... still can't make out the lyrics.

[Release_Me]

its pretty obvious its about ed's wife. im pretty sure lightning bolt is about ed's wife too. how boring. he's been with her for 13 years or something and has 2 kids with her and decides now to write all his songs about her like he just met her.

Nothing in the LB lyrics suggest that it's about Ed's wife. Unless they have a seriously screwed up and unhappy relationship. Too much negativity in the lyrics for the song to be about them.

[harmless]

I guess every song involving the word 'she' or 'you' from now on will be about Ed's wife

[Release_Me]

Ed's written many songs from a third person's perspective. Nothingman was written when he was happy and with Beth. I remember reading an interview where he said so much as 'the song is about a guy who f*cked up a good thing. A 'nothingman'. I am not a nothingman".

[WtOB?]

what negativity is there in the lyrics?

[harmless]

Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go.

I guess part of his retrospective songwriting is imagining that he might have become a nothingman, but didn't. One feels pretty lucky in those circumstances, I can tell you.

[harmless]

what negativity is there in the lyrics?

This song is about 'she' (a woman, mother earth) that accepts you, then chews you up and spits you out again, and you die, but the problems carry on with someone else in your place. Wipeout, surfing imagery with the Lightning Bolt.