Buckle Up

[Anders]

What has been your interpretation of the lyrics so far?

Not sure that I have one that I'm locked into. My initial take is climate change, which is partly why the delivery feels manipulative and pandering at times. And why I'm looking for a different way to access it.

Like, a lullaby about climate change and a dying planet dressed up in the shopworn metaphor of "mother" is hokey as fuck to me.

I hadn’t thought of that at all. But I can see it now. Mother being earth?

[epilogue]

What has been your interpretation of the lyrics so far?

Not sure that I have one that I'm locked into. My initial take is climate change, which is partly why the delivery feels manipulative and pandering at times. And why I'm looking for a different way to access it.

Like, a lullaby about climate change and a dying planet dressed up in the shopworn metaphor of "mother" is hokey as fuck to me.

I hadn’t thought of that at all. But I can see it now. Mother being earth?

Yeah, exactly.

[Anders]

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ ... index.html

Antiquities lost to The Nile. But I guess antiquities could also be related to parents, The Nile to life/death.

[Jaeti]

oh man, I love how he sings it. There is a a slight tinge of childlike awe to it that is so appropriate to the song

It's childlike and demented and ominous, and his vocal tone is so clear and direct. It's all so good. I was primed to dislike a growly rocker with this title and lyric, but expectations were so wonderfully thwarted.

[Juvenal]

BBC 6 Music had Gigaton as their album of the day and this was one of the tracks they played

[stip]

listening to this now and I wonder if part of this song is a parent picking a kid up after a fight, or harming an animal, or some childhood act of violence

[ghost]

I interpret it as being from the perspective of a doctor or nurse, but the "my mother's wrath" line throws a wrench in that.

[scrub12]

I think Josh said it's about hospital rooms and kids and parents, so it does sound like a parent picking up a kid after a fight or something.

[Anders]

I think it could also be from a son or daughter‘s perspective.

[Ms Harmless]

I mean, it could be a suicide attempt, a car crash, anything

[OmegaprimeVKM]

This reminds me of Parachutes - that whole swirling, hazy, ouroboros strumming pattern. Like the threat of a lullaby.

I didn't really get Parachutes either. It's not really for me, yet. I'm going to keep trying because it has something to it that has me a little hooked.

[warehouse]

munchausen's syndrom

the delivery of the lyrics and almost bouncy music goes perfect with the sometimes scary lyrics. what a trip of a song.

[evenslow]

seems to me a song about grooming.

insanely good.

[injuddstree]

I feel like this could be a precursor to Once, lyrically.

[stip]

i have a hard time imagining this one as a scary song

[spike]

i want to like this song more than i do, because it's definitely interesting. hoping it'll click.

[VinylGuy]

Love this song. It has evertyhing...the band sounds so good...and those fucking creepy lyrics?? Its close to their most creepy material for sure...Almost like a sequel to Around The Bend.

[VinylGuy]

Also Jeff is good at the end.

[oneway23]

First time I heard this, I took the chorus lyrics as a metaphor for the safety, security, & compassion we must show our loved ones should they ever need our care. As a disabled person who helps to care for his disabled wife, this hit me immeasurably hard.

As subsequent listens (the very few I've managed since) have revealed more of the lyrics, I was genuinely shocked by the Arthur Fleck vibes this one was giving off.

I think I'm struggling to reconcile my initial personal connection to the song with the potential reality of the subject matter.

[RockPusher]

This reminds me of Parachutes - that whole swirling, hazy, ouroboros strumming pattern. Like the threat of a lullaby.

I didn't really get Parachutes either. It's not really for me, yet. I'm going to keep trying because it has something to it that has me a little hooked.

I recently realized what it was about Parachutes that I didn't like: it feels like a song in need of a different singer. I love Eddie, but his delivery, at least in the studio version, feels quite strained to me in a way that does not flow naturally from the song's themes. I think this may be a reason why Buckle Up does work for me- because what pieces of strain I hear in Ed's delivery this time do seem to work well within the song. There's a trepidation to the breathy way he sings the words "Buckle up" that just makes sense, for instance.