Red Mosquito

Ledbetterdays wrote:

mikejasond wrote:Im very curious to hear takes on this one. The rolling stone article also considered it hopeful which somebody echoed in the album thread. And quoted the lyrics they see as hopeful and I see as desperately clinging ala Black. To me this was not a hopeful song at all but others read it differently.

I'll take the bait here. I think you referenced Black. Black the relationship is over. This one it's not. I think he is also playing across multiple ideas here: Chris, the band, maybe his wife, and at the end we could be one last setting sun or I forget the exact lyric but more of a sunrise into let us not fade. That last few seconds turns the coin to something hopeful.

I love the idea of the final part of the song being Ed looking a the band all back in a room excited, and thinking look at this, maybe we thought this was the end, but it could be a sunrise if we hang on.

I think my disagreement is the part that it's not over here. It seems to be essentially over. The first lines of the song basically say we tried to put a cast on our broken love, but it couldn't be healed. I forget the exact lyrics but he says he thought they were supposed to be together forever (til kingdom come), but then the other person left him. And he feels like the only one trying to hold on. And if you put some of the other songs together like Wreckage, Scared of Fear, etc, it seems like things are kind of beyond repair.

I see "let us not fade" as more desperate than hopeful. He feels the end growing closer and wants to share this with the other person. The hopeful imagery at the end is what he WANTS. And maybe there is a part of him that's hopeful but given the rest of the song the situation does not look good for Eddie/the narrator. He says he felt that he was the only one trying. In that context, it's a similarly one-sided "we belong together". He says if they could see what he sees, then they would not leave him. But that will not make the other person stay. That's why I call it a more mature Black.

Black is a young angsty guy insisting he belongs with the object of his devotion and not understanding why they can't be together. In fact, I think the setting sun imagery (also sun imagery on Wreckage btw) evokes the bit about her being a star in Black. Though now they are the star I guess...I think in this song it's different, because he's a much older man, he has had a life with this person, he was ready to spend their life together, then that didn't happen, and he feels like they are meant to be, he wants them to be, he basically says, if you could see what I see you would stay with me. But it's the same 'entitled' belief as the Black narrator that they should be together, and the sadness is that he won't have it, and this song is almost more sad than Black in a way because Eddie on this album seems much more resigned and aware, and it seems like a much more meaningful relationship.

To follow up, I guess both Black and Setting Sun express the firm belief that you belong with the other person and the sadness about not being able to have the life you dreamed and knowing that you should/could, and it is all you want. They just do it from different life stages. Setting Sun has the weight of age on its side, with a greater sadness much deeper.

I see the ending as a similar emotion to Black, its just expressed differently because it comes from a much older Eddie

the last part is such a country riff

I loooove this song

this song has Let Me Sleep vibes.

dad wrote:this song has Let Me Sleep vibes.

it does!

mikejasond wrote:To follow up, I guess both Black and Setting Sun express the firm belief that you belong with the other person and the sadness about not being able to have the life you dreamed and knowing that you should/could, and it is all you want. They just do it from different life stages. Setting Sun has the weight of age on its side, with a greater sadness much deeper.

I see the ending as a similar emotion to Black, its just expressed differently because it comes from a much older Eddie

I don't really disagree with you, just trying to see that other perspective. I think the listener might want it to feel hopeful especially if they attach it to Ed. Out of context, the position you take on this is more concrete. Kind of like Watt said can you make a mature version of Black because everyone loves that song?

the keys on this drip with 80s

This is how I’d hope PJ would translate Ed’s Into the Wild style.

love how the main guitar part in the first half of the song sounds

man, this is a solid closer.

I'd have to go all the way back to Riot Act or Binaural to start finding album closers that might be better than this.

I hope they close out a few shows with this, but it could also be an opener.

main set transition song

Even without this song, I would have said "that's a great album!", but then this thing starts and easily becomes my favorite track.

ABNorman wrote:I'd have to go all the way back to Riot Act or Binaural to start finding album closers that might be better than this.

Not since Riot Act for me.

This one is firmly stuck in my head…could rise to a 5 star once I open some wine after the kids are asleep…the beginning melody is lovely.

There is a feeling I cant shake on the vocal melody, or the vocal melody juxtaposed with the drums that remind me of Incubus…that loose feeling.

This one was a total shocker for me. Only song I didn't get around to on the first day of the bootleg. After at least 10 listens, I think it's a top-3 pj album closer. Makes me want to go back and re-read all the album reviews to see if/what I overlooked (anything).

I want to drink an ice cold corona at sunset and zone out to this song

The final few minutes just brought actual tears to my eyes on my first real listen with headphones.

The guitar lick that starts around 3:10 is mesmerizing. And the closing lyrics and delivery are stunning. Really powerful.