"Vaguery is the primary tool of songwriters"
-Glenn Frey
That said, I find this song kind of fascinating in light of the current situation, so here's some reflection/theorizing on what the lyrics COULD mean, independent of the original Hyperborea meme or even MGMT's intent.
I should start by noting that the supposed intending meaning of the song is that it's about "depression." And while I wouldn't disagree, I think there's another interpretation that fits too, even if only accidentally. Here's what I see:
Breathing in the dark, lying on its side
The ruins of the dead painted with a scar
And the more I straighten out, the less it wants to try
The feelings start to rot one wink at a time
I think this is a song about our culture. About how it's rotting, and we're rotting inside it. One wink at a time. This first verse is an establishing shot, a birds-eye-view before we zoom in on the specifics. It's a shot of a wounded animal, lying on the ground, unable to rise, dying. That our culture is dying isn't something I have to explain to anyone here: the whole spirit of this forum, and Vaporwave, revolves around that central idea. Culture was once something great, and then it fell apart, and now we're watching it bleed out, breathing in the dark. So who killed it?
Oh
Forgiving who you are for what you stand to gain
Just know that if you hide, it doesn't go away
When you get out of bed, don't end up stranded
Horrified with each stone on the stage
My little dark age
This verse addresses a "ends justify the means" group and threatens them. What they have done isn't forgivable, and won't go away. Stones will be coming their way soon. Also, consider the meaning of "When you get out of bed." What happens when you get out of bed? You wake up. The dream ends. You have to face reality. That's what this song is about: what will happen to several different groups when circumstances finally force them to face reality. And for this group, the ones abusing their power, it's rocks.
Picking through the cards, knowing what's nearby
The carvings on the face say they find it hard
And the engine's failed again, all limits of disguise
The humor's not the same, coming from denial
What about the other group, the one hurling the rocks? They're alternating between trying to understand what's happened ("The cards" being tarot cards, "the hand you're delt" etc) and trying to whistle past the graveyard, desperately trying to hold their lives together somehow. But it's no good, the engine's failed again. The economic engine, the social engine, the artistic engine. It's all collapsing.
And if that last line doesn't scream Zoomer humor to you, I don't know what to say. "If I just
lampshade my despair and laugh at it, maybe that will help!" But at the end of the day, laughing at your depression is still depressing.
I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange
I know that if you hide, it doesn't go away
If you get out of bed and find me standing all alone
Open-eyed, burn the page
My little dark age
Note that we've shifted from "When you get out of bed" to "IF you get out of bed." This is a different context now, with similar words. The singer is admitting he too has to face the new reality, has to wake up and open his eyes to it. "Burn the page" is a more dramatic version of "turn the page." "If you join me in the new reality, let go of the past."
I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange
You know that if it hides, it doesn't go away
If I get out of bed, you'll see me standing all alone
Horrified on the stage
My little dark age
We cycle through the chorus a third time, each time getting more disjointed and frantic. "Waking up" is something that has to be done, but it doesn't solve or improve anything. Admitting reality doesn't fix the problem. Reality is horrifying.
Giddy with delight, seeing what's to come
The image of the dead, dead ends in my mind
The reality is that the end is night. Manic laughter comes unbidden as the speaker breaks like the protagonist in some Lovecraftian horror. The dying beast is about to breath its last, and what will come after?
Policemen swear to God, love's seeping from the guns
I know my friends and I would probably turn and run
If you get out of bed, come find us heading for the bridge
Bring a stone, all the rage
My little dark age
The stones will come out. Dystopia, chaos and conflict.
And why might they be taking stones to that bridge?
Just a bit of fun of course, and not to be take too seriously. But something I've been pondering, so I thought I'd share.
