Arcade Fire: 'The Suburbs' Lyrics

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Tracklist
1. The Suburbs
2. Ready to Start
3. Modern Man
4. Rococo
5. Empty Room
6. City with No Children
7. Half Light I
8. Half Light II (No Celebration)
9. Suburban War
10. Month of May
11. Wasted Hours
12.Deep Blue
13. We Used to Wait
14. Sprawl I (Flatland)
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. The Suburbs (Continued)

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"The Suburbs"
In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
And you told me we'd never survive
Grab your mother's keys we're leaving

You always seemed so sure
That one day we'd be fighting
In a suburban war
Your part of town against mine

I saw you standing on the opposite shore
But by the time the first bombs fell
We were already bored
We were already, already bored

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again

The kids want to be so hard
But in my dreams we're still screaming
And running through the yard
When all of the walls that they built in the '70s finally fall
And all of the houses they built in the '70s finally fall
Meant nothing at all?
Meant nothing at all?
It meant nothing

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling and into the night

So can you understand
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young?
I want to hold her hand
And show her some beauty

Before this damage is done
But if it's too much to ask
If it's too much to ask
Then send me a son

Under the overpass
In the parking lot we're still waiting
It's already past
So move your feet from hot pavement
And into the grass
'Cause it's already past
It's already, already past

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
I'm moving past the feeling
I'm moving past the feeling

In my dreams we're still screaming
We're still screaming
We're still screaming

"Ready To Start"
If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "Can we still be friends?"

If I was scared, I would
And if I was bored, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not

All the kids have always known
That the emperor wears no clothes
But they bow down to him anyway
It's better than being alone

If I was scared, I would
And if I was bored, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not

Now you're knocking at my door
Saying "Please come out with us tonight"
But I would rather be alone
Than pretend I feel alright

If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "Can we still be friends?"

If I was scared, I would
And if I was pure, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not
Now I'm ready to start

If I was scared, I would
And if I was pure, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not
Now I'm ready to start
Now I'm ready to start

I would rather be wrong
Than live in the shadows of your song
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start

Now I'm ready to start
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start
And I'm sure you opened the door
To step out into the dark

Now I'm ready

"Modern Man"
So I wait my turn, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

So I wait in line, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Something don't feel right

Like a record that's skipping, I'm a modern man
And the clock keeps ticking, I'm a modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said, "You're going nowhere."
They say we are the chosen few but we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting

On a number from the modern man
Maybe when you're older you will understand
Why you don't feel right
Why you can't sleep at night now

In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

Oh, I had a dream I was dreaming
And I feel I'm losing the feeling
Makes me feel like
Like something don't feel right

I erase the number of the modern man
Want to break the mirror of the modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said, "You're going nowhere."
I know we are the chosen few but we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting

In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

And you feel so right
But how come you can't sleep at night?
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man

"Rococo"
Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don't understand

They say
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo

They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear God, what is that horrible song they're singing

Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo

Rococo
Rococo

They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They're moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don't know what game they're playing

Rococo
Rococo
Rococo
Rococo

Rococo
Rococo
Rococo
Rococo

Rococo

"Empty Room"
Said your name in an empty room
Said your name in an empty room
Something I would never do

Said your name in an empty room
Said your name in an empty room
Something I would never do

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
And my life is coming
But I don't know when

You were burning, now you're black and gray
You were burning, now you're black and gray
Something I would never say

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
And my life is coming
But I don't know when

Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Moi j'attends, toi tu pars

Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Moi j'attends, toi tu pars

"City With No Children"
The summer that I broke my arm I waited for your letter
I have no feeling for you now, now that I know you better

I wish that I could have loved you then, before our age was through
And before a world war does with us whatever it will do

Dreamed I drove home to Houston on a highway that was underground
There was no light that we could see as we listened to the sound of the engine failing

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

You never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount
I used to think I was not like them but I'm beginning to have my doubts, my doubts about it

When you're hiding underground the rain can't get you wet
But do you think your righteousness could pay the interest on your debt? I have my doubts about it

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by and by as I hide inside of my private prison

"Half Light l"
You told us that
We were too young
Now that night's closing in
And in the half light
We run

Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We're free

Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you

We run through these streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We're in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell

The ocean in a shell

Our heads are just houses
Without enough windows
They say you hear human voices
But they only echo

They only echo
They only echo
Only echo

We are not listening
We are on the streets
We are not listening
We are on the streets

We are not listening
We are on the streets
We are not listening
We are on the streets

"Half Light ll (no celebration)"
Now that San Francisco's gone
I guess I'll just pack it in
Wanna wash away my sins
In the presence of my friends

You and I we head back East
To find a town where we can live
Even in the half light
We can see that something's gotta give

When we watched the markets crash
The promises we made were torn
Then my parents sent for me
From out West where I was born

Some people say
They've already lost
But they're afraid to pay the cost
For what we've lost
Pay the cost for what we've lost

Now that you have left me here
I will never raise my voice
All the diamonds you have here
In this home which has no life

Oh, this city's changed so much
Since I was a little child
Pray to God I won't live to see
The death of everything that's wild

Though we knew this day would come
Still it took us by surprise
In this town where I was born
I now see through a dead man's eyes

One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone

"Suburban War"
Let's go for a drive
And see the town tonight
There's nothing to do
But I don't mind when I'm with you

This town's so strange
They built it to change
And while we're sleeping
All the streets get rearranged

And my old friends
We were so different then
Before your war against the suburbs began
Before it began

And now the music divides us into tribes
You grew your hair, so I grew mine
You said the past won't rest
Until we jump the fence and leave it behind

And my old friends
I can remember when
You cut your hair
We never saw you again

Now the cities we live in
Could be distant stars
And I search for you
In every passing car

The nights are warm
Yeah, the nights are warm
I've been living in the shadows of your song
Living in the shadows of your song

In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
People told me we would never survive
So grab your mother's keys, we leave tonight

You started a war
That you can't win
They keep erasing all the streets
We grew up in

Now the music divides us into tribes
You choose your side, I'll choose my side

All my old friends
They don't know me now
Oh
All my old friends
Are staring through me now
Oh

All my old friends
They don't know me now
All my old friends
They don't know me now

They don't know me now

All my old friends
Wait

"Month Of May"
Gonna make a record in the month of May
In the month of May, in the month of May
Gonna make a record in the month of May
When the violent wind blows the wires away

Month of May, it's a violent thing
In the city their hearts start to sing
Well, some people singing sounds like screaming
Used to doubt it but now I believe it

Month of May, everybody's in love
In the city, watch it from above
And just when I knew what I wanted to say
The violent wind blew the wires away

We were shocked in the suburbs

Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
Now, some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
I said some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight

So young, so young
So much pain for someone so young, well
I know it's heavy, I know it ain't light
But how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?

First the built they road, then they built the town
That's why I'm still driving around
And around and around and around and around
And around and around and around and around

Two-thousand nine, two-thousand ten
Wanna make a record how I felt then
When we stood outside in the month of May
And watched a violent wind blow the wires away

If I die in the month of May
Let the wind take my body away, yeah
I wish I may, I wish I might
Don't leave me down there with my arms folded tight

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires, the wires away

"Wasted Hours"
All those wasted hours we used to know
Spent the summer staring out the window
The wind, it takes you where it wants to go

First they built the road, then they built the town
That's why we're still driving around and around
And all we see are kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours before we knew
Where to go and what to do
Wasted hours that you made new
And turned into a life that we can live

Some cities make you lose your head
Endless suburbs stretched out thin and dead
And what was that line you said

Wishing you were anywhere but here
You watch the life you're living disappear
And now I see, we're still kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours before we knew
Where to go and what to do
Wasted hours that you made new
And turned into a life that we can live

"Deep Blue"
Here are my place and time
And here in my own skin
I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by
Standing under night sky
Tomorrow means nothing

I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from the speaker of a passing car
And prayed to a dying star
The memory's fading
I can almost remember singing la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
That something was ending
Are you through pretending?
We saw its signs in the suburbs

You could never have predicted
That he could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, nineteen-ninety-six
Your mind's pulling tricks now
The show is over so take a bow
We're living in the shadows la, la la, la la la la
Oh, la la, la la, la la la la

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

La la, la la, la la la la

"We Used to Wait"
I used to write
I used to write letters
I used to sign my name
I used to sleep at night
Before the flashing lights settled deep in my brain

But by the time we met
By the time we met the times had already changed

So I never wrote a letter
I never took my true heart, I never wrote it down
So when the lights cut out
I was lost standing in the wilderness downtown

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

Now it seems strange
How we used to wait for letters to arrive
But what's stranger still
Is how something so small can keep you alive

We used to wait
We used to waste hours just walking around
We used to wait
All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes it never came

We used to wait
Sometimes it never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain

I'm gonna write
A letter to my true love
I'm gonna sign my name
Like a patient on a table
I wanna walk again
Gonna move to the pain

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes they never came

We used to wait
Sometimes they never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming "Sing the chorus again"

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming "Sing the chorus again"

I used to wait for it
I used to wait for it
Hear my voice screaming "Sing the chorus again"

Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it

"Sprawl I (Flatland)"
Took a drive into the sprawl
To find the house where we used to stay in
Couldn't read the number in the dark
You said, "Let's save it for another day"

Took a drive into the sprawl
To find the places we used to play
It was the loneliest day of my life
You're talking at me but I'm still far away

Let's take a drive through the sprawl
Through these towns they built to change
But then you said, the emotions are dead
It's no wonder that you feel so strange

Cops shone their lights
On the reflectors of our bikes
Said, "Do you kids know what time it is?"
Well sir, it's the first time I've felt like something is mine
Like I have something to give

The last defender of the sprawl
Said, "Well, where do you kids live?"
Well sir, if you only knew
What the answer is worth
Been searching every corner
Of the earth

"Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface

'Cause on the surface the city lights shine
They're calling at me, come and find your kind
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

We rode our bikes to the nearest park
Sat under the swings and kissed in the dark
We shield our eyes from the police lights
We run away, but we don't know why

And like a mirror, the city lights shine
They're screaming at us, "We don't need your kind"
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Can we ever get away from the sprawl?

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

"The Suburbs (Continued)"
If I could have it back
All the time that we wasted
I'd only waste it again

If I could have it back
You know I'd love to waste it again
Waste it again and again and again

I forgot to ask

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again

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Sixeyes Interview: The National's Matt Berninger 2010

Hello! If you've come here from Sixeyes, well, this is my new blog and I'd appreciate it if you would take the time to subscribe. Thanks!

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May 11th saw the release of The National's follow-up to breakthrough disc, Boxer (2007). Titled High Violet, it's different, I mean there's less squabbling and fighting in the songs, but don't worry there's still plenty of darkness in the violet shadows. And as usual, the backbone of the National's sound is it's rhythm section. Bryan and Scott Devendorf (drummer and bassist, respectively) are the skeleton which keeps the music solid while front man Matt Berninger is the muscle, or his voice and lyrics are. They guide and carry the listener through the shimmering colour washes of the Dessner brothers guitar work.

Based in Brooklyn, but currently on the road (check tour dates here), the self-deprecating Matt Berninger kindly took time out to answer several questions just for Sixeyes readers.

Sixeyes: I’ll start off by saying thanks for the new music and that hilarious new video for “Bloodbuzz Ohio”. I see the video was directed by a trio of women, one being your wife (Carin Besser). How was the experience of making the video and where was it shot?

MB: I’m glad you saw the humor in it. A lot of people thought it was serious. We were trying to ape these awkward old Serge Gainsbourg videos thinking it would be funny but many people who saw it just thought I was a self-serious douchebag. That’s only partly true. My mom was a disturbed by it. She said, “You look like a pedophilic Inspector Clouseau.” At least she saw what we were going for. It was all shot within a 5 minute walk from my apartment in Prospect Heights.

Sixeyes: How different is High Violet from the record you and the band set out to make, or thought you were making?

MB: We all had different ideas of what kind of record we were going to make but I don’t think any of us thought it would turn into what it did. We talked once about trying to write a fun pop record. I guess this is our version of that.

Sixeyes: I’ve read that the band's songs are built on demos that the Dessner’s record and send to you. Is this true in all cases? Have either Bryan or Scott recorded rhythms or melodies that you’ve worked with?

MB: The initial music sketches are about 60% Aaron, 30% Bryce, and 10% Scott and Bryan. Those percentages were arrived at scientifically.

Sixeyes: What is it that Peter Katis (producer) brings that the band keeps returning to him? Have you ever considered trying a different producer after one EP and four albums with the same producer?

MB: We like Peter because he jumps into the fray with us and joins the fighting. He’s also a genius when it comes to turning our crappy sounds into something great.

Sixeyes: There’s a paper I read regularly that features an interview each month which includes the question, “What should everyone shut up about?” I don’t want to get negative, so I’ll ask you “What should everyone hear about?” (music, art, film, books, politics, environmental issues… etc.)

MB: I don’t know really. I loved the movie Funny People. Eminem has a hilarious cameo.

Sixeyes: I read the story in the New York Times and laughed at the nicknames you’d been given by the others (the Naysayer, Mumbleberry Pie, the Dark Lord, Mr. Knee Jerk, Mr. Sony Headphones and the Echo Chamber). I wanted to give you a chance to return the favor and give up some nicknames you feel the others deserve or have earned.

MB: Bryan is sometimes referred to as Apocalypse Eventually. Aaron and Bryce at one point were Bung and Munch the Monkey Detectives. Scott was briefly known as Triple Homicide.

Sixeyes: Do you feel the pressure of being the last hurdle a song has to cross before its deemed good enough for the band?

MB: Not really. I relish the power. I like to wield it. I’m a natural wielder.

Sixeyes: John Darnielle, of The Mountain Goats, once (and only once) complimented me by saying he’d never been asked what I’d asked him. So my question is what was the last question you’d never been asked before? It doesn’t have to be in an interview it could be any question at all.

MB: A girl recently asked me to say her name so she could hear what it sounded like in my voice. Her name was Jade. I said “Jade”. It sounded amazing.

Sixeyes: In the song “Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks”, where the line is: “…swans are aswimmin’, I’ll explain everything to the geeks…”. Did that line ever refer to geese instead of geeks? Did you put Geeks in the title to circumvent the mishearing of that line?

MB: It was always geeks but people kept hearing geese. Yes, I added it to the title to help clarify. It think it’s also a better song title now too. Form follows function.

Sixeyes: I thought I’d go for the dirt this time, TMZ style (that’s the name of that show isn’t it… I hope). Some behind the scenes scoops about your big time fashion shoot for GQ would be great .You know, like who was the biggest diva?… that kind of thing.

MB: I’m usually the biggest diva. Bono’s hair guy did my hair for that. I think he did a pretty good job although it looks a bit wiggish.

Sixeyes: What about misconceptions about the band? With the increase in press (numbers wise and high profile-wise – NY Times, Uncut, Paste, etc.) have you seen an increase in misconceptions about band members and your music?

MB: People seem to think of us as miserable sad-sacks. I would describe us more as tender buffoons or nervous jackasses.

Sixeyes: Boxer got its name from the lover’s quarrels in several songs, or so I’ve read, and in the New York Times piece about the new album and where its title originated you’re quoted as saying, “None of it makes any sense. It’s all so crazy, but it seems so important”, in reference to a religious tract which inspired the title High Violet. Do you think that quote could be applied to the album's songs?

MB: It does suit the record I think. Most of the songs are desperate blurry approximations something meaningful. The thing itself is pretty flexible.

* * * * * * *

conversation 16 [mp3] from High Violet

The National: "Bloodbuzz Ohio" Video

Here's the official video for "Bloodbuzz Ohio". It's freakin' hilarious and I heard that Ricky Gervais is calling. Matt Berninger is the new Greg Kinnear... only funnier (and lonelier).



The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (official video) from The National on Vimeo.