Lyrics: I was waiting for the bus when suddenly surrounded by a bubble I saw lobsters crawling by, a coral forest and brittle stars above all
I asked a lady at my side how she could manage staying under water all her life But she just smiled and shook her head and then she said
If we bide our time we will find the shore All you do is float all you do, is float
(I was just waiting for the bus)
Background: One day, I came across the story about a bubble boy. He was born with a rare disorder called SCID, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. To avoid life-threatening infections, he was placed in a germ-free plastic bubble, where he remained until he died, only twelve years old.
If I was a bubble boy, my bubble would be surrounded by water, covered in sea shells, illuminated by bioluminescent dinoflagellates. I would take long walks on the ocean floor and hang upside down in the coral trees, watching the manta rays hover towards the surface. Then fall into a weightless sleep, dreaming of dry sand between my toes and wind in my ears. And maybe a hug.
Lyrics: There comes a time when you've been capable and competent for it to last at least a hundred thousand years
You still pretend that this how you like it - you ain't got no time for longing, cheesy feelings, hopes and fears
It happens that you wake up as a beetle stuck upon a pin with listlessness all over, leaving smears
Is it all that matters?
Together though thick and thin the trees screen the garden for the wind And I don't remember the smell of yours or anybody else's skin
This heart is a precious souvenir and I'll be leaving it here And then I'll wait, and then I'll wait I'm in my prime, don't you see?
But is it all that matters?
Background: This song just turns in to a slobby mess if I try to explain its meaning. I hope the lyric says it all. The middle part is my favourite, being itchy and slightly dissonant. It took hours to learn how to play those few tunes on the violin. And this is what came out, haha.
Lyrics: Where we'll go There won't be nothing but snow (not correct English, I know, but you know, l'art pour l'art)
If you could build the igloo Maybe I could climb the icebergs And then bring our walrus neighbours Back for tea
We won't stay here forever But as long as we're together And the snow and ice is all that we could see
Where we'll go There won't be nothing but snow
Background: This is the first song I made for the album. It's somehow stained by the music I used to do in band in box version 1.0 (together with Elin); innocent lyrics and tender melodies. I had just bought the (probably stolen) clarinet (the first of my monthly instruments) and these were the first tunes I could record without the neighbours screaming and the houseplants melting down in agony. I hadn't yet begun working with the vocals the way I did with the rest of the album tracks, I kept it plain. Although this is the song that initially attracted attention to the new band in box (version 2.0), it's not my favourite tune. On the other hand, it belongs in the collection, acting as an interlude or a short Antarctic break.
Lyrics: You'll find a place Where you could rest Take your clothes off, cut your hair Make it to a nest
Place your thoughts under a log Let the birds out of your chest Watch them fly towards the East Then call them back from the West
Come home, come home
Cars could hit you You'd better look out I'll be your eyes If you'll be my mouth
The sky could eat you You'd better look out I'll be your eyes If you'll be my mouth
Background: This fiction, this forest. Moss lining cheek, lichen nest. Sleep like a log, in a log, wooden tent. Clarinet tounge, nutmeg sound with prickles, pickles. Birds in chest, bird in nest, birds far west. Needle hair, smell of pines, parallel lines in bark. Swampy ground, pangolin breath. Bog asphodel, ant-hill, wind.
Then sky, the usual clouds, sun behind branch. Wing tip, wing flap, hiss. Needle hair, nutmeg sound, then sleep.
Lyrics: I am bent and bald and blind Please, just take me to the shrine Before you'll cover me in turd Listen to my last wise words
I was born as one of five My bread was buttered on both sides I made the world into my own Then fell off my golden throne
They wanted me to become a queen But I had seen that life on TV Fancy men and fancy dresses I said no, couldn't stand the pressure
Then they threw me into irons Locked the door, turned out the lights Said 'This is how you'll live your life, Unless you change your mind'
I let my hair out of the window Sat down, waited for the prince to show (When I'd waited a whole year I finally got out of there)
I ran a thousand miles an hour Then got caught in another tower I had done it all in vain But I would do it again
Background: Like Princess Rapunzel I once was caught in a tower. I did try to let my hair out of the window, but it didn't really reach down to the ground, plus there was no prince waiting for it to happen, so it didn't matter. Anyway, I decided to take things into my own hands and gave the guards some herbs which made them fall asleep for a hundred years until the frog prince could kiss them awake, or if it was the opposite, don't really remember. I got out and started running in a pair of cat boots that I found outside. It really went quick, I remember each step being a couple of hundred yards. The scenery was magnificient, but I was a bit stirred by the fact that I could be caught again, so I didn't raise my head enough, which was quite stupid, since I suddenly bumped in to a new tower and was stuck in it. However, I'd had a great time running and the new tower was filled with all sorts of great instruments. I probably stay there for the rest of my life. But I don't regret it, I don't.
Lyrics: She drew a picture of their faces in the sand Then let the sea go back on parts of its land He wrote a poem that he hid inside his hand It disappeared as did the drawings in the sand
There will always be pictures There will be lost words And there will be music No one has ever heard
It would be easy to step forward and say 'Hi' But despite my cravings, I'm still too shy I don't tell stories, and I don't tell lies If I ever felt a thing, I've already let it die
There will always be emotions That will force you like thirst You could hide from them forever But sometime, you will burst
Background: The worst thing i know is being bitter. People being bitter have chronic wrinkles around their lips caused by sucking on lemons for a long time. There are, however, times when bitterness is unavoidable. Being ditched for instance, causes wrinkles and cynicism. Heaps of cynicism. When that happens, since it does happen once in a while, there are certain things you could do to make the symptoms affect you less. Like writing a song.
Basically, this song contains two messages: 'Easy come, easy go' and 'Shit happens'. Since those are quite trivial messages, I added more words to somehow make it more artistic. Or to cover the fact that I'm a mundane being.
That's one interpretation. However, I don't want to overdo it. Let's just say I had the urge to make something purple with blue waves in it. This song is purple. Covered with blue waves.
Lyrics: If this was a film my name would be Frances and I would be dancing all over the screen
But there is no film it's all fake and when the lights are out I have to try to stay awake
And in the dark I move things apart and while looking for glue maybe, I'll find you
And in the dark I move things apart and while looking for what's true maybe, I'll find you
Background: The making of Elevator Theme began as an experiment, actually it was the first time I used any kind of percussion, and it contains at least eight voice tracks on top of each other. One voice is reversed, another is transformed through a carpet of delay effects, a third one is made unrecognizable through pitching and a heavy reverb. Although all voices and instruments are real, the song is nothing but fiction. It is a rocking chair, a magic carpet, an elevator raising through the ceiling.
