- Votes:
- Composer:
- Conor Oberst
- Genres:
- Emo
- Indie
- Tags:
- oh silly conor
- See also:
Bright Eyes - An Attempt to Tip The Scales lyrics
Did you expect it all to stop
At the wave of your hand?
Like the sunâs just gonna drop,
If itâs night you demand.
Well, in the dark weâre just air,
So the house might dissolve.
Once weâre gone, whoâs gonna care
If we were ever here at all?
Well, summerâs gonna come.
Itâs gonna cloud our eyes again.
No need to focus when thereâs
Nothing that's worth seeing.
So we trade for liquor for blood,
In an attempt to tip the scales.
I think you lost what you loved
In that mess of details.
They seemed so important at the time
Now you canât even recall
Any names, faces, or lines;
Itâs more the feeling of it all.
Well, winterâs gonna end,
Iâm gonna clean these veins again.
So close to dying that I finally can start living.
Interviewer: Hi, weâre back. This is Radio ---x. Weâre here with Conor Oberst of the band Bright Eyes. How are you doing, Conor?
Conor: Fine, thanks. Just a little wet.
Interviewer: Oh, itâs still coming down out there.
Conor: Yeah, I sorta had to run from the car.
Interviewer: Well, we are glad you made it. Now, your new album, Fevers and Mirrors, tell us a little bit about the title. I noticed there is a good deal of repeated imagery in the lyricsâfevers, mirrors, scales, clocks. Could you discuss some of this?
Conor: Sure, letâs see. The fever isâ
Interviewer: First, first, let me say that this is a brilliant record, man. Weâre really into it here at the station. We get a lot of calls itâs really good stuff.
Conor: Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Interviewer: So, talk a little bit about some of the symbolism.
Conor: The fever?
Interviewer: Sure.
Conor: Well, the fever is basically whatever ails you or oppresses you. It can be anything. In my case itâs my neurosis, my depression...but I donât want to be limited to that. Itâs certainly different for different people. Itâs whatever keeps you up at night.
Interviewer: I see.
Conor: And theâand the mirror is like, as you might have guessed, self examination or reflection in whatever form. This could be vanity or self-loathing. I-I know Iâm guilty of both.
Interviewer: Thatâs interesting. Uh, how âbout the scale?
Conor: The scale is essentially our attempt to solve our problems quantitatively, through logic or rationalization. In my opinion itâs often fruitless but, alwaysâah, not always. And the clocks and calendars, itâs just time, our little measurements. Itâs always chasing after us.
Interviewer: It is, it is. Uh, how âbout this Arienette? How does she fit into all of this?
Conor: I prefer not to talk about it, in case sheâs listening.
Interviewer: Oh, Iâm sorry, I didnât realize sheâs a real person.
Conor: Sheâs not. I made her up.
Interviewer: Oh, so sheâs not real.
Conor: Just as real as you or I.
Interviewer: I donât think I understand.
Conor: Neither do I, but after I grow up, I will, I meanâa lotâa lot of things are really unclear for me right now.
Bright Eyes - An Attempt to Tip The Scales - http://motolyrics.com/bright-eyes/an-attempt-to-tip-the-scales-lyrics.html
Interviewer: Thatâs interesting. Now, you mentioned your depression.
Conor: No I didnât.
Interviewer: Youâre from Nebraska right?
Conor: Yeah so.
Interviewer: Now let me know if Iâm getting too personal, but it seems to me that thereâs a pretty dark past back there somewhere. What was it like for you growing up?
Conor: Dark. Not really. Uh-actually, I had a great childhood. My parents were wonderful, I went to Catholic school. They had money so it was allâ¦easy. But basically, I had everything I wanted handed to me.
Interviewer: Really. So some of the references like babies in bathtubs are not biographical?
Conor: Well, I did have a brother that died in a bathtub. Drowned. Actually, I had five brothers that died that way.
Interviewer: Tahuh.
Conor: No, Iâm serious. My mother drowned one every year for five consecutive years. They were all named Padraic, so that's-they all got one song.
Interviewer: Hm.
Conor: Itâs kind of like walking out a door and discovering itâs a window.
Interviewer: But your music is certainly very personal.
Conor: Of course. I put a lot of myself into what I do. But itâs like, being an author, you have to free yourself to use symbolism and allegory to reach your goal. And a-and a part of that is compassion, empathy for other people, and understanding their situations. So much of what I sing about comes from other peopleâs experiences as well as my own. It shouldnât matter. The message is intended to be universal.
Interviewer: I see what you mean.
Conor: Can you make that sound stop please?
Interviewer: Yes. And your goal?
Conor: I donât know. Uh, create feelings, I guess. A song it never ends up the way you plan it.
Interviewer: Thatâs funny you would say that. Do you think thatâ
Conor: Do you ever hear things that arenât really there?
Interviewer: Iâm sorry, what?
Conor: Nevermind. How long have you worked at this station?
Interviewer: Oh, just a few minutes. Now, you mentioned empathy for others. Would you say that that is what motivates you to make the music you make?
Conor: No, not really. Itâs really just a need for sympathy. I want people to feel sorry for me. I like to feel the burn of the audienceâs eyes on me when Iâm whispering all my darkest secrets into the microphone.
(From the side, two teenage thugs start swearing about the music, talking over the conversation.)
Conor: When I was a kid I used to carry around this safety pin everywhere I went in my pocket and when people werenât paying enough attention to me Iâd dig it into my arm until I started crying. Everyone would stop what they were doing and ask me what was the matter. I guess I kind of liked that.
Interviewer: Really, youâre telling me youâre doing all this for attention?
Conor: No, I hate it when people look at me. I get nauseous. In fact, I could care less what people think about me. Do you feel alright? Do you wanna dance?
Interviewer: No, Iâm feeling sick.
Conor: I really just want to be warm yellow light that pours all over everyone I love.
Interviewer: So, uh, youâre going to play something for us now. Is this a new song?
Conor: Yeah, but I havenât written it yet. Itâs one Iâve been meaning to write, called, âA Song to Pass the Time.â
Interviewer: Oh, thatâs a nice title.
Conor: You should write your own scripts.
Interviewer: Yeah, I know.
(Conor says from the side, âI kept singing todayâIt would be eeeeasyyy...â)