'Green Typewriters' (track 14) lyrics

[onefold_sleep]

Can anyone help me with this song? Aside from a few spotty parts, I can barely make out anything.

I'm fairly sure it starts out with:

still december sunday...


Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

[nice man washing]

There are complete lyrics to all OTC tracks on www.elephant6.com.

[onefold_sleep]

Ha! Thanks - I'm a moron.

[sic transit gloria]

Not all of the lyrics are correct at elephant6.com, however. Will may have written those out, but there are still a few places where what they sung is different than what he wrote. This may be a result of having the lyrics written out from before they recorded, then when they did the recordings some of the words were altered slightly. All-in-all, though, it is fun to read through the lyrics and find stuff you didn't know. Like in Courtyard, I could have listened one hundred years and not figured out that Bill sings "Long live the life we led at 210." The lyrics also don't give the "hidden" words (i.e. backwards, sped up, very quiet, etc.), but I guess they have to leave some thing for the fans to figure out.

[acrobat]

Originally posted by sic transit gloria
Not all of the lyrics are correct at elephant6.com, however. Will may have written those out, but there are still a few places where what they sung is different than what he wrote. This may be a result of having the lyrics written out from before they recorded, then when they did the recordings some of the words were altered slightly. All-in-all, though, it is fun to read through the lyrics and find stuff you didn't know. Like in Courtyard, I could have listened one hundred years and not figured out that Bill sings "Long live the life we led at 210." The lyrics also don't give the "hidden" words (i.e. backwards, sped up, very quiet, etc.), but I guess they have to leave some thing for the fans to figure out.

huh! I always thought it was:

Long live the life we led
I do tend to do what I want to

[kelly]

Will may have written those out, but there are still a few places where what they sung is different than what he wrote.

hmm... can you tell me these discrepancies you found? you can email off the board: greentypewriter @ juno.com

[sic transit gloria]

Kelly,

These are pretty minor, and I am not 100% sure of some of these (perhaps others would like to comment, or Bill/Will can have the final word, obviously).

Jumping Fences

After the first run of the chorus, “…when you jumped everybody’s fence,� he sings “Yeah� (minor, I know).

Then, I am not sure of this one, but in the second run through the chorus it does not sound like Bill is singing “we’re living day by day,� but rather “we’re living aimlessly� or some sort of word ending in “ly�. The background vocals appear to be staying with “we’re living day by day,� so there is a mismatch here.

No growing (exegesis)

There should be a “To� before the “open up your heart.� The way it is sung, he says “To� and then we have an instrumental break, then he drops in with “open up your heart.�

Also, I am not convinced that he repeats “open up your heart� twice. It sounds like the second time he says “open up your eyes.�

I can smell the leaves

Although I’m not 100% sure, I believe the correct lyrics go:

Take the bus downtown
Ride a bike to the park
It’s worth your trip.

“with your trip� doesn’t make much sense to me, and it sounds like he is singing more than three syllables here.

[LeakyBass]

Originally posted by sic transit gloria
Also, I am not convinced that he repeats “open up your heart� twice. It sounds like the second time he says “open up your eyes.�

I've always thought that this was "open up your eye", a possible reference to the third or hidden eye from eastern mysticism. An invitation to look within, perhaps, as the album approachs the more introspective songs on side 2.

[Edited on 7-19-2004 by LeakyBass]