Need some help with Buckle Up

pursuedbybear

ed243421 said:

My take:

the “blood on his hands” is the guilt of human damage to the earth

”the stain of a human”

narrator has realized this from his “mother’s wrath” & her warning signs

“Drapes pulled back, reveal her wound. Boy on her lap, a murder groomed” is realization that our “mother” is dying and we are to blame.

“antiquities lost....fall on the tile” is the nirvana that the earth once was may be lost forever without immediate action.

Well put, this was my takeaway as well. Stone always says so much with so little, it's never just a straightforward lyric. I honestly adore this song. 

LastStopOnTheWestCoastLine

ed243421 said:

My take:

the “blood on his hands” is the guilt of human damage to the earth

”the stain of a human”

narrator has realized this from his “mother’s wrath” & her warning signs

“Drapes pulled back, reveal her wound. Boy on her lap, a murder groomed” is realization that our “mother” is dying and we are to blame.

“antiquities lost....fall on the tile” is the nirvana that the earth once was may be lost forever without immediate action.

I love this interpretation!

Spiritual_Chaos

I interpreted it as a sons goodbye to a mother dying. Remembering the childhood, and past and balancing the good and the bad of a life with her as his mother.

cincybearcat

Spiritual_Chaos said:

I interpreted it as a sons goodbye to a mother dying. Remembering the past and balancing the good and the bad of a life with her.

This is what I get now.  First listen I wondered about a murderer...but after actually seeing the lyrics and listening more, this makes more sense.  Especially after it was said that stone was writing about a hospital.  I really love this song.

Spiritual_Chaos

cincybearcat said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

I interpreted it as a sons goodbye to a mother dying. Remembering the past and balancing the good and the bad of a life with her.

This is what I get now.  First listen I wondered about a murderer...but after actually seeing the lyrics and listening more, this makes more sense.  Especially after it was said that stone was writing about a hospital.  I really love this song.

It's a bit like Parachutes back in 2006 -- I like it but I get why someone else would press skip.

Veddernarian

I apologize for this but when I hear the guitar and the cowbell clunking I keep thinking of Disney's "A cowboy needs a horse" cartoon.  I hope I just now didn't ruin anything for you or anybody else.  Still getting used to this one.  I probably would have probably liked the Buckle-up instrumental, guitar only for about 15 seconds and then burst into "Of the earth" kind of like Sabbath's "Symptom of the universe".  That on Gigaton in the same spot.  Probably would make Gigaton 2 minutes longer.  Love the album!

GlowGirl

When I first heard this song I really didn't like it. I thought it was the worst song on the album. However, I have been listening to the album pretty regularly and just found myself bopping my head to it. Still not my favorite, but it is growing on me with more listens.

mandarine65

I think it's one of the best songs on the album. It' new the way all of those yesterday or parachutes were, new musical territory for them. The sound work is really experimental and interesting, there is a part where it almost sounds like horns, feels like something Broken Social Scene  would do, sonically. I really like it! Personally, I still struggle a lot with the chorus and outro of 7o', the verses are so great but these parts still feel off and mushy. Then retrograde, although it has some interesting sound work too, again the chorus feels generic, the way lots of songs felt on the previous two albums felt. Still the strongest album since Avocado, no doubt. I love that they are experimenting, at this stage of their careers, it's great, even if hit or miss.

Bladamus Maximus

rummy said:

Reminds me of Parachutes.

Hadn’t thought of this but maybe that’s why I love it so much. 

Gern Blansten

cincybearcat said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

I interpreted it as a sons goodbye to a mother dying. Remembering the past and balancing the good and the bad of a life with her.

This is what I get now.  First listen I wondered about a murderer...but after actually seeing the lyrics and listening more, this makes more sense.  Especially after it was said that stone was writing about a hospital.  I really love this song.

I like that you like it....it's the only song on the album I don't get anything from

rummy

Bladamus Maximus said:

rummy said:

Reminds me of Parachutes.

Hadn’t thought of this but maybe that’s why I love it so much. 

Oh, that's right....that song is special to you!

mcdevittpb

Buckle Up.  I never imagined there’d be a Pearl Jam song with lyrics of “bed sores and sponge baths”.., STONE? WTF? —-/

FiveBelow

mcdevittpb said:

Buckle Up.  I never imagined there’d be a Pearl Jam song with lyrics of “bed sores and sponge baths”.., STONE? WTF? —-/

What about an auctioned forearm and whiskers in the sink?

jam_fanj

The beginning of this song reminds me of “My Name is Jonas” from Weezer. 

Hankj25

The Hippocratic Oath implies first do no harm, so there is a hint. 

It’s just that lyric about the murderer that I’m struggling to really wrap my head around. I do like the thought about Mother Earth and the son being responsible for her wounds....that might be the implication.  

It’s not really a song I like, but I always love trying to read their lyrics and interpret.  

goldrush

ed243421 said:

My take:

the “blood on his hands” is the guilt of human damage to the earth

”the stain of a human”

narrator has realized this from his “mother’s wrath” & her warning signs

“Drapes pulled back, reveal her wound. Boy on her lap, a murder groomed” is realization that our “mother” is dying and we are to blame.

“antiquities lost....fall on the tile” is the nirvana that the earth once was may be lost forever without immediate action.

CarryTheZero said:

Here’s my take but what do I know! (And don’t have all the lyrics in front of me).

Is the mother really earth or Mother Nature and the murderer groomed just the stand in for anybody polluting the earth? The last verse is really the environment on its last leg?

Which I could be completely off base and it’s a crazy kid! 

I really like the ‘Mother Earth’ interpretation of this song

Spiritual_Chaos

ONE BUCKLE UP A DAY,
KEEPS THE DOCTORS AWAY

mfc2006

Love this tune

gettingright

First, one the best things about these songs is they can mean different things to different folks. 

I was confused about verse 1 and 3 with the murder references, but it makes sense when considering having to disconnect a loved one from life support and feeling guilty.

the rest of the song made me think about my father in law who passed a couple years ago from Alzheimer’s. My wife and I took care of him the last several years, and if you ever have to, or already had to, take care of an elderly parent with a terminal disease, that do no harm and buckle up line will hit home harder than you could imagine. 

GlowGirl

I have to say, I am warming up to this song. The past few days I have been listening to the album while out running. Today, Buckle Up came on and it gave me a spring in my step. The rhythm of it is perfect for running.