(Born to) Born to multiply,
Born to gaze into night skies,
When all you want’s one more Saturday.
Well look here, until then
They're gonna buy your life’s time
So keep your wick in the air and your feet in the fetters
‘Till the day
We come in doing cartwheels
We all crawl out by ourselves
And your shape on the dance floor
Will have me thinking such filth and gouge my eyes.
You be damned to be one of us, girl,
Faced with the dodo’s conundrum
I felt like I could just fly
But nothing happened every time I tried.
A dual tone on the wall
The selfless fool who hoped he’d save us all
never dreamt of such sterile hands.
You keep them folded in your lap,
Or raise them up to beg for scraps,
You know he's holding you down
With the tips of his fingers just the same.
Will you be pulled from the ocean,
But just a minute too late,
Or changed by a potion,
And find a handsome young mate
For you to love.
You'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes,
You know you'd trade your life for any ordinary Joe’s,
Well do it now or grow old.
Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold.
Been alone since you were twenty-one,
You haven't laughed since January.
You try and make like this is so much fun,
But we know it to be quite contrary.
La la la la la la
Dare to be one of us, girl,
Facing the android's conundrum,
I felt like I should just cry,
But nothing happens every time I take one on the chin,
You himmler and your coat,
You don't know how long I've been,
Watching the lantern dim,
Starved of oxygen,
So give me your hand,
And let's jump out the window.
If you find some error in Australia Lyrics, would you please submit your corrections to me? Thank You.
Thanks to Natalie for submitting the lyrics.
Review about Australia realistic | Reviewer: sanstitre | 10/26/09
For me these lyrics are absolutely realistic, of what is the real meaning of life.. dont try hard to find what is it about.. you born to do the same because there´s no other way , trying to find a park i life to feel much better ..I love this song
i'm not really sure what all the fuss is about. being a musician i feel like i write songs because they mean something to me, but it is up to other people to determine and interpret the song for themselves, whether it be right or wrong in my eyes. i just think that people need to be a little nicer in this world.
there are so many worse things than having differing views on song lyrics, and personally i think all the opinions listed are valid.
good ideas! | Reviewer: Mike | 8/19/09
i like the holocaust idea. i don't agree with it, but the guy (max) who thought it up clearly developed it quite a bit and thought through most of the lyrics. a meaning i lean towards is Nicole's, although i would take it out of "story form" and think of it as a whole group of people feeling this way, not just a melancholy old man =D
Looking at it the wrong way | Reviewer: Dan | 6/28/09
I don't see why everyone's so obsessed with finding the right meaning to the song. I think it's best to find your own meaning, and attach your own memories and experiences to a song, it's much more enjoyable that way.
My interpretation of some of the song. | Reviewer: mr. marshmellow man | 4/30/09
I feel like the song is about life, boredom and pain, but you can do something about it to make it fun.
All you want is one more saturday/buy time - People who feel like they have to wait a whole week for their one day to have fun, and they're letting the world take the rest of their days from them.
Window Pane is another name for acid, "so let's jump out the window"
cartwheels, crawling - You put everything in to what you do, and yet it's not enough? Society?
Re: you guys are dumb.. | Reviewer: Maia | 4/26/09
Lyndsey, I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say a) thanks for the link, and b) there's no need to call anyone "dumb". Cause all these "dummies" have been coming up with their own ideas about the song's meaning, something you failed to do.
Nonetheless, after so much hesitation regarding the matter, I find your fanatic teenager attitude quite helpful! Evidently, none of us had ever come across this interview, and were therefore unable to reach your level of enlightment. But now that you've shown us the way, we can proudly say that we've learned the true meaning of this song.
For the rest of you guys, here's the transcript:
"Well that song isn't about Australia, first of all. That's from my memories of working in offices. I've had a hundred different jobs, and there is a special kind of sickness doing a job in an office. I was a bookkeeper and a secretary, and there is something so horribly boring and defeating about it. That song is also about this woman from Texas who was just awful, a racist and a miserable person. I felt sorry for her. In Australia, she's Himmler. So it's partly me wondering, 'Is this what humans are meant to be doing?' You're in this fucking cage and there's people you can see through the window and you see the gardener and you're so fucking jealous."
hello the title is australia | Reviewer: Lorne | 3/27/09
Whoa, the Holocaust reading is WAY too involved- it's interesting that the lyrics can be interpreted so widely, but I haven't seen anyone explain the lines 'And your shape on the dance floor
Will have me thinking such filth and gouge my eyes.' in the genocide theory. That is some creepy kinky stuff going on there if so. And why would they call it Australia?
Hasn't it occurred to anyone that the song might be at least partly about Australia? 'All you want is one more Saturday'- a nod to stereotypical Australian apathy and enjoyment of leisure- 'your feet in fetters' -convict past... And the whole section 'sterile hands..' to '...for you to love' could be read as a lefty description of the Australia-US 'special relationship'. Probably pretty topical at the time of the Shins' Australian tour. Just saying.
The Jew love story theory seems valid to me, all the reasons you give are surprisingly matching with the lyrics.
The funny thing is that for the third time I read them, I finally found a meaning to me. Just saw my no-love-around life reflected. Just like these people who can't find love because maybe they are too shy or demanding. As humans we are convicted to reproduce ourselves, but some of us have some difficulties finding a relationship which means something else than biology. We can say it's better that way, ''but we know it to be quite contrary''. Also, I can see how you may find someone that won't make your life any better.
This is why ''you be damned to be one of us, girl'', the ones who are trapped in doubts, the ones who want to fly but won't.
you guys are dumb.. | Reviewer: lyndsey | 11/19/08
Actually..the song is about a woman from texas who was basically a racist and she's horrible..its in an interview JAMES MERCER..for those of you who don't know he's the singer for the shins..
Its not about the holocaust....
She's the "HIMMLER"..
WWW.NERVE.COM/SCREENINGROOM/MUSIC/THESHINS2
Wow | Reviewer: Anonymous | 11/13/08
This evidences the genius of the Shins on so many levels. The Shins really did a wonderful job combining a complex network of lyrics and poetic cynicism with a terribly creative melody. I don't know how they do it...
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