Bamboo Bones

I love it =D

Quote :

What god doesn't give to you... you've got to go and get it for yourself

The vibe I am getting from this song suggests that it is about Tom's career. I interpreted it as him saying he doesn't like all this carbon copy here on minute gone the next "artists". Remember Tom has been Against me for A DECADE AND A HALF. That is a long damn time to stick with something especially when your struggling to make a living. He never had it easy and he always had to work for everything he got. That just what I interpreted it as though.

Lyrics:

Don’t let them break you.
Don’t let them tell you who you are.
Doesn’t matter where you come from,
you'll always have a floor to sleep on.
And you have your bamboo bones,
nervous energy,
blind ambition,
skin of your teeth.
Push back, push back, push back,
with every word and every breath.

What god doesn’t give to you,
you’ve got to go and get for yourself.

I’m embarrassed to admit it,
I’ve got no grip.
I’m leading with my jaw.
Can you see it from a distance?
Does it look ridiculous?
I guess that’s just what I have to live with.
Still I have a mind to think,
knees to break,
you standing beside me.
I’m going to push back, push back, push back,
with every word and every breath.

What god doesn’t give to you,
you’ve got to go and get for yourself.

I think it's a personal manifesto and the first part is directed towards the listeners. It's a message of encouragement to us. The second part is also personal manifesto, but it's reflective and the "you" is someone close to him, possibly Heather, but we can't know for sure.

This is my favorite song on the album.

does anybody else find it weird hearing tom sing about god giving people stuff

Yeah, it threw me off in a way. The religious references are there. We Laugh at Danger / The Ocean easily come to mind, but this was...different.

i thought back to Tonight We`re Gonna Give It 35% when he says

It's got me on my knees in a bathroom, praying to a God that I don't even believe in

That threw me off a bit, just in a 'Huh?' way. I would say this is my favourite, but I ADORE Because of the Shame and Ache With Me

cooljayhu wrote:

i thought back to Tonight We`re Gonna Give It 35% when he says

It's got me on my knees in a bathroom, praying to a God that I don't even believe in

You can beleive that god exists, but your beleif in that belief might waver, you know? I'm not sure he has ever claimed to be agnostic, but i dont know.

this is also my favorite song on the record.
that chorus really sticks in your head.

Tom gave the lyrics as 'your bamboo bones' but there's no way in Hell it isn't 'no bamboo bones.'

And you have your bamboo bones.

I hear it.

bondo wrote:

cooljayhu wrote:

i thought back to Tonight We`re Gonna Give It 35% when he says

It's got me on my knees in a bathroom, praying to a God that I don't even believe in

You can beleive that god exists, but your beleif in that belief might waver, you know? I'm not sure he has ever claimed to be agnostic, but i dont know.

I guess I just always thought he was an Atheist based on some of his lyrics. Like Walking is Still Honest for example

It has the same message as Walking Is Still Honest in my opinion. You can’t wait for god to do something for you. You’ve gotta do it yourself.

I think it's going off the idiom "god given," meaning what you've got from the situations you fall into, or what is "handed" to you.

And the emphasis on the word 'god' is strengthened by the note hold more than any religious meaning.

I forgot to say I love this song because the melody throughout sounds rather oriental.

Love this song.

i see it like he believes in god the same way einstein did.

is their any live version of this?

tsr wrote:

i see it like he believes in god the same way einstein did.

That's a really interesting point. I always forget about that interpretation of "God".

This song makes me feel happy. Reminds me of "You Must Be Willing" in the sense that the lyrics are really motivating and the song is great.