Out With The Tide (Bonus Session Track)

Song Meaning

This track opens with a stark, almost taunting observation: "Your baby got a mouth full of lies." The narrator then juxtaposes this with a profound, unsettling image: "Jesus got pulled out with the tide." This immediately establishes a tone of disillusionment and a sense that even foundational figures or beliefs are being swept away, leaving a void. The repeated question, "Don't you love it?" suggests a perverse acceptance or resignation to this decay, hinting at a deeper societal or personal rot. The core tension seems to revolve around a pervasive sense of despair and the normalization of extreme suffering. The line "Don't cry, it's only suicide" is particularly jarring, framing an ultimate act of desperation as something mundane, almost trivial. The cyclical imagery of "down the rain / curse the rain / out of the rain" suggests a trapped state, unable to escape a persistent, melancholic downpour that mirrors internal turmoil. The narrator appears to be grappling with a world where hope is systematically extinguished. A striking piece of craft is the violent imagery directed at anyone exceptional: "If they can find a boy who can fly / We will kill him." This suggests a deep-seated fear or resentment of anything that rises above the bleak norm, a desire to drag down those who possess unique gifts or potential. The act of killing and hanging him "on the fourth of July" adds a layer of dark, ironic patriotism, as if celebrating the suppression of the extraordinary. This contrasts sharply with the later, gentler image of a "Comet came and stayed for a while," which feels like a fleeting moment of beauty or wonder that is ultimately transient. The lyrics' effectiveness lies in their blunt, almost nihilistic portrayal of a world where truth is deceitful, salvation is lost, and aspiration is punished. The casual, detached tone used to describe suicide and the execution of a flying boy creates a chilling dissonance. It forces the listener to confront uncomfortable ideas about societal pressures, the loss of faith, and the potential for beauty to be both overwhelming and fleeting, leaving a lingering sense of unease and profound sadness.