Song Meaning
The lyrics paint a disorienting picture of departure and internal struggle, set against a backdrop of surreal imagery. The opening lines, "Ocean goodbye" and "Happy to walk," suggest a deliberate exit, yet the persistent, almost intrusive repetition of "novichok milk float" injects a sense of unease and artificiality into this supposed liberation. This phrase, jarring and unexpected, hints at something toxic or dangerous lurking beneath the surface of this supposed fresh start, making the act of moving on feel tainted.
The narrator grapples with a past that feels like a "washed out furnace," a place of depletion and perhaps regret. The phrase "second guess / The way I'm burning" reveals a deep self-doubt about their current path and the intensity of their own existence. It’s a feeling of being consumed by their own actions or circumstances, unable to find a stable or healthy way to exist, constantly questioning the very process of living.
The vision of "Super-Cannes / All coloured white / And celebrated" offers a distant, idealized future, a stark contrast to the internal turmoil. This imagined destination is presented as pure and triumphant, yet it remains out of reach, a symbol of a peace the narrator can only observe. The act of confronting a "wallflower victim" and deciding to "garrison / The stuff I'm kept in" suggests a turning point, a decision to fortify their current, perhaps undesirable, state rather than passively endure it.
The raw, almost violent plea, "Come, mystery axe, murder everything around me / I'd do it anyway," crystallizes the overwhelming desire for radical change or obliteration of the current reality. It’s a desperate expression of wanting to escape the confines of their own making, even if it means destruction. The final, defiant "I'd do it anyway" underscores a grim determination, a willingness to enact drastic measures regardless of the consequences, driven by the unbearable nature of their present situation.