The Squirming Coil

Song Meaning

The lyrics open with a striking image: "The squirming coil of sunset," a vibrant, active force the narrator claims to keep "within my reach." Yet, this control is immediately undermined by an attempt to "get away" and the repeated lament, "It got away." This sets a tone of persistent, almost futile struggle against something beautiful yet ungraspable. This central tension between desire and escape deepens with the surreal encounter: "I saw Satan on the beach, trying to catch a ray." This mundane depiction of evil, coupled with the observation that "He wasn't quite the speed of light," suggests that even powerful, mythical figures are subject to the same slow, frustrating pursuit of something just out of reach. The coil, it seems, is a universal challenge, slipping past even the devil himself. The lyrics then offer a profound interpretive moment with the narrator's wish: "I'd like to lick the coil some day / Like Icarus, who had to pay." This direct mythological allusion frames the "coil" not just as an elusive sunset, but as a dangerous, intoxicating desire—a forbidden fruit. The image of Icarus "tasting it on his way down" powerfully suggests that to fully experience or "lick" this coil is to embrace a beautiful, perhaps fatal, downfall. Bridge 2 further fragments the narrative with a series of jarring, almost nonsensical commands: "Stun the puppy, burn the whale / Bark a scruff and go to jail." These rapid-fire, disconnected actions create a sense of chaotic energy, perhaps reflecting the desperate, unhinged attempts to control or interact with the world when the central, desired "coil" remains out of reach. The abrupt shift to "Little Jimmy's off to camp" provides a final, unsettling contrast, juxtaposing innocence with the preceding bizarre urgency.