Distant Past by Everything Everything Lyrics Meaning – A Voyage Through Time and Transformation
Lyrics
So happy just to crawl across the land
Soon I’ll be the best around
I’m gonna keep my plunder underground
Hard flesh cold against the rain
Dust billowing around my brazen brain
Saw off all my stinking limbs
Blood dripping down my sunken money chin
Baby can you leave it in the (distant past)?
Baby can you leave it in the (distant past)?
Girl, I’m from the very very (distant past)
Girl, I’m from the very very (distant past)
Baby can you leave me in the (distant past)?
Baby can you leave me in the (distant past)?
Girl, I wanna take you to the (distant past)
Girl, I wanna take you to the (distant past)
Take me to the distant past, I want to go back
Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive
Take me to the distant past, I want to go back
Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive
Two thumbs across the Rubicon
Slack jaw but you’ll never be passing it on
Plug hole, down the drain you go
Your body never made it past the snow
Canine fangs about my throat
You’re bleeding over Eden like a goat
Tall blade dripping in every field
I’m blooming like a fuming human shield
Baby can you leave it in the (distant past)?
Baby can you leave it in the (distant past)?
Girl, I’m from the very very (distant past)
Girl, I’m from the very very (distant past)
Baby can you leave me in the (distant past)?
Baby can you leave me in the (distant past)?
Girl, I wanna take you to the (distant past)
Girl, I wanna take you to the (distant past)
Take me to the distant past, I want to go back
Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive
Take me to the distant past, I want to go back
Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive
Past, past, past, past, past, past
Take me to the distant past, I want to go back
Save me from the distant past, I wanna survive
Unraveling the deep layers of Everything Everything’s ‘Distant Past’ goes beyond the surface of its catchy beats and compelling vocals. The song, reminiscent of an evolutionary diorama, throbs with the pulse of ancient DNA colliding with the existential dilemmas of modern life. It’s a sonic trip that takes the listener from the primordial ooze to the complexities of the human condition.
In this musical exploration, the song becomes a kaleidoscopic lens, focusing on the band’s articulate dissection of progress, both at a macro-evolutionary scale and within the individual’s psyche, amplifying a dialogue between who we were, who we are, and who we might become.
Primal Desires and Modern Anxieties Collide
At its core, ‘Distant Past’ juxtaposes the evolutionary progression of humankind against personal growth and regression. The lyrics paint an image of a being clawing through time, evolving rapidly, yet tethered to the primal instincts and desires that form its foundation. The protagonist seeks to break free from the skeletons of his origins, wrestling with the idea that moving forward might mean confronting and embracing this ‘Distant Past.’
Through its visceral imagery, the song portrays the tension between human advancements and the savage backdrop from which we emerged. The struggle to reconcile these aspects of our nature underpins the song’s narrative, creating an introspective battleground where the past is both an enemy and a quintessential aspect of self.
The Unyielding Grip of Heritage
The lyric ‘Drag my tongue across the sand’ invokes a survival instinct one step away from the primitive, animalistic lineage that haunts us, reminding us that we are not so far removed from our ancestors who once crawled the earth. Everything Everything adeptly uses this perspective to highlight the constant pull of ancestral ties on our present-day lives, regardless of the glittering allure of modernity.
The song’s chorus, with its repeated entreaty to leave or be left in the ‘distant past,’ resonates as a plea for liberation from the heritage we carry. Yet, there is a duality here; it’s a call to move away from antiquated ways, but also an invitation to delve into and understand the darkness from whence we came.
Echoes of a Prehistoric Battle Cry
The martial imagery of ‘Hard flesh cold against the rain, Dust billowing around my brazen brain’ conjures a landscape of conflict and territory, setting the stage for a song that is part battle hymn, part introspective musing. By evoking scenes of physical and mental strife, the song underscores the continuous internal and external wars we wage as we strive for personal and societal growth.
This battle cry, however, is not just about external conquest; it’s an allegory for the turmoil within. The severing of ‘stinking limbs’ and the notion of a ‘sunken money chin’ suggest a willingness to purge the corporeal vices and greed that anchor us to our basest origins, urging a rebirth into something more evolved, more refined.
The Song’s Hidden Meaning: A Clarion Call for Conscious Evolution
Beneath the electrifying rhythms and explosive choruses, ‘Distant Past’ harbors a profound message about conscious evolution. It’s not just a narrative of moving from point A to point B in the geologic timescale; it’s about how individuals choose to navigate their evolutionary path, with intention and awareness of the primal ghosts that walk alongside us.
As we are ‘bleeding over Eden like a goat’ – a reference to sacrificial practices and perhaps the loss of innocence – there is a revolutionary undertone that suggests our historic downfalls need not dictate our trajectory. Instead, the song impels listeners to arm themselves with knowledge of their ancient past as an impetus for deliberate and ethical progress.
Memorable Lines that Captivate and Challenge
‘Canine fangs about my throat’ evokes a vivid sense of danger and carnality, a reminder of the violence that underpins natural selection and our own darker instincts. Similarly, the ‘fuming human shield’ can be interpreted as a metaphor for the emotional armor we don against the pressures of a modern life that is still, in many ways, brutish and short.
It’s these memorable lines that hook the mind, compelling the listener to ponder the interconnectedness of past and present. Everything Everything doesn’t merely brush upon these themes—they delve into them with the precision of a poet and the scrutiny of a scientist, crafting a song that lingers in the consciousness long after the final beat fades.
