Eternal Summer by The Strokes Lyrics Meaning – A Psychedelic Ode to Modern Disillusionment
Lyrics
(Hey, yeah, oh)
(Hey, yeah, oh)
When I think of you
It’s always on my mind
Is that story true?
No one saves the day
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Don’t you want the truth?
Ignore reality
See, I love that feelin’ too
Nobody’s gonna stop right now
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Summer is coming
Won’t go away
Summer is coming
It’s here to stay
(Hey, yeah, oh)
I can’t believe it
This is the eleventh hour
Psychedelic
Life is such a funny journey
Hercules
Your service is no longer needed
It’s just like make believe
(Hey, yeah, oh)
They got the remedy
But they won’t let it happen
They got the remedy
But they won’t let it happen
(Hey, yeah, oh)
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Now that you heard the truth
I need a friendly face
I hate that feeling too
But no one’s unafraid
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Don’t expect the truth
This is a fantasy
I fight that feeling too
But nobody’s gonna stop us now
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Summer is coming
Won’t go away
Summer is coming
It’s here to stay
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Lo and behold the salt of the city
Pillars like time are fading away
Symphony building up to a future
Mystery to solve for somebody else
(Hey, yeah, oh)
I can’t believe it
Life is such a funny journey
Psychedelic
This is the eleventh hour
Hercules
Your service is no longer needed
It’s just like make believe
They got the remedy
But they won’t let it happen
They got the remedy
But they won’t let it happen
Everybody’s on the take
Tell me, are you on the take too?
Everybody’s on the take
Tell me, are you on the take too?
Look up on the bright side
I’m not gonna give it to ya
Look at it on the bright side
(Hey, yeah, oh, oh)
Look up on the bright side
I’m not gonna give it to ya
Look up on the bright side
(Hey, yeah, oh)
Look up on the bright side
I’m not gonna give it to ya
Look at it on the bright side
(Hey, yeah, oh, oh)
Look up on the bright side
I’m not gonna give it to ya
Look up on the bright side
The Strokes’ ‘Eternal Summer’ dances on the edge where upbeat sonics clash with lyrical introspection, crafting a track that is as bewitching as it is bewildering. Embedded within a soundscape that evokes the hazy, never-ending days of the hottest season, the song is a labyrinth of contemporary enigmas set to the relentless rhythm of an eternal, metaphorical summer.
Through the kaleidoscope of Julian Casablancas’s cryptic yet poignant vocals, ‘Eternal Summer’ transcends its surface-level audial pleasures to touch upon deeper societal and emotional themes. The song probes into the collective consciousness, offering a commentary on the state of paralysis amidst crisis and the human tendency to cling to a false sense of perpetual comfort.
Surfing the Heatwave of Denial
At the heart of ‘Eternal Summer’, the refrain ‘Summer is coming, it’s here to stay’ is a juxtaposition of the joyful anticipation of seasonal change against the dread of unending sameness. This line operates as a haunting reminder of the modern malaise where change is feared yet yearned for, where reality is simultaneously acknowledged and ignored.
The relentless repetition of the chorus mirrors our own cycles of complacency as we navigate through current events that seemingly reshape our lives without changing anything fundamental. It’s this tension between the desire for eternal youthfulness and the knowledge of its impossibility that defines our collective existential summer.
The ‘Eleventh Hour’ Awakening
‘Psychedelic / Life is such a funny journey.’ These lines serve as an epiphany, a sobering slap to the humdrum of everyday existence. There is a psychedelic nature to the realization that time is up – the ‘eleventh hour’ – which can prompt a quickened state of awareness.
This semblance of awakening within the song may speak to the urgency of personal or global issues needing to be addressed ‘before the clock strikes twelve.’ This progression from a state of stupor to one of awareness reflects a common human arc, from denial to the acceptance of reality.
The Herculean Task of Searching for Truth
Invoking the mythic figure Hercules, who symbolizes strength and heroism, the song hints at the exhaustion with systemic battles, ‘Your service is no longer needed.’ This suggests that the struggle for truth and clarity has become an outdated endeavor in a society that is firmly lodged in the quagmire of ‘make believe.’
It’s an indication of the societal shift towards apathy, where the heroics of the past no longer apply in the contemporary world, and the need for new mechanisms or saviors to navigate through the disinformation age.
The Remedy We’ll Never Get
Resonating deeply, the lines ‘They got the remedy / But they won’t let it happen’ shine a light on faces behind the curtain – the powers that be withholding solutions. It’s a sharp critique of institutional inaction and societal indifference.
In allegory, ‘Eternal Summer’ acutely encapsulates the collective experience of understanding that although the answers to our lamentations are within grasp, they remain just out of reach, tucked away by those who guide the reins of power.
Reflections in the Sun: A Look At The Most Resonant Lines
The hesitation in the phrase ‘I’m not gonna give it to ya’ rings throughout the song as a clarion call for ownership of perspectives and destiny. It’s a cold shoulder to the world, a stoic acknowledgment that amidst the heat of the ‘eternal summer,’ one must guard their own sanctuary – their principles.
As ‘Eternal Summer’ meets its own metaphorical sunset, we are left with echoes of a season that encapsulates so much of our zeitgeist. The song is not just an embodiment of a season, but of a state of being – luring listeners into the depths of its meaning, and perhaps, mirroring their own unspoken thoughts.
