Song: In An Areoplane over the sea

Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel

Reason: My reason for picking this song is that my teacher recommended it to me for the blog. After taking a listen to it I quickly took a liking to it. Also, it took me on one crazy trip through my mind. There are so many hidden meanings behind the text and great connections to worldly events. Sure, at first I felt overwhelmed and not into it, but once I started seeing the song become uncovered before my eyes I was strapped in and ready for one crazy ride. And now, finally, here it is! Enjoy!

Lyrics: What a beautiful face
I have found in this place
That is circling all round the sun
What a beautiful dream
That could flash on the screen
In a blink of an eye and be gone from me
Soft and sweet
Let me hold it close and keep it here with me, me

And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see
Love to be
In the arms of all I'm keeping here with me, me

What a curious life we have found here tonight
There is music that sounds from the street
There are lights in the clouds
Anna's ghost all around
Hear her voice as it's rolling and ringing through me
Soft and sweet
How the notes all bend and reach above the trees, trees

Now how I remember you
How I would push my fingers through
Your mouth to make those muscles move
That made your voice so smooth and sweet
Now we keep where we don't know
All secrets sleep in winter clothes
With one you loved so long ago
Now he don't even know his name

What a beautiful face
I have found in this place
That is circling all round' the sun
And when we meet on a cloud
I'll be laughing out loud
I'll be laughing with everyone I see
Can't believe how strange it is to be anything all

Analysis:
It truly is a strange thing to be anything at all. Although in the song “In an aeroplane over the sea,” there are many themes, the theme featured in this article is going to be life. The singer goes through stages in understanding the vulnerability of life. Where he first realizes it, then is affected by it, and then reflects upon it.

First, the singer’s character goes through the realization stage. In this stage he becomes aware that life is not a constant and can be lost at any time. In the first stanza he states, “What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen in the blink of an eye and be gone from me.” The “beautiful dream” that he speaks of is his current place in his life with this woman that he loves. Also, the “flash on the screen” is two things; One, it is a statement comparing a lifetime to a flash, which is extremely brief, to a screen as in a television screen where millions of flashes occur; and that represents existence as a whole. And two, showing that life isn’t a thing that just keeps going; it indeed does have an end. The part that says, “In the blink of an eye and be gone from me” is enforcing his previous statement that life is short, and it shows that he realizes that it could be taken away at any time. Through all of this, in the realization the singer conveys that life isn’t a consistent thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted because it could suddenly be gone in the blink of an eye.

Next, the character goes through the affect stage. Here he is actually affected by life’s vulnerability. He realized that it could happen in the previous stage and in this stage he is affected by life being taken away from someone close to him. In the third stanza the song reads, “There are lights in the clouds, Anna’s ghost all around”. These may seem like two disconnected statements; but, they are not. Lights are a sign of inhabitance. In apartments or houses lights are often on in the places where people are. With that being said, lights in the clouds, which stand for heaven, it is saying that there is inhabitance in heaven. That seems obvious enough, but it is significant because it has a connection to the next phrase, “Anna’s ghost all around.” The connection is one that reveals Anna as his love and that she has died. That phrase also uncovers the fact that is not a thing that will so easily leave his thoughts; his mind is haunted by her ghost. This is an important stage because the singer’s character is actually affected by death and has the experience that he realized could happen in the first stanza and it changes him because he now truly understands the horror of loss and has to carry it with him for the rest of his life.

Lastly, the character in the song undergoes the reflection stage. This is a stage that takes place after he has really thought about all the terrible things in loss. Now he is able to reflect with a statement on what the vulnerability of life means to him. In the last line of the final stanza, it says, “Can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all.” That’s an extremely interesting statement to make; isn’t life just an ordinary thing? How can it possibly be strange to “be anything at all” considering that billions of people, animals, insects, plants, and everything else in the on the Earth as well as in the universe exist all the time! Well, maybe is the fact that existence is so normal that makes its significance so commonly taken for granted. And he is not just saying that is extraordinary to be a person, he is stating that it’s a wonder to be “anything at all.” And through that statement he tells that it is and amazing to just exist, even if you are just a rock and have no mind of the world or whatever is going on around you. The fact that the rock exists is enough.

All in all, this is a great song and a really interesting one to analyze. It has many themes but the life theme tells a compelling and touching story about the vulnerability of life. Through the three stages of his development of wisdom about life a lesson is taught. The lesson is that people should not take life for granted, yet so many people do. As the song reads, “Can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all,” an awakening is offered. The message should be spread and I am proud to help do so with this post. So, do one thing for me and listen to this song and try to see how, even though it is such a basic thing, existence truly is a strange thing. Thanks for reading.

By the way, here is the song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcgyKo7vbm4