Interpretations:Mr. Me
- Song
- Lyrics
- Interpretations
- Credits
- Guitar Tab
- Bass Tab
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Sounds to me like a lament from a gay guy who can't find love.
- So take the hand of Mister Me
- and mister, make him glad!
- To swim the Mister Misty Sea
- and cease the Mister Mystery
- That, mister, made him sad
He's tired of looking through so many men for love, an entire sea of men, and wants one of them to take his hand. Sort of a cryptic homosexual lament by Mr. Me. The song Maine strikes me the same way, and I notice that [Mr.] ME is the U.S. Postal service state abbreviation for Maine. How's *that* for a lateral connection? ~Christina Miller, February 2007
- Christina, I think your interpretation is not really spot on, as not really fitting the song, but I do like it. My own interpretation of the song changed a bit after reading yours. Queezbo 03:25, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
This song is about a pirate ship. Mr. Me didn't behave on the ship and was thrown overboard. Basically it's just a regular sea shanty. - liam
I think this song is a very abstract takeoff of the tired Hollywood formula of the child who discovers the old urban legend and brings closure to it formula thing: Mister Me went into an unknown place(the misty sea) and suffered a terrible fate, this time instead of dismemberment, ending up "really really sad". The second verse points to where the inquisitive young protagonist actually overcomes general fear and discovers the truth behind the urban legend and brings closure to it by "taking the hand of Mister Me and ceasing the Mister Mystery".
I think this song is about a boy who tried to learn how to swim in the ocean but he was afraid. Now he's sad because all the other children can swim and he's left out. But some guy, maybe his dad, can take his hand and show him the ocean is okay and then he won't be sad anymore.
I think that Mr. Me and Piece of Dirt are related somehow. The songs are right next to each other on Lincoln, both talk about sailors, and Piece of Dirt talks about being "haunted by a spooky man named Me." Perhaps the two songs are both talking about the same person or the narrators are split personalities talking about themselves. In Mr. Me, "He ended up sad" could be talking about the narrator of Piece of Dirt, who sings the song in a very sad tone.
this song reminds me of Kramer's Tour from Seinfeld
I reckon the narrator is Mr Me, but is poorly trying to disguise this fact from others (you know, as in "Er, a friend of mine has a drinking problem..."). Clues are in the fellow's name and the way the narrator slips into the first person during the first verse.
-Sorry to butt in as a nonny mouse, but I have to agree with this. It's what came to mind after listening to the second verse, where the narrator starts putting Mr. in front of most things; removing the "Mr."s gives the impression that he's talking about himself. -A Nonny Mouse
It REALLY sounds like it's about the Bermuda triangle.
Hey my 8th grade ILA teacher's name is Mr. Mee. How 'bout that for creepy? User:Mr. 77
This song, I think, is about a man, Mr. Me (not his real name) that is really sad, lonely and needs someone. And he's in a 3rd person view, telling someone else, take his (my) hand and make him (me) glad. Kinda like how teenagers will say, hey i have a friend who has this problem, but talking about themselves. He really wants someone, and can't get them, and he ended up really really sad =(
I think that Mr. Me and Piece of Dirt are related somehow. I have to agree with this - I think they're both about guys who've been shipwrecked on the same island. I believe the "spooky man named Me" is the same person as "Mr. Me", but isn't the narrator of the story in either song. His name is literally "Me". -The Cowch
I'd like to ask Mr. Linnell if in fact Mr. Me "ended up sad". --Nehushtan 16:47, 17 July 2009 (UTC)
I always viewed it as like an alternative version of Piece Of Dirt. Like the same story as told in Piece of Dirt but told in a different way.
That's always been my theory on it anyway --Raulbloodworth 10:24, 13 August 2009 (UTC)
Has anyone else noticed that the whistling in the beginning of this song matches the horns in the opening of the blues song "Turn On Your Love Light", made famous in 1950 by Bobby Bland?
The version available as a free mp3 on their website at the moment is furthers this by featuring a full horn section for the intro.
- Link: "Turn on your love light" -- Thread Bomb (talk) 00:40, 9 March 2020 (EDT)
Love Song[edit]
This song seems to be about a boy who fell in love for the first time, and it ended poorly. He doesn't know how to handle it, and can't figure out how it's supposed to work. In the end, the narrator is looking for someone to help him get over this, and love again.
Ageus Reference[edit]
King Ageus bemoaned that his son died (or so he thought), so he threw himself from a parapet into the sea now referred to as the Agean Sea. The sea in the song is called in the third verse "Mr. Misty Sea." There are other justifications to be found.
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I see A man going on An Adventure. "so take the hand of mister, me" Him saying come with me on this trip "He ended up really, really, really, sad" Maybe he fell down a cliff of rocks on this trip and, well... Ended up really really really sad. And the lyrics show me more reasons why he might be on An adventure.
Artist/Writer's Block?[edit]
I see Mr. Me as a creative type who's wasted a lot of time "floundering" in the misty sea of creativity and ideas running through his head but can't piece them together into a good idea, thus finding it's "misty mystery" unsolvable. The listener is encouraged to "mind the misty sea" when exercising their creativity so as to not get so lost in their own head for potential ideas and half-committing to all of them like Mr. Me did before "ending up sad" much like he did as well.
The listener is also encouraged to take Mr. Me by the hand, guide him through the process that used to be easy for him by just talking and being there for him, making things clearer and thus ceasing the "mister mystery" that made him sad, you bet.
A stretch, sure, but I think it's nice to read it as an encouragement for people to support each other and help people express themselves in general. -TeeOS
Simple, really[edit]
If you strip the lyrics down, you find it's about some who feels lost and sad. The song urges us to take his hand and make him glad, i.e. through human companionship.
The music is similar to a sea shanty (a style TMBG used a lot at the time), hence the maritime references.
Edward Ho is a Hong Kong architect who later became a politician (after this song was written). I think he is referenced merely to make an amusingly nonsensical rhyme.
"Mr. Me" is probably Linnell. He's written a lot of songs about being lonely and/or crazy.
-- Thread Bomb (talk) 00:40, 9 March 2020 (EDT)
People need people[edit]
Pain and suffering will always be unavoidable and the universe is vast and uncaring and incomprehensible. Luckily for us, other human beings exist. Without them, we'll end up (for lack of a better word) sad. Mr. Me needed companionship in a dark and mysterious world and didn't get it, and like all of us in that situation he ended up really, really, really sad.
a sea of introspection[edit]
For me, Mr. Me has always been pretty straightforwardly about personal introspection and how too much of it can lead to a deep, deep depression. Like, sure, it's good to get well acquainted with your own thoughts and identity, but sit alone in a room with only your own thought for company too lol and you'll, well.... end up really, really, really sad. The best lines to exemplify this are probably "Take the hand of Mr. Me/And mister make him glad/To swim the mister misty sea" - to me, the "misty sea" is one's own psyche. "Mind [i.e., watch out for] the misty sea," says the narrator, warning of the murky depths. You can look, but don't lean over too far and fall in. You'll probably never get out.
Essentially, we all need to pull ourselves out of our intellectual and introspective ruts sometimes. Take a break from trying endlessly to solve the "myster[ies]" of your own mind and, like.... go out for coffee with a friend, maybe. Unsuspectingprey (talk) 15:34, 23 January 2024 (EST)
