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Interpretations:Which Describes How You're Feeling

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The Apollo 18 version sucks the energy from the definitive demo. This was perhaps the first sign that the Giants were running out of puff. The excellent first half of the album (the appalling Guitar being the exception) gives way to tired rehashes, such as this, and clunky fillers. (Mr Tuck)

So how, exactly, does editorializing on the subject of this song and how it "proves" TMBG were running out of steam have anything to do with actually interpreting the song's lyrics? - TheNintenGenius

Besides, I think that this version is actually an improvement. The loud, constant beats and cymbal clashes in the original were distracting, whereas this version seems more melodic. Also, there's nothing wrong with groups taking their own songs and doing remixes of them in a different fashion; it's fair game. And your comment doesn't really belong in the Interpretations anyway. -Guest

This song is about a loved one dying, and the person with the loved one regretting that they didn't get closer to each other (they had a long-distance relationship). The "he" is the person regretting, and the loved one thought the relationship had too many cracks.

Classic Linnell labyrinth wordplay here. With these kinds of songs, it's dangerous to try to grasp meaning because the point is largely to experiment with these flowing lyrical statements. However the song seems to deal with some kind of introspection...don't we all wish that a guy in the sky would be able to articulate perfectly how we're always feeling? In reality, those feelings are inexpressible in words--we just sigh at the cracks in the ceiling, silently.

I would probably agree that it is just mere word play. However, it reminds me of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I believe I have OCD and I always found it kind of hard to describe the random urges to do various things. The thing about the guy in the sky could mean something about God, which happens to be one of the things suffers of OCD obsess over (I read this in a medical dictionary of some kind). The existence of a God is typically questioned and the sufferer often comes to the logical conclusion that there is no God, but at the same time paradoxily fears his wrath for the loss in faith. Some sufferers must have a perfectly sterile environment and would sigh at cracks in the ceiling, especially if they could do nothing about it. The part about the spine could have something to do about a morbid fascination about the human anatomy and a fear of how fragile we are and a straight spine would be ideal because of the geometric perfection of a straight line. About the person saying "I'm feeling fine." could be a them saying that it doesn't bother them, but they are ridden with the doubt that they are wrong. The thing about the rhyme could refer to the fact that some sufferers randomly quote a line of a favorite poem. I'm pretty sure that it isn't a correct interpretation, but I just thought it was a weird coincidence.

My two cents: This song is about nothing. Have you ever met anyone who starts babbling on and on and on about nothing of much point, and then ends up talking about nothing similar to what they were talking about originally? That's what WDHYF is about. And we just wrap it all up with "Which Describes how you're feeling all the time." ~AgentChronon

I would like to know if anyone could explore the work overseas. is it a reference to freud, or perhaps someone else who could be postulated to have "Worked overseas" on behalf of the person who is trying to lie to themselves about the way they are feeling? I'm just hoping that all of the words echo themes in a particular author/psychologist's works. -guest RobMango (the guy that hit you in the eye)

My take on this song is that it is about God and free will. There's this guy in the sky who can tell what's going on with you at any time and you don't have any choice in the matter. You can try to feel the way you want (You said "I'm feeling fine") but it won't actually coincide ("rhyme") with how you truly feel. You aren't really free to do or feel what you want; God can find, in his mind, what you're feeling all the time. "Overseas" might refer to the metaphysical realm where God resdies (heaven, outside of time, whatever).

I think this is a meta-song; it's a song with vague lyrics ABOUT a song with vague lyrics, a song that bored, ceiling-staring teenagers around the world might at once declare describes EXACTLY how they're feeling - no matter how they're actually feeling. We get a bland, repetitive, depressing song about writing and listening to bland, repetitive, depressing songs.

Regardless of how it's interpreted, the line "You said 'I'm feeling fine' but it didn't really rhyme" is very clever.

I think this song is not so much word play, but a song about word play. Languages are very different, and some things that are really easy to express in one language are nearly impossible to express in another. Phrases do not sound the same; they don't "rhyme". You say "I'm feeling fine", but that isn't quite right. Meanwhile some guy on the other side of the world can express exactly how you are feeling.

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