Interpretations:D & W

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Interpretation 1

Could, perhaps, the "D" and "W" in this story allude to the democratic and republican parties in the US two-party system? One could argue that the democratic party "moves a little bit slower now" - it's kind of a wuss party and is not as aggressive as it used to be ("doesn't get out of the house much anymore"). On the other hand, the republican party often "cannot hide its pride;" the world is, at this point, pretty much their oyster - and they like it ("It thinks it's king, its all-time favorite thing is W"). Of course, "W" is also the nickname for George W. Bush, the current (republican) president of the US. Just a thought - more than likely, this song is just a song about the letters D and W. - Rhinoceros Rex

Interpretation 2

D actually is an older letter than W. W is a great letter, because it's one of the biggest, but it doesn't have its own sound, it has to borrow from V (which was pronounced like a W in classical Latin) while V gets its own different one in English. It's riding V's accomplishments.

So maybe you're right.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.38.247.95 (talk • contribs) 12:08, 9 February 2005

Interpretation 3

I have to concur with Rhinoceros here - I know someone who came up with this exact same theory independent of this page, so there must be something to it. Moreover, the pairing of D and W in the same song can't be mere random coincidence. There must have been some compositional considerations, and I think Rhino Rex has hit it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.195.231 (talk • contribs) 04:26, 27 February 2005

Interpretation 4

I also thought of this when I saw the way W acts, being a king and all that. Also notable is that When "D sinks" the rock that it hits is distinctly W-shaped. (See screenshot on this article)LeFou 09:21, 6 May 2006 (CDT)

Interpretation 5

I have a great fondness for this theory (D=dems, W=GWB), irrespective of whether it's true or false. In particular, I like the fact that W is more than a little dim-witted, while D is a wise-cracking blue-collar Brooklynite. Especially in their exchange in the song "Can You Find It?", W is such a dope that he can't even find himself, much less other letters (perhaps WMDs?). --Nehushtan 20:55, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Interpretation 6

I know this is not what the song is about, but it is really funny to me to think of D as Linnell and W as Flans. Linnell is half of everything in the band (Half a circle, half a moon, an apple slice), but is shy and seems to be overshadowed sometimes by the outgoing-ness of W, or Flans. Flansburgh may seem cocky to Linnell at times because he is more of a people-pleaser and has an easier time interacting with others. (It cannot hide its pride...It thinks it's king) Linnell sometimes gets tired of how Flans sees himself in his own mind- telling him "You think you're so great". And Flans's reply. This is totally wrong, but it cracks me up. --Valerie 14:32, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Interpretation 7

D&W is a small chain of ten grocery stores in the West Michigan area. www.dwfoods.com D&W can also represent the intersection of Division and Wealthy streets in Grand Rapids, MI. Division is more of a run-down street, ala "D" of the song, whereas Wealthy ("W"), while rundown at the area of the intersection, gains in prominence as it becomes the main street in affluent East Grand Rapids, MI. --Xannie 14:15, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'm an idiot, but...

I think that this songs about how one person can have two personalities. Maybe D stands for Danny and W stands for Weinkauf. Probably one side of his brain is in love with himself (W) and the other side is arguing against that (D). Like I said, I'm an idiot, but I like thinking about it this way

I wonder...

... if the pairing of D and W has anything to do with the old riddle:

"Only 3 words in the English Language begin with 'Dw..."

I heard the riddle on an old "West Wing" episode, but I suspect it's older than that.

Oh, you want the answer? I'll reverse it to hide the spoiler if you want to think about it longer: frawdllewdeldniwd ChaosS (talk) 20:40, 12 September 2013 (EDT)

---

They're alphabetical opposites

Like, I think their pairing mostly has to do with the fact that they're alphabetical opposites. Like, equidistant from the ends of the alphabet.

A and Z are often paired together, so that leaves B and Y, C and X, D and W, etc.

(But I feel like a lot of these are strong contenders for additional reasons to choose these two specifically.)

Paintspotinfez (talk) 00:25, 10 July 2017 (EDT)

D and W are former celebrities previously in a relationship

It might sound weird, but hear me out: D and W are both celebrities who were previously very popular around the same time and probably on the same show or whatever.

D's all washed-up and forgotten, and W is still in the public eye and still popular many years later. Their contrasts (being alphabetical opposites) also show the two major paths that former celebrities often go down after being formerly super popular: staying popular or just kinda slowly losing it (often going to rehab) after being forgotten. It also can somewhat detail the very differing (and somewhat biased) ways that the media treats celebrities.

But there's a second part of this: in the song, D and W seem to be sort of an "odd couple" of friendship. They're total opposites, yet are incredibly close friends. My headcanon: they were in (when they were popular decades ago) a relationship.

They were both main actors on a popular show. Their characters were best friends, but W was always the star. D was in a relationship: unbeknownst to the media, but rumors then spread about D possibly being homosexual (in a very unsupportive time period). Then, the media discovered and revealed these rumors, and the controversy of that led to D basically being forced to leave whatever popular show. W sort of ditched D in his time of need. W went on to continue having popularity, while D kinda faded out of the limelight. The media didn't treat D too well, but was more supportive towards W when he came out (at least a decade later, when things were more tolerated.)

"D Sinks" is a metaphor for D's downfall and him fading into obscurity (and entering a not-great part of his life). The very distinctly W-shaped rock probably represents how it was the rumors from his relationship with W that led to the media kinda screwing him over. The tabloid represents how the media (somewhat biased-ly) treats some celebrities. D is formerly "well-known," and is now only remembered as the less-remembered half of a pair (and half of a very sad and lonely 'moon,' as his 'sun' of fame has stopped shining and has already set).

Meanwhile, years later, W is loud and proud about his "pride", and since the media loves him (and is more supportive nowadays), trumpets about how cool everyone's favorite hip celebrity is.

The two former friends eventually make up again later down the line, but still.

Just a differing opinion and crazy idea! (wow that was long)

Paintspotinfez (talk) 00:25, 10 July 2017 (EDT)

Maybe...

Maybe this is how most people see Linnell and Flansburgh. As Linnell could represent the shyer D and Flans is the gregarious W

Sound of the Words

The sound of “D” is soft and sharp, while “W” is drawn-out and boastful. I think maybe?

-When Cheese Met Chalk

I just immediately thought of Danny lol

I saw the title and thought damn that's just Danny Weinkauf's initials. Probably not why they chose those letters, but hey, this is the tmbw interpretations page so anything goes DoLetsStop (talk) 17:16, 4 July 2023 (EDT)