Interpretations:Aaa

The Struggle of Human Life

I feel that this song is about the problem of human curiosity; that we are always sticking our noses into places that we shouldn't. The conflict of the narrator is that he wants to find out things that he shouldn't. The various situations that are mentioned are situations where it would be best not to investigate, but yet the singer cannot live without knowing, and so he tries to find out, always responding with an "Aaa, aaa". I really like this song, and, in general, the Johns did a good job on Glean.

-Echo (o_o) (talk)

relentless curiosity

This is a song about the curiosity of us as a species. The song in almost every line is a question, it is always addressed towards the listener however listens more like a man simply thinking out loud to himself as he goes on a Google search frenzy.

-JoeOfNerd

That's what I thought, too. I want to make a thing where a guy is like, googling the stuff, looking at the camera and then seeing really graphic crap and freaking out. --⇂⇂↋ suᴉɥsuǝZ ʎɯɯᴉᒋ (talk) 07:48, 27 October 2021 (EDT)

Just a really funny song about stereotypical horror movies

I think this is just poking fun at all the really bad, cheesy horror movies out there. It takes things that usually elicit a scream in the cinemas and lump them all into one musical collection. They snuck the "removing bandages" line in there too, since band-aids usually hurt to take off. All in all a great song.

-Flinellsburgh

Horror movies as metaphor for end of a relationship

There's that moment in a horror movie when the character is warily approaching something and they know it's probably something horrible but they have to find out, which is the beginning and ending of the song. The middle section, though, is the protagonist not recognizing that something horrible in his relationship is about to happen. That moment right before your world is upended forever.

-Boredomtuck

The horrors of dating

Similar to other interpretations, one fairly simple way to look at this is as the Johns comparing something such as asking one's significant other a question "How's it going baby tell me is there something on your mind?" to much "scarier" scenarios such as opening a ticking package. Reminds me of "If I Wasn't Shy" in that vein. Another note, possibly opening up new interps: when I saw the title I immediately thought of the type of thing people type when they are in a hurry as, for example, a document title. I.e. "What do you want to name this document?" And they just type in all A's. That might lend itself more to one of the "pitfalls of human curiosity" etc. interpretations, reflective of how quickly we need to know and do things.

-Superotter

Man facing his ultimate fear that he may not be the father of the baby

I think this song is about a man discovering something that he suspects to be true but does not want to face: that he may not the father of his wife/girlfriend's baby. In TMBG style, the song begins with superficial scary things but quickly turns quite serious (though some could draw deeper- no pun intended- interpretations into reaching inside the wall). The person hiding under the blanket refers to the unknown stranger in the bed that might be the real father. Taking off the bandages is that the couple had been living pretending everything is ok avoiding facing the gory wound (the truth); but now the man is about to confront the reality he already suspects. The second verse spells it out culminating with the suspicion: I heard a rumor that deep inside the golf ball (a round pregnant belly) there is alien blood (i.e. the baby is not his.) Facing such a terrifying truth will quickly reveal what the man is made of. (I'm sure there are sausage interpretations to be made as well...) Aaa!

-grbfrog

Mainly Horror With Pain aaand Woes Thrown In

Most of the lyrics would refer to someone doing something in a horror movie, like the door behind the pile of furniture, and then the aaa is obviously screaming. I'm really only writing this to bring up some questions about the latter lines: Don't you think it's time that we remove these bandages? As someone else has already mentioned that would be referring to the pain of ripping a Band-Aid off, but could it also be referring to some horrible disfigurement the band aids were hiding? The rest of the song seems to be based off of someone saying hurtful and frightening things, and learning about some things that the narrator seems to find disturbing, like the making of sausages or human biology. (Perhaps freaked out about all the bacteria inside us? Maybe following an episode of the monsters inside me?) Also, I wonder if the golf ball part is following an actual conspiracy theory, something one of the Johns heard, or if it is just them wondering what is actually in the core of a golf ball.

Scared about finding out? What's so Scary?

Are you scared to find out? Is the agony over finding out more painful than the actual 'Aaa' moment? Or is the Aaa over not finding out?

I love this song, since you never 'find out', but Linell's energy makes you want to. I like that, since I think the goal is to get us 'ripping off bandages' instead of expecting to find a nightmare. Al these melodramatic 'Aaa's seem outright SEEKING trauma and bad news, and yet this song is dry of pain. It probably isn't as bad as a horror movie. (Thanks Horror guy above for a great expression.)

--SoreThumb (talk) 16:09, 27 May 2015 (EDT)

Sequel to Put It To The Test

This is like the evil twin to the song from Here Comes Science about the Scientific Method which urges the listener to rigorously investigate things they're unsure about. "If there's a question bothering your brain..." "I'm gonna find out now." Only the 'finding out' isn't nearly as pleasant or enlightening as the vibes from the kids song.

--samvall 00:41, Sat 14th November 2015 (AEST)

Just a scary thought

"What am I made of? I'm going to find out now! Aaah!" I dunno man, that just makes me think of someone taking a big knife and cutting themselves open

--Anonymous 23/12/2017

Linnell's Likely Motive (3 Years Too Late)

John Linnell builds songs like a craftsman, a woodworker. One imagines the shop full of wooden pieces, on shelves, hanging from strings, just thousands of them, each compact and meticulously detailed. Based on his descriptions of how he works, he seems to consider the lyrical content a separate and even secondary part of the process, like the paint job on the finished train whistle or sailboat or birdhouse. That's not to say that his lyrics are lesser by any means - they're generally pretty stellar - but that he doesn't seem the type to find inspiration for a song from a subject. It's more like, I've crafted this little confection of melody and harmony, now what words can I put into it? He admitted as much with how State Songs was built, more or less randomly applying state names to his various musical creations and following it where it went, sort of like setting out to carve or build a new piece without knowing what it'll be, only knowing that you'll use these blues and greens on it once it's done. This song strikes me as exactly that sort of process. I don't think the origin is the title as a scream; rather, I think it began as a sort of self-teasing joke about what a huge catalog of songs the band has and that he was going to write the one that would be alphabetically first. Notice that the title deviates from the usual spelling of screaming or exclaiming (with an H at the end), but instead looks like the sort of thing plumbers used to throw into their names to get top billing in the phone book. So my suspicion is, he started there, picking the title for that reason, and like State Songs, went where it took him. I really think this is the genesis of this song. I really really do.

--Charlie Coniglio 29/08/2018

William Allen White

William Allen White is the guy from the video. NOT Harry Truman. Just wanted to say that.

Dangerously Curious Thing In A World Full Of Horrors

Well, just what the title says. Might be the protagonist of ECNALUBMA, too.

The narrator cuts his skin off in a fit of drug-induced paranoia

What if the narrator of "Aaa" is on drugs and, in his high, ponders how sausage is made, then ponders what he's made of? "I'm gonna find out now," he declares as he raises the knife to the skin on his lower arm.

ADHD

As a person with ADHD, everything in this song sounds like thoughts speeding through your mind at thousands of miles per hour. Unrelated topics mentioned at random, questions, questions, and more questions. I interpret the screams as vocal stimming. I know this isn’t too much of a detailed description, it still works out.

-Sweetneppntunes (talk) 11:22, 27 September 2023 (EDT)

Having unlimited access to the internet at a young age

When first listening to this song, I read the lyrics at the same time. It hit me that this is likely how many people (including myself) felt when they were young and were suddenly presented with all the knowledge one could ever have, easily accessible by anyone. Going down countless rabbit holes, going from a safe topic a young person could handle, to a NSFW topic they may have not been ready for. The consistent screaming symbolises how terrifying seeing such things can be to a child, and not understanding everything. "Don't you think it's time we removed those bandages?" indicates someone purposefully exploring such topics due to curiosity ("How are sausages made / and what am I made of? / I'm gonna find out now"), boredom, or simply not being taught sufficient information, and they end up finding it too overwhelming.

RONAN.outoftime (talk) 06:10, 10 January 2024 (EST)