Oh No Lyrics
In the salsify mains of what was thought but unsaid
All the calcified arithmatists were doing the math
And it would take a calculated blow to the head
To light the eyes of all the harmless sociopaths
[Verse 2]
Oh arm in arm we are the harmless sociopaths
Oh, arm in arm with all the harmless sociopaths
Calcium mines are buried deep in your chest
Oh the calcium mines you buried deep in your che-e-est
[Chorus]
Ooh
We’re deep in a mine
Ooh
A calcium mine
O-o-oh
[Bridge]
Let’s get out of here
Past the atmosphere
Squint your eyes and no one dies or goes to jail
Past the silver bridge
Oh, the silver bridge wearing nothing but a onesie and a veil
Ooh
We’re deep in a mine
O-o-oh
Ooh
A calcium mine
O-o-oh
[Verse 2]
Oh arm in arm we are the harmless sociopaths
Oh, arm in arm with all the harmless sociopaths
Calcium mines are buried deep in your chest
Oh the calcium mines you buried deep in your chest
Oh, no, no
[Chorus]
Ooh
We’re deep in a mine
Oh no
Ooh
A calcium mine
Oh, no
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
So let’s get out of here
Past the atmosphere
Squint your eyes and no one dies or goes to jail
Past the silver bridge
Oh, the silver bridge wearing nothing but a onesie and a veil
[Outro]
Oh no!
Oh no!
Oh no!
Oh no!
About
Track #1 on Andrew Bird’s fifth full-length studio album Noble Beast.
According to Andrew the inspiration for this song’s title and last verses comes from a flight in which a little boy sitting in front of him kept crying the words “oh no” in such a remarkably desolate way that it moved him to go home immediately and begin weaving both the refrain and the timbre of the cry into a song:
So when I got home I picked up my guitar and tried to capture the slowly descending arc of that kid’s cry. It fit nicely over a violin loop that I had been toying with which moves from C-major to A-major.
The final composition is a song questioning why most people are not like this little boy, but hide their feelings instead.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Oh No
- 2.Masterswarm
- 4.Effigy
- 5.Tenuousness
- 6.Nomenclature
- 7.Ouo
- 10.Anonanimal
- 11.Natural Disaster
- 12.The Privateers
- 13.Souverian
- 14.On Ho
- 15.Section 8 City