Bill Stevenson of Descendents wrote this song about his father Steve's death. As far as I know only the Lemonheads recorded it, but Descendents did record another Stevenson song on the same subject: One More Day, which appeared on their 2004 album Cool to be You. In this song an estrange son seeks to help his sick father, who is dying. Although he still thinks it's possible his father could love him, he gave up on the idea long ago. Ultimately, he loves his father and has accepted him for who he is, and wants to care for him at the end of his life. One More Day is much more anguished, but in that song the son loves the father no matter how distant. The hookiest part of this song is the line "But I'm not leaving here without you", especially the way Evan Dando sings it with his incredible voice.

The song meaning is clear. Or is it? I read a post on songfacts. Com claiming that this song is often misinterpreted, and that in fact the song has an unhappy ending. That is, every other ex-con on the bus had the same plan with their long lost girlfriends, so how could the guy tell which ribbon was from his girlfriend? Either that, or his girlfriend had been screwing around with 100 other ex-cons and was welcoming them home too. While it is true that he clearly tells his woman to tie *a* yellow ribbon, there's nothing else to support the unhappy, woman-moved-on ending. Much clearer is that the hundred ribbons emphasize her acceptance of him, confirmed by the "I'm coming home, mmm" line at the end. This song is alternatively based on a newspaper story, an urban legend, a real story that happened in Georgia not Florida (do they have oak trees in Florida?). It really doesn't matter because it's a great story that we love to hear. Now, let's consider how dated this song sounds today: Is it remotely possible that today's public/media would be caught dead cheering for a convicted felon and his love life? Remember the quaint old days when people went to prison, paid their dues (serving "only" 3 years instead of endless warehousing), got out and were accepted as humans with lives and loves? The protagonist in this song is obviously an honorable and reasonable person ("put the blame on me"). It's hard to image such a sympathetic portrayal of a recently released prisoner today.

The song is about how difficult it is to create new works/songs. First, he thought it would be easy to create without the pressure to create. Then, when it's not takes consolation that dry spells can't last forever. Ultimately, when creativity returns you take advantage because there's no telling how long it will stick around. Milo Auckerman wrote this song when returning to the band from his research career in 2002 (or at least it was on their 2004 album recorded in 2002). Presumably he had a dry spell during that time and this song marks the end of it. Likely he experienced himself since he said in a 1997 interview with Yo Beat that he can only write about things that affect him personally rather than imagining things that happen to other people. One of my favorite songs!

'This' in the song title refers to a microphone - is it on? In other words, are people hearing me? The answer in the song is no. Despite hanging out with your best friends talking all night they become inch by inch strangers. Which isn't what normally happens. So, either the main character is experiencing mental illness ("I've been on that ledge"), or is growing and changing and doesn't feel connected to his friends any more. The second seems more likely given the chorus "You're on your own". The bridge reinforces the growing and changing theme: we've always thought of ourselves as better, but now it's not so clear. The world is more complicated and infinite than we previously thought. It's a bittersweet song. Change is sometimes difficult and lonely, but the new world is often more rewarding and interesting.