East

[Visions]

Seeing most people love this song... i took to wondering what it actually means, id like to know other peoples interpretations.

here are the lyrics -

I cut my hair
And I am a foreigner
Stamped on arrival
Stamped on departure
I told the man at the check in desk
I am heading east
And he pretended to know what that means
Its always east
around and over
Its always been east
across and under
and i will never fail to be on time
and will always be the first one
and the last one
in the longest line
ooh…<br>I meet people like a foreigner meets people
They remember being young and nervous
People in high places
in low places
sit by the road with me
staring up and down
’Cos I am everybodys friend
anybodys friend
I'm everybodys friend
friend
ooh…<br>I kept on walking east
until I found something,
something
something that I thought was perfect
perfect
perfect

[kim-b]

i originally thought it was about immigrants, like somebody being kicked out of the country, their application for citizenship rejected.

longest line, stamped on arrival, stamped on departure, east.

i really like this line -

"i am heading east, and he pretended to know what that means"

for me, it has that meaning for the first half of the song and kinda drifts away and i don't really understand the second part. but regardless, it's one of my favourite songs.

i hope it will be recorded sometime, but yeah, i've heard the rumours that paul can't remember the song at all...so i hope he was just humouring us all. we should send him a copy of the lyrics and the bootlegged mp3, so he can record it for us

[gone]

good idea Kimbleton, lets refresh his mind!

[tilted]

when i first got this mp3 i was so moved by it i wrote a short piece inspired by it.. it was more a story, but sort of slipped into poetry every now and then..

anyway, i interpret this song as a personal reflection, not a literal thing adressing a real life issue such as immigrants.

i think the reason it moved me so much is because it is so ambiguous.... it's about feeling like an unidentified current is pulling you through life towards something you can't quite place "pretend to to know what it means" but you give it a name anyway - "east", and you live through surreal moments, like meeting new people, feeling beside yourself, "like a foreigner" when you're given the opportunity to think, who am i really?
then the
"’Cos I am everybodys friend
anybodys friend
I'm everybodys friend"
i think relates to a feeling of being lost in a crowd of people all feeling a different but in one sense similar current that is pulling them along, and just relating to them on a surface level never really confronting the fact that we're all kind of lost.

"I kept on walking east
until I found something,
something
something that I thought was perfect"

and that quote i think encapsulates a feeling of determinism, and the sense of purpose that we sort of pretend we have, when underneath we're really lost.. i mean, what is perfect?

[Visions]

Wow titled, thats EXACTLY the interpretation I felt, I just couldnt put it down to paper like that or even word it to say to someone else...which I found strange, so posted here to find someone who could.
And you did.
Thanks you so much!

[natty]

I doubt that would be correct Kim, as he played 'East' during his solo gig at the Metro in May 2002....that's not all that long ago really.

[twentysomething]

I remember Paul playing this at his solo show (metro May 26th, 2002) and when he played it he said something like, oh i can believe im playing this......

I would love to know if anyone has an MP3 of this song that they would care to share or give to Katy to host.....??

Cheers
Matt

[natty]

Matt i have East on a bootleg but it's not in MP3 format....i can burn you a copy of the whole gig if you like...it's a 2 cd set.

[somethingforkaty]

twentysomething said:

I would love to know if anyone has an MP3 of this song that they would care to share or give to Katy to host.....??

I have a bootleg which I think was the first time it was played of Paul solo from 2000 was originally mp3ed and put on my site but 'East' and 'Anchorman 2' were missing because they were unreleased tracks at the time. Since East is still unreleased we need to respect the bands wishes in regards to mp3's.

I'd say there are a fair few copies of the show floating about which you could get hold of - just make sure you get one which isn't mp3 sourced.

I have a copy, email me if you want to sort something out

[kate]

Though I know its highly unlikely it'd be brilliant if they released it - I've never heard it before the lyrics look really cool.

[twentysomething]

Katy,
thanks for the offer, im getting a Dempsey solo bootleg from a very dear friend, which has East on it.

Regards
Matt

[psalmesque]

somethingforkaty said:

I have a bootleg which I think was the first time it was played of Paul solo from 2000 was originally mp3ed and put on my site but 'East' and 'Anchorman 2' were missing because they were unreleased tracks at the time. Since East is still unreleased we need to respect the bands wishes in regards to mp3's.

I'd say there are a fair few copies of the show floating about which you could get hold of - just make sure you get one which isn't mp3 sourced.

I have a copy, email me if you want to sort something out

wasnt telescope off that bootleg as well?

[equalheights]

i keep hearing about this song. i take it that it still hasnt been released yet which is why its not anywhere on the site?

...just...double checking. bleh.