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BIRDHOUSE IN YOUR SOUL - THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS ( Complete Original Video )

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  • Опубліковано 3 сер 2010
  • Group: They Might be Giants
    / particlemen
    ‪Congrats to TMBG: 1 + Million Views
    Birdhouse In Your Soul (Official Video) - They Might Be Giants‬:
    • Birdhouse In Your Soul...
    By Particlemen aka They Might Be Giants:
    / particlemen
    Album/CD:Flood....... MORE HERE:
    Song Title: Birdhouse in Your Soul
    Produced by: They Might Be Giants, Alan Winstanley,
    Clive Langer
    Label: Elektra Records ( Released in 1990 Recorded in 1989 at Skyline Studios in New York City )
    John Flansburgh and John Linnell are They Might Be Giants
    Alan Bezozi -- Drums
    Mark Feldman -- Violin
    Rick McRae -- Trombone
    Frank London -- Trumpet
    Charlie Spalvida -- Trumpet
    Marion Beckenstein -- Vocals
    Joel Mitchell -- Vocals
    The Skyline Staff -- Handclaps
    Arto Lindsay -- Guitar
    Trivia/Info:
    The song is a story of a child's nightlight, told from the nightlight's point of view.
    The Longines Symphonette is a hand-held pocket radio, manufactured in the 1960s. It is also a record label which specialized in releasing classic radio programs and multiple-record box sets. Linnell admits, though, "I didn't find out what the Longines Symphonette was until after the song was released," in a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone.
    The song's video was directed by Adam Bernstein and filmed inside the New York County's Surrogate's Court and Hall of Records building located at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan. "I tell people it's my house." - Linnell
    Blue Canary is the title of a 1953 song by Vincent Fiorino, which has lyrics on the sadder side about loneliness and comforting but has "happy" music. Also, the 1948 song "Bluebird of Happiness" as performed by Art Mooney (which reminds that, "Though you're deep in blue, you will see a ray of light creep through") may have influenced the line about a "bluebird of friendliness".
    PS: This tidbit from intrepid youtuber " thatcher81" :
    "Fun fact: The first girl mimicking a lighthouse at 1:51 to 1:54 in this video is "Helen" from the sitcom "Wings." She is a huge TMBG fan and asked to be in a video (video was filmed when Wings was at its height of popularity)".
    WHILE YOU`RE AT IT, SUBSCRIBE TO THE
    OFFICIAL ' THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS ' UA-cam AND FACEBOOK PAGES :
    www.youtube.com...
    www.facebook.co...
    Like it ? Then Why Not Buy It :
    www.theymightbe...
    www.amazon.com/...
    music.barnesand...
    GET YOUR BLUE CANARY NIGHT LIGHT SWITCH:
    You're probably wondering why it took 21 years for the world to finally make a blue canary nightlight. We're not sure, but we suspect the sparrow that doesn't tell you anything you want to know had something to do with it--or Triangle Man, who always seems to win.
    Plug this little guy in an outlet by a light switch and the energy efficient, light-sensitive LED will glow cheerfully as light fades. You'll never have to whistle in the dark again! Unless that's the only one thing that you like, in which case you can leave the Blue Canary unplugged from the Outlet by the Light Switch.
    www.amazon.com...
    bluecanarynight...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 6 тис.

  • @jimmyjimmy17
    @jimmyjimmy17 5 років тому +1367

    I drove these guys in 1990 when i was a chauffeur funniest blokes i ever met .great week total nutters lol

    • @yaboi6851
      @yaboi6851 5 років тому +18

      nice

    • @ObjectsInMotion
      @ObjectsInMotion 4 роки тому +24

      Imagine name dropping from something that happened 30 years ago

    • @jimmyjimmy17
      @jimmyjimmy17 4 роки тому +45

      @@ObjectsInMotion cest la vie old bean

    • @draculasbettina
      @draculasbettina 4 роки тому +24

      @@ObjectsInMotion so fuck?!

    • @Predaking4ever
      @Predaking4ever 4 роки тому +10

      They seem honestly true like David Byrnes.

  • @Janrjdkanrnfjaj
    @Janrjdkanrnfjaj 4 роки тому +720

    I am:
    ⚪️ A Man
    ⚪️ A Woman
    🔘 Your only friend I’m not your only friend but I’m a glowing friend but really I’m not actually your friend but I am

  • @counterfeit6089
    @counterfeit6089 4 роки тому +321

    It shouldn't be possible that a song about a nightlight is this much of a banger

    • @mindjail5512
      @mindjail5512 4 роки тому +16

      "Birdhouse In Your Soul" is about all electronic devices that purport to help people and the ridiculous faith humans put in them.

    • @retro-revival161
      @retro-revival161 4 роки тому +49

      @@mindjail5512 To me it's more from the perspective of a nightlight that 's proud of its one and only purpose and reason for existence - to guard its owner from the dark - and yearns to be appreciated, but really isn't.

    • @lavaknight3682
      @lavaknight3682 3 роки тому +5

      Ian Forman ...
      I just like how it sounds

    • @johnuthus
      @johnuthus 3 роки тому +4

      Me who thinks its about protecting the girl you like as she feels very safe aroumd you

    • @Markotraficante
      @Markotraficante 3 роки тому

      Relax 😒

  • @janicebelfiore856
    @janicebelfiore856 Рік тому +46

    My son enjoyed this when it came out and got me into it. My son passed 4 years ago. This song is one of a few that gives me comfort and makes me happy. Blue Canary, my son watches over me

  • @jamespithie5661
    @jamespithie5661 7 років тому +573

    I still can't believe this song is about a night light telling a story

    • @bearcatben4762
      @bearcatben4762 5 років тому +11

      I think its about the evolution of lights

    • @isobel3028
      @isobel3028 4 роки тому +31

      Bearcat Ben it’s not. Its about a night-light guarding a child

    • @gelerickson
      @gelerickson 3 роки тому +12

      it's a good model of how they write most of their songs lyrically; two lenses of perspective constantly shifting over one another. the grand ideas speaking to the viewer and the simple little microcosm of the world built from context inside the song, constantly overlapping each other. Flood in particular is an album where they do a ton of this

    • @warrenfriesner4940
      @warrenfriesner4940 3 роки тому +2

      @@gelerickson exactly--this is best illustrated in "The end of the Tour".
      The song begins from the POV of (my interpretation) the symbol for liberty/freedom--the Statue of Liberty (visible just a few minutes walk from where TMBG live (from the Brooklyn waterfront)
      "There's a girl with a crown and a scepter
      Who's on WLSD (yeah, it's a real radio station somewhere in the south, as I recall)
      And she says that the scene isn't what it's been
      And she's thinking of going home" because
      "it's old and it's totally over now..."
      The narrative then shifts to the perspective of a tour bus filled with disgruntled band members; it contains one of my all time fave TMBG lines describing a fantasized tour-ending accident with another vehicle from the perspective of the bus:
      "Never to part since the day we met
      Out on Interstate 91
      I was bent metal you were a flaming wreck
      When we kissed at the overpass"
      The chorus shifts back to a frustrated band member wishing to be able to see his friends/loved ones at the end of the tour, for the road to finally "disappear" and lamenting that the tour is booked "till the end of the world".
      The narrative shifts one last time to a neutral observer in conversation with the tour bus (or so it seems) describing the fantasized accident above.
      "This was the vehicle these were the people
      You opened the door and expelled all the people
      You let them go"

    • @gcgangsta8556
      @gcgangsta8556 2 роки тому +1

      Really??! Never could figure this one out. Thanks

  • @jasonknight8581
    @jasonknight8581 5 років тому +357

    They've been around since 1982... AND WE'RE STILL NOT SURE IF THEY'RE GIANTS!

  • @Predaking4ever
    @Predaking4ever 4 роки тому +550

    He did the singing part of the other father in Coraline. Great decision.

    • @qlutsy
      @qlutsy 4 роки тому +5

      Predaking4ever perfect role

    • @m.b3839
      @m.b3839 3 роки тому +39

      OH MY GOD. I JUST CAME HERE FROM THE CORALINE SCENE BECAUSE I WAS LIKE "huh, the dad sounds like They Might Be Giants. I'm gonna go listen to them for the ✨nostalgia✨" AND IT TURNS OUT IT WAS HIS VOICE ALL ALONG OH MY GOD-

    • @Lily-nx5yd
      @Lily-nx5yd 3 роки тому

      I love that, that’s so cool

    • @mandythaw7029
      @mandythaw7029 3 роки тому +1

      OMG! I knew I recognized that voice!! 😲

    • @innertuber4049
      @innertuber4049 3 роки тому +10

      They actually wrote an entire album for the movie, but it was considered to not match the tone well enough and they only kept the Other Father Song

  • @amyhackett5266
    @amyhackett5266 4 роки тому +47

    This was They Might Be Giants biggest hit in both the USA and the UK. The song is a story of a child's blue canary-shaped night light, told from the night light's point of view. Across the room from the night light is a picture of a lighthouse which would be his primitive ancestor. It could be interpreted that the night light is a metaphor for God or a guardian angel protecting the child.

    • @EdgeFreedom
      @EdgeFreedom 4 роки тому +2

      It's about a guy on the toilet. If it wasn't he wouldn't say "i have a secret to tell from my electrical well" and he wouldn't of sung about a picture of a boat house commenly found in bathrooms.

    • @TheseUseless
      @TheseUseless 4 роки тому

      i just thought it was about a sadistic time traveler, who lives in what looks like an electrical well, and views himself as a god.

    • @ThreadBomb
      @ThreadBomb 4 роки тому

      @@TheseUseless TMBG wrote a song about a sadistic time traveller, called "2082"

  • @TH-ds2yx
    @TH-ds2yx 6 років тому +177

    My dad told me years ago that this was the first song I ever heard. Almost 28 years ago, when he carried me as a newborn down to the hospital lobby to give my mother a break it was playing on the radio.

    • @bumgardenerkreme1044
      @bumgardenerkreme1044 6 років тому +3

      Nice one Tom ! Currently listening to John Flansburgh being interviewed by Iain Lee on Talkradio UK.

    • @chesterfieldsnapdrag
      @chesterfieldsnapdrag 6 років тому +5

      That was 28 years ago and a bit ago I just listened to their brand new album. Without a doubt John and John still have it.

    • @felicitywark6045
      @felicitywark6045 6 років тому +3

      yeah! it’s crazy how they’re still going after all this time.

    • @gwencrozier5997
      @gwencrozier5997 4 роки тому +4

      That's adorable. At least you got a good dad. And hopefully mom too. X. 90s were bestest.

    • @joiamed8544
      @joiamed8544 3 роки тому

      Good for you

  • @benjaminhennessy8050
    @benjaminhennessy8050 7 років тому +21

    TMBG always restores my faith in humanity.

  • @tinyoctopus6317
    @tinyoctopus6317 4 роки тому +155

    30 years ago, I remember belting this out at my high school talent contest and the girl I liked looking at me like I was crazy.
    WHO'S CRAZY NOW JEN!?

    • @poppiestevens1941
      @poppiestevens1941 4 роки тому +2

      Ha

    • @AJLord
      @AJLord 3 роки тому +1

      I love that ending.

    • @johnuthus
      @johnuthus 3 роки тому

      The crazy one is the one who likes there music, but then that makes us sane, therefore she is the crazy one

    • @pantzguy
      @pantzguy 3 роки тому +2

      YEAH JEN

    • @Ser_Arthur_Dayne
      @Ser_Arthur_Dayne 2 роки тому

      I laughed out loud while listening to this in my bed at 3AM.. Best post ever.

  • @innertuber4049
    @innertuber4049 3 роки тому +68

    "After killing Jason off
    And countless screaming argonauts!"
    At the moment I noticed this lyric, this song went from fondness to love

  • @thinwhiteduke9212
    @thinwhiteduke9212 4 роки тому +113

    'Flood' is an incredible album. There is a song about a bag of groceries sitting on a shelf. I ask you, who does that? These guys. These weird geniuses.

    • @Tef-ng4sk
      @Tef-ng4sk 4 роки тому +1

      What one's that?

    • @thinwhiteduke9212
      @thinwhiteduke9212 4 роки тому +1

      @@Tef-ng4sk 'Dead' Track 5. It starts off about a bag of groceries and the song ends with the same stanza, but the song it just about death.

    • @AJLord
      @AJLord 3 роки тому

      "I returned a bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the expiration date"
      (I returned AS a bag yada yada yada)

    • @PantheraLeo04
      @PantheraLeo04 3 роки тому +1

      it's a bout a guy who gets reincarnated as a bag of groceries which just makes it even weirder

  • @JeffreyHeesch
    @JeffreyHeesch 7 років тому +32

    I can't really explain why, but I feel like this song represents every thought that's gone through my head for the past 28 years.

    • @grendelum
      @grendelum 7 років тому

      Jeffrey Heesch - if, like me, They Might Be Giants was one of the bands you listened to while starting high school in the early 90s, then yeah... they are by far one of the most influential bands of all time... providing the soundtrack to my thoughts while Monty Python provided the visuals...

  • @eamonnbr
    @eamonnbr 3 роки тому +198

    Listening in 2021. Never gets old.

    • @miniconan5
      @miniconan5 3 роки тому +4

      Listening in 2021. Never gets old.

    • @karloberst2147
      @karloberst2147 3 роки тому

      Listening in 2077. Never gets old.

    • @tripi7906
      @tripi7906 3 роки тому

      @@karloberst2147 never gets old and that’s that

  • @majofaz4900
    @majofaz4900 4 роки тому +71

    [Lyrics]
    I'm your only friend
    I'm not your only friend
    But I'm a little glowing friend
    But really I'm not actually your friend
    But I amBlue canary in the outlet by the light switch
    Who watches over you
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul
    Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul
    I have a secret to tell
    From my electrical well
    It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
    So the room must listen to me
    Filibuster vigilantly
    My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
    My story's infinite
    Like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't restBlue canary in the outlet by the light switch
    Who watches over you
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul
    Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul
    I'm your only friend
    I'm not your only friend
    But I'm a little glowing friend
    But really I'm not actually your friend
    But I amThere's a picture opposite me
    Of my primitive ancestry
    Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
    Though I respect that a lot
    I'd be fired if that were my job
    After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts
    Bluebird of friendliness
    Like guardian angels its always nearBlue canary in the outlet by the light switch
    Who watches over you
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul
    Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul(and while you're at it
    Keep the nightlight on inside the
    Birdhouse in your soul)Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soulBlue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
    Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soulBlue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
    Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)Not to put too fine a point on it
    Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
    Make a little birdhouse in your soul

  • @flyboymcgee8059
    @flyboymcgee8059 6 років тому +61

    Many people are unaware of the pure genius of TMBG

  • @plantain.1739
    @plantain.1739 5 років тому +33

    I find it amazing that after *9 YEARS* of this being posted, people are still commenting, talking, and enjoying this song.
    Powerful stuff

    • @rubysoho8064
      @rubysoho8064 5 років тому +1

      I find it amazing that this post has been liked 5 times in 11 hours

  • @mackeydirk8643
    @mackeydirk8643 3 роки тому +18

    TMBGs is a perfect example why late 80s early 90s was the best era for alternative music every band was so different absolutely owned their signature style

  • @campingwithsteve
    @campingwithsteve 3 роки тому +254

    Ahh, this takes me back

    • @thelongspring
      @thelongspring 3 роки тому +11

      Now you’re rocking with Steve

    • @jeneethompson8210
      @jeneethompson8210 3 роки тому +5

      Wayyyyy back. 💗

    • @beans2752
      @beans2752 3 роки тому +2

      Uhhh hi Steve!!

    • @peterlabrada9840
      @peterlabrada9840 3 роки тому +2

      Woah!!! your vids are cool man

    • @heyodi3092
      @heyodi3092 3 роки тому +2

      Weird. I randomly came upon your channel recently and have also been on a major TMBG kick. Funny to see you in their comments.

  • @tatooweeny
    @tatooweeny 6 років тому +22

    When I lived in San Francisco in the early 90's, I was walking near Union Square when I heard a mike turn on and TMBG started singing. It was frickin awesome. They were sorta unplugged, but still had horns and drums. One of the best incognito shows I've ever seen. They never introduced themselves and played for like 30 minutes then packed up and left. It was very surreal.

  • @isobel3028
    @isobel3028 4 роки тому +49

    Meaning Of The Song:
    Its a song a about a blue canary night light which symbolises a guardian for a child and “watches over you” and why you put a “birdhouse in your soul”.
    The night light is also opposite his ‘primitive ancestry” which is a lighthouse and talks about how the lighthouse protect the shores from shipwrecks. Both lighthouse and night light are there as guardians and to protect.

  • @birdo_is_here
    @birdo_is_here 4 роки тому +65

    “im your only friend, im not your only friend, but im a little glowin’ friend, but really i’m not actually your friend but i am”
    **CONFUSED SCREAMING**

    • @senritsujumpsuit6021
      @senritsujumpsuit6021 4 роки тому +1

      ヽ((◎д◎))ゝヾ(*’O’*)/(>0

    • @fudgeslicer9264
      @fudgeslicer9264 4 роки тому +2

      Just a Wild Saturn You are almost certainly a monumental bender

    • @wolfycake1254
      @wolfycake1254 4 роки тому +2

      but I am (John cena)

    • @alanepithet2931
      @alanepithet2931 4 роки тому +1

      It's a song about a Night Light. Night lights might seem friendly and warm, and when you wake late at night as a kid they might seem to be your only friend, but they can't actually be your friend because they are, at the end of the day, just a night light.

    • @EdgeFreedom
      @EdgeFreedom 4 роки тому

      @@alanepithet2931 it's a song about a guy on the toilet in the bathroom. The song is from his perspective if it wasn't the line about his primitive ancestry would make no sense.

  • @simonjenkin
    @simonjenkin 4 роки тому +57

    idk about you lot but this is probably the best song written from the point of view of a child's nightlight plugged in opposite a poster of a lighthouse that *i've* ever heard

    • @graham7140
      @graham7140 4 роки тому +4

      After 30 years it all makes sense, thanks

  • @dazieger
    @dazieger 5 років тому +58

    As a professional songwriter, I stand in awe of the fact that these guys decided to write a song from the perspective of a night light.

    • @WarDaft
      @WarDaft 5 років тому +5

      Darren Zieger ... Everyone stands in awe of these guys

    • @Frankincensedjb123
      @Frankincensedjb123 5 років тому

      Darren Zieger as an unprofessional writer, I’m surprised they didn’t write about the huge plastic pile of birdhouse poo poo 💩

    • @Mark-zu6oz
      @Mark-zu6oz 5 років тому

      @@8RBrain and a rock to wind a piece of string around.

  • @doomkonb
    @doomkonb 5 років тому +40

    It's so nice that people are still commenting on this song, it's a masterpiece

    • @johnuthus
      @johnuthus 3 роки тому

      Also, how young some of then are who found it

  • @OmegaPrime1
    @OmegaPrime1 Рік тому +40

    Just saw these guys LIVE again in Boston, back in September, for the 30th anniversary of The Flood album. They still got it ☺️.

    • @realnutteruk1
      @realnutteruk1 Рік тому +2

      It was only 32 years ago

    • @Chronohome
      @Chronohome Рік тому +1

      Were they at the House of Blues? If so, I hope you put away that hash pipe and put some makeup on that bruise...

    • @OmegaPrime1
      @OmegaPrime1 Рік тому

      @@realnutteruk1 you're right! My mistake. I have since fixed it.

    • @OmegaPrime1
      @OmegaPrime1 Рік тому

      @@Chronohome no it was at The Royale in Boston. Also what are you on about? Hash pipe? Bruise? Maybe you need to stop smoking and get some fresh air.

    • @JDactal
      @JDactal Рік тому +1

      My family was gonna see them back in June, but it got rescheduled cause one of them got in a car accident, so we’re going to see them in December and I’m really excited!

  • @DeathOfDelta
    @DeathOfDelta 4 роки тому +35

    I'm just here because I'm stressed about my AP tests and TMBG is a big time comfort for me. It's hard to feel bad when the Johns are singing about a little nightlight :)

    • @jediorlos9084
      @jediorlos9084 4 роки тому +2

      DeadTsu same

    • @garethpayne1458
      @garethpayne1458 4 роки тому +3

      Holy shit me too.

    • @DeathOfDelta
      @DeathOfDelta 4 роки тому +2

      Glad to see that I'm not the only one here! I'm sure you'll all do great on the exams, or whatever it may be that you're dealing with at the moment. We've got this!

  • @Realtruthmusic1
    @Realtruthmusic1 10 років тому +28

    This might be the first time I have scrolled down through UA-cam comments and have not seen any arguing. Could a Birdhouse in your Soul change the world?

    • @0IIIIII
      @0IIIIII 10 років тому +9

      STFU!!!!

    • @Realtruthmusic1
      @Realtruthmusic1 10 років тому +11

      I guess not.

    • @0IIIIII
      @0IIIIII 10 років тому +7

      Yeah that was a bad joke, thanks for not chewing me out.

    • @joshnic2412
      @joshnic2412 9 років тому +1

      N0 m@n, like, Thi$ $ong is for N00EWBS!!!

    • @ElvarMasson
      @ElvarMasson 8 років тому +1

      +Real Truth Music Funny, I was thinking the same (O:þ

  • @Hapimeses
    @Hapimeses 10 років тому +31

    Don't try to make sense of it, just marvel at its earworm awesomeness as it manages 18 key-changes in just 3 minutes.

    • @Sewicked
      @Sewicked 10 років тому +4

      heh. I love this band.
      There was an urban fantasy novel back in the 90s (I think by Mercedes Lackey) and the bad fae were trying to read the hero's mind. She was singing these songs in her head, foiling their attempts and driving the mindreaders batty. To make it worse, the lyrics were so catchy the mindreaders ended up singing them and spread them throughout the entire underhill.

    • @Hapimeses
      @Hapimeses 10 років тому +6

      I now have a strong urge to visit Istanbul, not Constantinople - been a long time gone, Constantinople. It's a Turkish delight on the moonlit night.

    • @CorgiScarab
      @CorgiScarab 10 років тому +1

      ua-cam.com/video/9bRQUEtH5nw/v-deo.html
      ua-cam.com/video/kA9Yfls6yj8/v-deo.html
      I have a couple TMBG vinyl albums. These songs have been stuck in my head for 25 years :)
      _Memo to myself:_ Do the dumb things I gotta do. Touch the puppet head.

    • @Hapimeses
      @Hapimeses 10 років тому +2

      I approve strongly. I'll be your little glowing friend.

    • @AlexanderOsias
      @AlexanderOsias 10 років тому

      Oh, I loved this song. Actually, this album.

  • @alixlay
    @alixlay 4 роки тому +52

    I remember when I was a little kid my mom would blast this on the speakers and dance with me to wake me up, it was pretty great I must say

  • @benjaminhawthorne1969
    @benjaminhawthorne1969 2 роки тому +18

    I haven't heard this song in years. It still puts a smile right on my face!
    That's worth a lot. I hope I can still pick up a new copy of TMBG's DVD. I lost it with all of my other possessions when my sister sold my house. Long story!

  • @joelhassig6099
    @joelhassig6099 7 років тому +62

    This song is about a nightlight, kids.
    Thank you, you're welcome, I love you, good night.

  • @sophias.4243
    @sophias.4243 5 років тому +17

    My dad has a dvd with a ton of tmbg music videos. While he watched these, my sister and I watched Here Comes Science when we were younger. As I kindergartener, I called this “Dad’s Might Be Giants.”
    Now Dad’s Might Be Giants is getting me through high school.Thank you.

    • @Alside
      @Alside 5 років тому +1

      saw this pretty early lol

  • @tishatti
    @tishatti 3 місяці тому +14

    My brother loved this song. He passed away in 2002. ❤️

    • @johndurrett3573
      @johndurrett3573 3 місяці тому +2

      Sorry to hear of his passing but hearts for him loving this song. :)

    • @jc35019
      @jc35019 2 місяці тому +2

      May he rest in peace 🙏🙌🕊

    • @alaynac1610
      @alaynac1610 2 місяці тому +2

      rest in peace brother

  • @jasonbarrette4980
    @jasonbarrette4980 3 роки тому +45

    For all that are wondering, this song is about a night light shaped like a blue Canary. I loved this song before I knew, but now that I know it is even more a work of Genius!

    • @perisaizidanehanapi7931
      @perisaizidanehanapi7931 3 роки тому

      No. F-ing. Way. It's just, wow.

    • @cazmataz6579
      @cazmataz6579 3 роки тому

      I would love to be this inspired by a blue canary light. It's a great song🐦

  • @thewhitesnowone1744
    @thewhitesnowone1744 5 років тому +29

    Actually, the bit about his "primitive ancestry" makes a lot of sense once you realize the speaker is a nightlight. "Kept the beaches shipwreck-free?" He's talking about a lighthouse.

    • @squeakydog
      @squeakydog 5 років тому +3

      @Samuel Fontaine Its all about a little candle that thinks it has no power unlike the lighthouse that it lives in.

    • @vonverna
      @vonverna 5 років тому +2

      @@squeakydog i think it might actually be a night light because he says "blue canary in the outlet by the light switch", the nightlight is in the shape of a canary

    • @squeakydog
      @squeakydog 5 років тому +2

      @@vonverna I have just googled it. Unless you have ever seen a night lite that is shaped like a blue canary then you wouldn't know that. I always thought it referred to a night candle flickering away that can often form all sorts of shapes...like a canary. I suppose it can be what ever you want it to be. A song is like a story and is always open to the reader/listeners interpretation and imagination. Its a great song and weather its a night lite or a candle it still has a most powerful and meaningful story about size, power and importance. It teaches us that size does not matter, its about how you "SHINE" and help others that make you important. Fascinating topic and song. The comments have been mind bending.

    • @vonverna
      @vonverna 5 років тому +2

      @@squeakydog thats a good point

    • @constancekavanagh1125
      @constancekavanagh1125 5 років тому +2

      The white snow one you made me cry 😢 I never knew thanks love this song 40yrs now

  • @forironyssake9408
    @forironyssake9408 4 роки тому +42

    Did we...all come from different places?? Why is everyone showing up here on a 9 year old video... is humanity actually a hivemind?

    • @hamyzschidenfeld3215
      @hamyzschidenfeld3215 4 роки тому +5

      I just like the music.

    • @ThreadBomb
      @ThreadBomb 4 роки тому +1

      TMBG has a song called "Hive Mind". It's six seconds long.

    • @chartypeplays2396
      @chartypeplays2396 4 роки тому

      I came from Yugioh Season 0 Abridged.

    • @AJLord
      @AJLord 3 роки тому

      Because we desire the nostalgia.

  • @yeetbigly5827
    @yeetbigly5827 Рік тому +33

    This song literally never gets old

    • @bobroberts2371
      @bobroberts2371 Рік тому +1

      There is a 3 hour loop on YT if you want the extended dance mix.

  • @alchemyphoenix2374
    @alchemyphoenix2374 4 роки тому +33

    Me, on the 100th time listening to this song: "Ok THIS is where the song ends..."
    John Linnel: "Not to put too fine a point on it..."

  • @sarahgrey8736
    @sarahgrey8736 4 роки тому +35

    "Bluebird of friendliness" is one of the cutest lyrics ever. I love the surrealism in their songs, totally nuts!

  • @LilwolfNirpaw
    @LilwolfNirpaw 3 роки тому +33

    Thanks Dan!
    Grumps sent me here- at this point I dont hesitate, as soon as Dan throws out a song title, its music time!

  • @Bassman-yh3uv
    @Bassman-yh3uv 3 роки тому +18

    I randomly thought of the lyric “filibuster vigilantly” a few weeks ago and couldn’t figure out where the hell it was from until re-listening to this tune!

  • @Rabii3z
    @Rabii3z 2 роки тому +27

    I loved this song as a kid and hearing it again for the first time in years is honestly making me tear up. I always loved the lyrics and the gentleness of the vocals; it's a very fun yet comforting little song that makes me feel like a kid again :')

    • @kristennoble9576
      @kristennoble9576 2 роки тому +2

      I totally agree. My husband just played it for my 11 year old for the first time-and now he’s obsessed! TMBG just gained a new fan!

    • @Rabii3z
      @Rabii3z 2 роки тому +1

      That's so cool! That's around the age I was introduced to them, too :D

  • @Doomtothend
    @Doomtothend 7 років тому +31

    The song of my childhood.

  • @joeessid5616
    @joeessid5616 5 років тому +19

    Long ago, in a state far far away, after giving a man driving a gray van directions to a music venue, I noticed "TMBG," in tiny letters, on the van's door. As if on cue, John Flansburgh said "That might be us." A perfect TMBG response from one of my favorite bands.

  • @tobaccomarshall4659
    @tobaccomarshall4659 3 роки тому +11

    ok so my thought about this is that it's not just a song about a night light but any comforting piece of your childhood you have to leave behind and it's asking you to not carry it with you but to carry it's memory further on into your life

  • @TodayFreedom
    @TodayFreedom 3 роки тому +16

    Kid in the 80s, adult in the 90s. Yes- I had the perfect pre-internet experience and fuck it was amazing. BUELLER!!!!

  • @nickpels5772
    @nickpels5772 3 роки тому +17

    I hadn't heard this song in years before Dan mentioned it. Nostalgia has come flooding back to me

  • @walterwhitejr.445
    @walterwhitejr.445 7 років тому +36

    Having liked TMBG, but only knowing a selection of songs, this one passed me by completely, until two weeks ago.
    And now I can't get it out of my head. Seriously stuck. Every day. Sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with it bouncing around my synapses.
    I've stopped fighting it ... actively memorizing the lyrics. If it's gonna take up residence up there, it's gonna be complete with correct lyrics, dammit.

    • @hanumaniam
      @hanumaniam 7 років тому +5

      Walter White Jr. so surreal to be the thought of a tmbg fan not knowing this ear worm major hit. you too are now contaminated in the best possible way!!

  • @davidkuzur5186
    @davidkuzur5186 2 роки тому +37

    The fact that a band, with a following, could make a song about being a nightlight, actually put themselves in the shoes of said nightlight, and make it just so simple, pure, and empathetic, is astounding to me. The fact that it garnered some commercial success (any at all really) gives me hope for humanity. Few things do, but if you happen to look in the right places...
    Flood in general was a masterpiece, one track after another imo. Lucky Ball and Chain (or that's what I think of it as) was nice to listen to, on my way to Mexico with a very sweet, beautiful girl to celebrate my liberation from a very big mistake. 😂✌️🤙
    Edit: I don't think we waited 4 days, much less 4 years (..."now she's four years gone, she's five feet tall and sick of me, and all my rattling on...") but it still felt just right at the time 😆😂🤣

  • @Unknown-do3oi
    @Unknown-do3oi 2 роки тому +51

    I think this is the third time I’ve commented on this video but why the fuck is it so good
    I love it so much I just want to surround myself in his voice and the music I just wanna feel it everywhere I literally want to eat this song it so good it makes me feel so good I just can’t explain it

    • @myHorribleMusic
      @myHorribleMusic 2 роки тому +5

      It's music, it's impossible to articulate it. Dancing wildly tends to help.

    • @Unknown-do3oi
      @Unknown-do3oi 2 роки тому +2

      @@myHorribleMusic you’re right! Now I can’t stop lol

    • @julesdon51
      @julesdon51 2 роки тому +2

      same bro

    • @simonlowe9790
      @simonlowe9790 2 роки тому

      Spot on 👍

  • @tom-dahl1598
    @tom-dahl1598 2 роки тому +23

    i went to see this band on the strength of this one song. they played another 24 or so tunes of equal quality. money well spent.

  • @gregrhodes2171
    @gregrhodes2171 5 років тому +23

    This is a song me and my mom shared. She sent it to me today from the other side for my birthday. She's near. Love you mama. (Kathryn Rhodes)

  • @robertlehnert4148
    @robertlehnert4148 4 роки тому +10

    Once again..
    Greatest
    Music
    Video
    EVER

  • @laika6661
    @laika6661 3 роки тому +29

    Did everyone decide to return to this song at the same time? Is this the work of some divine power sending a message to all the TMBG fans?

  • @thefolder69
    @thefolder69 5 років тому +33

    If you're confused about what the song is about, it tells you in the description. It's about a child's nightlight from the nightlight's perspective

    • @JohnGaltShadow
      @JohnGaltShadow 5 років тому +1

      TheFolding Gamer Or it’s whatever you squanch it to mean!

    • @cybercrasherstv
      @cybercrasherstv 5 років тому +3

      Doesn't explain the chorus that well, though it does explain all the light bulbs everywhere

  • @JazzyJonas
    @JazzyJonas 7 років тому +18

    They Might Be Giants are pretty much the best band ever. I don't know why I keep forgetting that.

    • @insomdx
      @insomdx 7 років тому

      Entirely too true, wow.

    • @phatttcattt
      @phatttcattt 7 років тому

      Jonas Butler You keep forgetting coz you're trying to kid yourself.

    • @JazzyJonas
      @JazzyJonas 7 років тому

      I saw Devo live. Almost as good. They just lack the harmonic content of TMBG.

    • @JazzyJonas
      @JazzyJonas 7 років тому

      TMBG crushes it. No one sounds like them. I like a lot of other bands too.

    • @csgrinds
      @csgrinds 6 років тому

      True.

  • @ferghalicious1480
    @ferghalicious1480 3 роки тому +44

    “After killing Jason off with countless screaming Argonauts.”
    That line always gets me so fucking pumped for some reason.

    • @glue6679
      @glue6679 3 роки тому +1

      SAME

    • @Gray-Wolf
      @Gray-Wolf 3 роки тому +1

      @@glue6679 interesting user 😂

    • @glue6679
      @glue6679 3 роки тому +3

      @@Gray-Wolf Well, it’s descriptive! 🤷🏻‍♀️

    • @Gray-Wolf
      @Gray-Wolf 3 роки тому +1

      @@glue6679 XD

    • @iadoredavey
      @iadoredavey 3 роки тому +2

      "and" not "with" 👍

  • @UteroMind
    @UteroMind 2 роки тому +25

    This is just one of these songs that the video and song stuck in your head all day

  • @quasismiles
    @quasismiles 3 роки тому +44

    i hadn't thought about this song in years. thanks dan

    • @fenster666
      @fenster666 3 роки тому +4

      He made a little treehouse in your brain.

    • @holdenwinters68
      @holdenwinters68 3 роки тому +3

      I never heard it, thanks Dan. I'm more partial to Dr. Worm tho

    • @patrickhatton4191
      @patrickhatton4191 3 роки тому

      Yeah I can relate to this thx Pene-lope

  • @wynnedwards94
    @wynnedwards94 Рік тому +22

    If humanity ever gets destroyed and our existence is discovered by aliens, I really hope they might be giant songs are preserved

  • @smnoy23
    @smnoy23 3 роки тому +31

    This song never fails to improve my mood

  • @hagidekuh
    @hagidekuh 2 роки тому +18

    holy shit i am so glad people still listen to this godly song

  • @jCd1058
    @jCd1058 6 років тому +20

    My daughter bought me TMBG tix for Christmas, and I saw them in Columbus last week (Feb. 2018.) She also used an instrumental version of this song as her wedding march. I love that kid.

    • @jonathanmitchell6270
      @jonathanmitchell6270 6 років тому

      i love her more

    • @jCd1058
      @jCd1058 6 років тому

      She's spoken for: married in 2012, had her first child in June 2017.

    • @jonathanmitchell6270
      @jonathanmitchell6270 6 років тому

      well dang, congrats to u and urs brotherman = {D

    • @Ragnaroktheend
      @Ragnaroktheend 6 років тому +1

      i saw them in St. Louis. and they said they were working on jokes for their Columbus performance.
      did they have any good jokes?

    • @jCd1058
      @jCd1058 6 років тому +1

      Hard to recap them all. So many.

  • @guillemodred3938
    @guillemodred3938 5 років тому +16

    it's a brand new record, for 1990, they might be giants brand new album.... FLOOD!

  • @badgrammar8989
    @badgrammar8989 3 роки тому +9

    Grump bump.
    Still a timeless classic.

  • @lilshabaz1862
    @lilshabaz1862 9 місяців тому +13

    I learned about TMBG through Tiny Toons when I was a kid. I ended up staying at my Uncle's place for the day and he had Flood on CD! (big deal at the time) I dubbed the album onto a cassette tape that I listened to the fuck out of throughout high school. Birdhouse was a standout.

  • @mcfcste99
    @mcfcste99 4 роки тому +24

    I still love this tune 30 years on 👍

    • @renhey9979
      @renhey9979 4 роки тому +4

      I mean, I'm not 30 years and by the time 19 years have passed, it'll be 49 years old, but I still like it

    • @acerbicatheist2893
      @acerbicatheist2893 4 роки тому +1

      Holy shit it feels as though it was only three weeks, or thirty days... 😨

  • @leothehuman1558
    @leothehuman1558 3 роки тому +20

    “We have about 3 second of extra song”
    “Just put a video of a bone dropping lol”
    “What?”

  • @jimmyceltic
    @jimmyceltic 2 роки тому +26

    It's amazing That the inspiration from this song came from a night light in John's apartment

  • @dpken11
    @dpken11 4 роки тому +24

    This song has defined my music taste for 30 years. It seems like a simple song, but think about the blue canary in YOUR soul. Love TMBG, can’t think about my music education without them. Seen them live twice, which takes some doing in Australia and New Zealand. Now my 8 year old son wants to hear Birdhouse and Ray Charles. Good calls, both. Bless you TMBG, you are my university years, and now my son’s. Blue canary in the alley by the light switch, who watches over you ...

    • @theNomadz
      @theNomadz 4 роки тому +2

      sounds like a pastiche of Devo and Talking Heads

    • @Niteshift56411
      @Niteshift56411 4 роки тому +1

      @@theNomadz very nicely stated

    • @kevinwylie58
      @kevinwylie58 4 роки тому +2

      Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch

  • @Juupitrr
    @Juupitrr 2 роки тому +28

    i have no idea how considering i cant remember ever listening to this but this brings such nostalgia because somehow i *do* remember it ??

    • @matocian_empire8
      @matocian_empire8 2 роки тому +3

      He did the singing part of coralines other father, may be it

    • @lauralake7430
      @lauralake7430 2 роки тому +2

      Like every song from teenage hood...it was playing on someones radio..cd...car radio...brother's stereo...something. teenage years are when music is sucked in thru your pores, to be released slowly throughout the rest of your life.

    • @steveyuhas9278
      @steveyuhas9278 2 роки тому +3

      It's almost like their not your only friends but really they're not actually your friends
      .....
      But they are

  • @beccabuzz6236
    @beccabuzz6236 8 років тому +19

    ...I have listened to this song a total of 11 times today, I found it last weekend and liked it, thought I'd give it another listen to today and now I'm certain that this will be mine and my partners first dance song at our wedding, and he loves it more than I do... it will be the best wedding dance ever created!

  • @theguitar2605
    @theguitar2605 3 роки тому +12

    This is the song of my college years. My heart fills up every time I hear it with memories of Spring and cloistered fun. Thanks TMBG

  • @laurence2824
    @laurence2824 Рік тому +14

    I am a diehard lover of "Pet Sounds." Apart from "Sloop John B" there isn't a weak song on it from start to finish; "God Only Knows" is surely one of the finest things ever written. "Birdhouse In Your Soul" would comfortably have held its own on that album - a truly terrific creation.

  • @coldape5434
    @coldape5434 6 років тому +14

    When I was 3 or 4, my uncle made me a CD of music that I would enjoy and that my parents wouldn’t despise. I would play this song over and over again.

  • @Jovian12
    @Jovian12 3 роки тому +17

    this is seriously my favorite music video. it has exactly the right amount of weird things going on.

    • @philscandle6751
      @philscandle6751 3 роки тому +1

      Legend mate me and my sister tried to do the dances when we were kids aha

  • @rkkwc
    @rkkwc 3 роки тому +11

    2:37-2:39 it's the most miniscule shot but paired with the music this is actually my favorite shot from any piece of visual media i have ever seen

  • @TheMilwaukeeProtocol
    @TheMilwaukeeProtocol 2 роки тому +20

    This is so fucking weird. Thirty years after first hearing it, it still makes me happy.

    • @reallyseriously7020
      @reallyseriously7020 2 роки тому

      Great music will always be great!

    • @paularmstrong1501
      @paularmstrong1501 2 роки тому

      Likewise, always a pick me up song. I was in 3rd year of high school when it came out and always reminds me of sitting in biology class looking at a girl I used to like......she was oblivious and I was probably invisible to her but still happy times 😊

  • @Bill_Oddie_Face_Mask
    @Bill_Oddie_Face_Mask 5 років тому +19

    I discovered this band through YGOTAS Season 0. I now listen to them regularly.

  • @liamroberts422
    @liamroberts422 3 роки тому +16

    This entire video and song just looks like a weird dream

  • @Sumthing4theWkend
    @Sumthing4theWkend 4 роки тому +15

    This was my fave song in 1990 when I was 12 and it’s still my fave song in 2019 when I’m 40. ❤️

    • @archibaldwalker1324
      @archibaldwalker1324 4 роки тому +1

      it was my favourite in 1990 as well, and i was 8. Timeless.

  • @ZachGWatterson
    @ZachGWatterson 3 роки тому +12

    You know the UK has great taste of music when you find out this song reached #6 over there

  • @anthonyrando3340
    @anthonyrando3340 4 роки тому +27

    2020 and still loving this video till the end.

  • @pandorameadows7453
    @pandorameadows7453 4 роки тому +16

    I woke up at 4:00 am and when I woke up this song was stuck in my head. I haven’t heard this song in years.

    • @briankerrigan3529
      @briankerrigan3529 4 роки тому +1

      Pandora Meadows happy to see I am not the only one this happens to.

    • @witchland
      @witchland 4 роки тому +1

      @@briankerrigan3529 Ha - the exact same thing brought me here this morning. Hadn't thought of the song in ages and woke up with it in my head. I still have my old cassette of Flood down in the basement - maybe I'll dig it out...

    • @briankerrigan3529
      @briankerrigan3529 4 роки тому

      Christopher Dopko 🤗

    • @shannonpeaks6473
      @shannonpeaks6473 3 роки тому

      I woke up with it in my head today, don't know where it came from, haven't really listened to it since the early 90's.

  • @florence9978
    @florence9978 Рік тому +13

    Can’t wait to see them live in Bristol!!
    I started listening to these guys when I was 15 and it felt like I found music that actually spoke to me!

  • @jpa221
    @jpa221 5 років тому +19

    Criminally underated band. Love em.

  • @terryanddominic
    @terryanddominic 5 років тому +20

    this song is so original , its timeless and brilliant

  • @kristyclueless
    @kristyclueless 3 роки тому +38

    This song is always good after a panic attack. It's hard to feel negative emotions when I hear this song.

    • @grfrjiglstan
      @grfrjiglstan 3 роки тому +3

      Which is handy, since so many of their other songs induce panic.

    • @zeetroyman
      @zeetroyman 3 роки тому +1

      its one of those songs you always forget about, but when your remember and play it, its just total Joy! :)

    • @Unknown-do3oi
      @Unknown-do3oi 2 роки тому

      I agree!

  • @mikephalen3162
    @mikephalen3162 3 роки тому +6

    One of my all-time favorite songs, ever since I heard it on the radio a long long time ago.

  • @clivet3846
    @clivet3846 4 роки тому +15

    Top Ten greatest pop song of all time.

  • @benmogerman8230
    @benmogerman8230 Рік тому +16

    Fun story. TMBG was a one of my favorite bands during my formative years. Me and my close friend were thrilled when they were coming to our hometown (st louis) when we were 13. Her older brother got tickets for the three of us and drove us down to the Pageant for the show. The venue didn't let us in because they labeled it a an 18 and up show and refused us to enter. This was like 2003.
    We didn't get to see the show, and I still haven't had the chance to see them live. I hope I get to some day!
    Afterwards we were told there was a crowd wide conga line. Very dangerous environment clearly! Still sour about it lol

  • @tomengland5678
    @tomengland5678 Рік тому +20

    This song still makes me smile. There, I daid it.

  • @nonchalantplatypus7532
    @nonchalantplatypus7532 Рік тому +16

    This is one of my childhood bands and I love it to this day

  • @natisdreamland
    @natisdreamland 3 роки тому +16

    🎶Make a little treehouse in your mind🎶

  • @connorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    @connorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 4 роки тому +22

    Back when I was 6-7 age range I used to listen to this TMBG album every night before I went to bad. just refound it at 20 years old! wow I love this song 😂😍

  • @statelyelms
    @statelyelms 2 роки тому +24

    man I love this song so much. It's so literal and non-romantic, when every single other song seems to be romantic and has a bunch of implications. It's just about a little bird nightlight plugged in next to a lightswitch who wants to know they have a place in someone's life.
    Also, what the fuck kind of drug was the music video director on

    • @randomrecca5375
      @randomrecca5375 2 роки тому +3

      Just like most of their songs, their music videos usually have double meanings. Also, the signs on the backs of the background people say “stop rock video” so I always assumed the band didn’t like making music videos.

    • @gatlina6019
      @gatlina6019 2 роки тому +1

      "Oh I think I know the meaning of this song! That's cool and makes sen-"
      *Watches music video*
      "Ok nevermind"

  • @SubjectiveObserver
    @SubjectiveObserver 3 роки тому +12

    Thanks Dan.
    Now it's stuck in my head...

  • @residentweevil6371
    @residentweevil6371 3 роки тому +13

    Flawless. Easy contender for one of the best feelgood songs ever 😊