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- Song score
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Rhythm 9.6 Melody 9.6 Instruments 9.6 Lyrics 10.0 Vocal 10.0 This song has been reviewed 5 times. Overall score for this song, 9.8.
- Song video
| Song details | |
|---|---|
| Title | Expo '86 |
| Artist | Death Cab For Cutie |
| Album | Transatlanticism [2003],  Track 4  |
| Genre | |
| Rank | − (−) history » |
| Charts | - view all » |
| Referring urls | view all » |
| Song lyrics |
|---|
|
Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse But if I move my place in line I'll lose And I have waited the anticipation's got me glued I am waiting for something to go wrong I am waiting for familiar resolve Sometimes it seems that I don't have the skills to recollect The twists and turns of plot that turned us from lovers to friends I am thinking I should take that volume back up off the shelf And crack its weary spine and read to help remind myself But if I move, my place in line, I'll lose And I have waited the anticipation's got me glued I am waiting for something to go wrong I am waiting for familiar resolve I am waiting for another repeat, Another diet fed by crippling defeat And I am waiting for that sense of relief I am waiting for you to flee the scene As if you held in your hand the smoking gun And on the floor laid the one you said you loved... And what's strange is they're all basically the same So I don't ask names anymore Sometimes I think this cycle never ends We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again And it seems by the time that I have figured what its worth The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse  submitted by aLLy |
Send "Expo '86" ringtone to your cell| 13 comments |
| Song comments | |
|---|---|
 20-11-2008 01:38 just_visiting | |
 15 posts | As pretty much every one has already said, the song is about relationships. In the beginning he is kind of talking about the contradictions of the giddy anticipation and hope of a new relationship (waiting in line) with the reality of things not working out. It is kind of like when someone is told "you find love when you least expect it", so they actively try to not think about it, in turn thinking about it even more.
I like the part about how when he starts a new relationship, he somehow always forgets all the things that made the last one not work and how he should "take that volume back up off the shelf And crack its weary spine and read to help remind myself", saying that he never takes the time to figure out what went wrong, he just gets right back in line. I also think, like most people, that the analogy of the slide is comparing the anticipation you feel as a kid to get to the top of the slide after waiting in line with the anticipation of the ups of a new relationship, but then he realizes he has just been waiting to come back down and even get hurt by the squeaking of his skin on the metal. Going with the line analogy, he says that if he moves his place in line, he loses which I kind of take it to mean that he feels like every one else is either waiting for or is in a relationship, so he feels that he has to do the same or he is somehow losing, which is ironic because while he says that moving out of line, he loses, he also is waiting for things to go wrong (which could be seen as losing). Finally, I like how the song ends with the same verse that it begins with, further giving to the cyclic idea of the song. |
| 17-01-2006 03:10 FireWaterBurn | |
28,885 posts | One of my favorite Death Cab songs. I love. |
| 17-01-2006 03:07 X_Trixi_X | |
395 posts | rhythm melody instruments lyrics vocal this is one of my favorite songs of theirs. death cab is awesome I love them!   great band |
| 02-04-2005 04:53 MusicIsARight | |
5 posts | rhythm melody instruments lyrics vocal Death Cab, one of the best songs on the album. So deep and open to interpretation. Hidden meanings, I think its just talking about how pointless relationships can be and how theres not really any set emotion. Ups and Downs are always going to be there. |
| 21-02-2005 06:34 jen47 | |
3 posts | The whole song compares a cycle of bad relationships to repeatedly going down a slide. At first, we climb up in anticipation, enjoy the ride, and inevitably reach the bottom. However with each trip down, the excitement and joy wears off, until even the ride itself is miserable-"the squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse". Perhaps it is the past failure or the torturous climbing, but the cycle can seem endless, and completely negate whatever appeal the ride previously held. |
| 07-01-2005 05:29 xn0lett1ngg0x | |
88 posts | And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene As if you held in your hand the smoking gun And on the floor laid the one you said you loved.. wow..definitely LOVE those lyrics & this whole song |
| 05-01-2005 06:35 SeraphicRadianc | |
5 posts | rhythm melody instruments lyrics vocal I think that he was going for the repetetive nature of relationships. You work to get to the top (of the slide or poll presumably) for the little bit of fun of sliding down, but it is ultimately pointless, because you are doing the same thing each time, and in the end, you always hit the ground. |
| 06-11-2004 04:22 iluvdeathcab4qt | |
7 posts | rhythm melody instruments lyrics vocal what i think of when i hear the words to this song is how over and over again we anticipate having someone to love, and while we -wait- for someone to enter our lives, we build up this fantasy of what could be love and every good feeling intensifyed beyond reality. But then this fantasy overshadows anyone who enters your life, making them just face...any face could be put into this dream of yours. The reason you are continuously lead to dissappointment is because you fell in love with a fantasy, and as long as you keep that fantasy, people will come in and out of your life always leaving you dissappointed. IM me if you want! Kelso815 |
| 24-10-2004 17:02 guavajelly | |
8 posts | And what's strange is they're all basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore That indicates that it's not about one particular, circular relationship, but an endless line of failed relationships. This is a great song! |
| 20-10-2004 20:08 sadlerj777 | |
1 posts | rhythm melody instruments lyrics vocal I gotta agree with superfantabulou maybe it's a sliding board, but regardless, the metaphor is the same At the same time words like "squeaking" and "skin" do make me think of sex. Of course, that's why the poetry works so well, because it's on several levels, and open for interpretation. So I think the song is about a bad circular relationship. One where the girl and the guy break up and make up all the time. It's good for a while and slowly it turns bad again. He doesn't want to end it early, because it might be work out, and utimately it isn't worth it at all, but he's too wishy washy and he sees it through to the end anyway. Man, this band depresses the fuck out of me. |
| 25-08-2004 23:35 superfantabulou | |
1 posts | mmmm, i'm guessing that he's using a symbolic reference of waiting in line to slide down the poll at the playground, they keep doing it over and over again and it's the same thing... our skin against the steel... eh eh? |
| 20-07-2004 22:01 spankthewan | |
1 posts | im pretty sure hes talking about knocking boots here dude."sliding top to bottom"...and by the time he realizes what the sex means it isnt worth shit possibly? |
| 10-05-2004 04:11 taylor8285 | |
94 posts | I like this song but don't really know what he means by "The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse" any ideas? |