Premium Tequila, Diamond Jigsaw makes me...

[Future Proof]

...wonder if Karl's drinking again?

[dubman]

yeah noticed that
seemed too goofy to actively speculate on though

remember that thread worrying if rick was anorexic

augh

[testudo]

i took it as:

taking a diamond jigsaw (blade) and cutting premium tequila bottle (visual: sawing a bottle in half) .

[cacophony]

analyzing karl's lyrics? madness this way lies!

[dubman]

i took it as:

taking a diamond jigsaw (blade) and cutting premium tequila bottle (visual: sawing a bottle in half) .
you looking to ruin a song today

[testudo]

you looking to ruin a song today

uh what?

[Mike]

So, just because karl mentions a popular drink, suddenly he is an alcoholic again. Next, you will be calling Lady Gaga a prostitute :p

[the mongoose]

Diamond Jigsaw is a codeword for cocaine:

http://i51.tinypic.com/a3madz.png


= feeling fine in the limo.;)

[testudo]

Diamond Jigsaw is a codeword for cocaine:


it ain't at urbandictionary.com

[the mongoose]

Karl just coined it. Takes time for hot new slang to make it to all corners of the interwebz. ;)


Who's gonna add it to the Urban Dictionary for him?:confused:

[Sappys Curry]

I always wondered about the song Spoonman. Obviously, he is singing about heroin use (right?). Did he try it one time? Or is he talking about heroin addicts? I mean, it is possible to try heroin without getting an addiction, it is just that you have a much higher chance of getting addicted right away.

[khouri]

The thing I've loved about Karl's lyrics is how nonsensical they are. I've no doubt they mean something to him, but I believe the artistry lies in how the words are arranged so vaguely that they can conceivably mean something different to every person who listens.

I never once thought about "Spoonman" having anything to do with heroin, for example.

[TheBang]

Also Karl said he hasn't done drugs. Alcohol was his addiction.

[Sappys Curry]

The thing I've loved about Karl's lyrics is how nonsensical they are. I've no doubt they mean something to him, but I believe the artistry lies in how the words are arranged so vaguely that they can conceivably mean something different to every person who listens.

I never once thought about "Spoonman" having anything to do with heroin, for example.


Well, 'Spoon man' is slang for a heroin junkie. And then he says "transfusion, penetration" in the song (penetration meaning a drug needle puncturing skin). Then at the end of the song we have the lyrics "Into the blood" repeated many times.

[cacophony]

I always wondered about the song Spoonman. Obviously, he is singing about heroin use (right?).
obviously??

It never occurred to me in a million listens that spoonman was about heroin. I don't think that's the obvious or even sensible conclusion.

Karl's lyrics are like his paintings. They're not depictions of literal figures and places. They're intentionally abstract, which allows the listener/viewer to overlay a subjective experience. I mean clearly he knows what he's thinking when he's writing lyrics but I guarantee if you asked him what a particular song meant his answer would be stubbornly evasive.

I remember some dirty radio show they did back when OWB came out and someone in the chat room asked what they lyrics were during the bridge on "crocodile.". His answer was to mumble the melody for that part and move on without answering. Because he doesn't need you to know, and he doesn't intend for you to know. The vocalization without immediate meaning is part of the musicality.

The lyrics aren't puzzles to be teased apart for their hidden meanings. They're mostly meaningless, which is what makes them uniquely meaningful to each listener.

[cacophony]

The thing I've loved about Karl's lyrics is how nonsensical they are. I've no doubt they mean something to him, but I believe the artistry lies in how the words are arranged so vaguely that they can conceivably mean something different to every person who listens.

I never once thought about "Spoonman" having anything to do with heroin, for example.

You said it more concisely than I did.

[Sappys Curry]

obviously??

It never occurred to me in a million listens that spoonman was about heroin. I don't think that's the obvious or even sensible conclusion.

...

The lyrics aren't puzzles to be teased apart for their hidden meanings. They're mostly meaningless, which is what makes them uniquely meaningful to each listener.

That is why I put (right?) in there, because maybe it isn't obviously about heroin use. ;)

However, read my post above yours. I give reasons why I think it is about heroin addicts.

And I know most lyrics by Karl are nonsensical and poetic. And I love that about him and Underworld's music. It is a significant component of what I find appealing in a lot of their songs, even.

[khouri]

Well, 'Spoon man' is slang for a heroin junkie. And then he says "transfusion, penetration" in the song (penetration meaning a drug needle puncturing skin). Then at the end of the song we have the lyrics "Into the blood" repeated many times.

That's a perfectly reasonable reading. You associate those words in that way and came to that conclusion and you may well be right with respect to the author's intent, but I think the lyrics are still designed to function as tools for the listener to create their own meanings.

[Sappys Curry]

That's a perfectly reasonable reading. You associate those words in that way and came to that conclusion and you may well be right with respect to the author's intent, but I think the lyrics are still designed to function as tools for the listener to create their own meanings.

That last part you said is basically what the lyrics are about for most UW songs with lyrics; as you have basically said yourself in an earlier post. I agree with that analysis. So, then, are there any UW songs that actually have a message that can be clearly interpreted? It is hard to come up with some off the top of my head. At the least, ALAF from Barking seems like a love song (seems like it, at least).

[Mike]

So, then, are there any UW songs that actually have a message that can be clearly interpreted?

The message in Ansum is the clearest of the lot...

[the mongoose]

Well, 'Spoon man' is slang for a heroin junkie. And then he says "transfusion, penetration" in the song (penetration meaning a drug needle puncturing skin). Then at the end of the song we have the lyrics "Into the blood" repeated many times.


I know, it's totally obvious.

[unwound floors]

The heroin junkie interpretation is certainly interesting (and puts a new spin on the song for me!), but what I love about Underworld's music is its subjectivity: because of the abstract, fragmented nature of Hyde's lyrics, it's nigh-on impossible to really figure out a solid interpretation of each song. It's up to the listener to make some meaning out of it for themselves.

For example: Banstyle, for me, makes almost no sense on first reading/listening, and yet it's one of my top three songs by them because of what I associate it with, the people I was hanging out with when I first discovered that song, the feelings that overwhelmed me at the time fit that song perfectly. Dirty Epic is what my friends call "my song" because it kind of summarises the sort of person I am and the way I live my life completely. I find it really hard to listen to Skym because I first properly listened to it after a really rough breakup, and for me, the lyrics fit that perfectly - "I don't want you to call again."

I don't know how many people view those songs in the same way, and that's the beauty of it.

[Sappys Curry]

I do love the surreal nature of Hyde's lyrics. It's definitely found in Banstyle/Sappys Curry and Skym.

[Flywaver]

Im under the impression Karl had watched a programme about possible...2012 events.. Planet alignments etc...
BS
and the hope of the world
rides with one man
everybody cram
on the telephone ringing....... The 2nd coming or a Superhero!?

Louisiana.....Planets in sweet collision
Quietly violent... Karl must of had a few bad dreams... who knows..

[cacophony]

That last part you said is basically what the lyrics are about for most UW songs with lyrics; as you have basically said yourself in an earlier post. I agree with that analysis. So, then, are there any UW songs that actually have a message that can be clearly interpreted? It is hard to come up with some off the top of my head. At the least, ALAF from Barking seems like a love song (seems like it, at least).

8 ball.

[ThingInABook]

i always thought about the spoonman equals an heroin addict and, yes, i also thought if karl did try it once. then i found out that he never tried any kind of drugs, excepting alcohol.

then i thought of trainspotting and danny boyle. probably a connection? don't know, the book is from 1993.

EDIT: also 8 ball. 'the white stuff' and such. but that is linked with trains too. mmm.

[cacophony]

today i saw a man with a flaming 8 ball tattooed on his arm.

seems pretty plain language to me.

[the mongoose]

You're forgetting that

"that White Stuff.....that stuff........that stuff makes me feel........feel.....feeeeeel.....Happy!" ;) ;) ;)


probably just referring to a large glass of milk:
http://www.milkbottleoftheweek.com/images/how_bizarre/big_brother/white_stuff_sticker.jpg

[Lx_Nen]

It's possible to write a song about something without actually having done it, you know!

Anyway, lot of 'dubno' is built around double meanings and homonyms, Karl used a lot of clever wordplay on that album, and it's evident in the videos too (Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream so Much).

You can interpret spoonman as the ravings of a heroin addict, a catholic priest performing communion (talks to god, transfusion, into the blood) or even as a commentary on cunnilingus during menstruation (don't put your hand where you wouldn't put your face, nice bikini, she's a wound, into the blood).

None of that was necessarily intentional when the song was written, I believe it's intentionally unclear, in a way that makes it open to whatever interpretation you decide to give it.

[ultradave]

it's all surreal... think of a painting by Vladimir Kush or M.C Escher...

i think the only real link to actuality is born slippy w/the lager reference to karl's past battles with alcohol.

other than it's merely a play on words - he uses metaphors from the standpoint of drug use, however, he's not really referring to drug use... come on - Spoonman, 8 Ball, Jumbo, Beautiful Burnout... etc...

he's very good at it too. ;)

[Dunwho]

If you ask me ... to take a visual approach and to think m i terms of his photos and snipits of the city..

Diamond Jigsaw = Shattered Glass

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/1918164449_c6ff1e1dd1.jpg

Its still a ridiculously shit song though...

And in terms of his lyrics.. they guy has pretty much spent all his time recording the "poetry of the streets"... I always presumed much of what he is singing is OTHER peoples words that he has recorded on paper.. ... and what is strange about the latest album is how much the lyrics to the songs are far more cohesive and in the first person..

Usually when there were words in the first person on other albums it seemed from the point of view of someone else.. but this time it seems way more personal.. and frankly a bit boring - the whole of bird 1 is him describing himself sitting in a room.. and the noises he hears.. a fly flying across the room.. i mean..... it reflects his older lifestyle now and is completely different from being wasted on the midnight train Romford..

Overall you are now listening to the words of a content older man, enjoying quieter times and still suffering from the darker times of the past.. but all in all its fairly boring

[cacophony]

You're forgetting that

"that White Stuff.....that stuff........that stuff makes me feel........feel.....feeeeeel.....Happy!" ;) ;) ;)

are we SO SURE he's saying "that white stuff?" because that never sounds right to me. i mean there are no officially released lyrics, right?

[cacophony]

You can interpret spoonman as the ravings of a heroin addict, a catholic priest performing communion (talks to god, transfusion, into the blood) or even as a commentary on cunnilingus during menstruation (don't put your hand where you wouldn't put your face, nice bikini, she's a wound, into the blood).

your brain is fabulous! :D

[holden]

To paraphrase "Almost Famous":

"Do you have to be depressed to write a sad song?
Do you have to be in love to write a love song?"

No.
Experience helps. But also an attentive eye and creative mind. Karl's an observer, for sure. I can't say how much of the writing is experiential in the form of being autobiographical (ok, Born Slippy, yes, but may other tracks, who knows?) but he is always with a notebook and an open mind for what's happening around him. I wouldn't read too much into any lyric other than to say that if it hits a nerve, it's a good one and has had the desired effect.

[Future Proof]

So, just because karl mentions a popular drink, suddenly he is an alcoholic again. Next, you will be calling Lady Gaga a prostitute :p

I never made such a claim, I merely asked the question.

[TheBang]

“Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain, if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?”

Just asking.

[big screen satellite]

seriously - we having this thread?

[cacophony]

why the hell not? it's no stupider than any other navel-gazing fan obsessed thread we entertain around here. :p

[Future Proof]

“Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain, if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?”

Just asking.

You're not seriously comparing Karl Hyde to John McCain, or fathering children out of wedlock to having a drink... are you?

Dramatic much?

Cacophony's right -- sorry that my question isn't in line with all of the other card-carrying drivel. I was just curious. But not to worry, I think my next thread will be the 496th poll concerning what the best song on DUBNO is, to fall back in line. ;)

[big screen satellite]

its one thing being curious - but surely because a song mentions a drink - doesn't mean the artist is an alcoholic - even if he does have previous....

i know its opened a lyrics debate - but ffs, Karl writes mainly about what he hears and see's but not necessarily does...

next you'll be telling me Karl was a phone sex addict back in the day too...

[cacophony]

sorry that my question isn't in line with all of the other card-carrying drivel. I was just curious. But not to worry, I think my next thread will be the 496th poll concerning what the best song on DUBNO is, to fall back in line. ;)

:D

[big screen satellite]

i'll knock a poll up to see if KH is an alcoholic...

[ThingInABook]

it's just my idea or what? the 'diamond jigsaw' is totally a girl. just pay attention to the first lines of the song.

[froopy seal]

i'll knock a poll up to see if KH is an alcoholic...To prove that I can be as smart-ass-y as you lot, I'd like to throw in that Karl technically still IS an alcoholic, albeit a 'dry' one.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

are we SO SURE he's saying "that white stuff?" because that never sounds right to me. i mean there are no officially released lyrics, right?

I always thought it was "that great stuff"

[cacophony]

me too.

[TheBang]

I think the first one is "that white stuff" and the second is "that great stuff". Deep blue morocco agrees:

http://underworld.dougstewart.org/song.php?song=eightball

[potatobroth]

I've always heard "great stuff" "great stuff"

[TheBang]

You're not seriously comparing Karl Hyde to John McCain, or fathering children out of wedlock to having a drink... are you?
Of course not. I'm comparing your question to the infamous Bush smear campaign in the 2000 election that was disguised as a research poll. Their rationale was that they weren't actually claiming that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child. They were just asking if it would influence your vote if he had.

Whether you intended it or not, a question like you asked about a topic that is heavy like this is loaded and full of implication. You can't disassociate yourself from that simply by saying that you were "just asking a question."

[Future Proof]

You can't disassociate yourself from that simply by saying that you were "just asking a question."

I'll be damned if I won't; I just did. I asked a question and whether it was a heavy question or not, the backlash has been so over-dramatic and over-the-top that I will disassociate myself from this wave of spoiled fanboy-ish logic. So far I've been accused of calling Karl an alcoholic, and people have on multiple occasions in this thread predicted that I will be making assertions about Lady Gaga's "side income" and Karl's sex habits because of a song that I never even called into question.

Get over yourselves, fanboys. Take your bleeding heart, fervent idolatry to a therapist. I never called Karl an alcoholic, you all did so you need to check yourselves instead of me.

[TheBang]

Now who's being overly dramatic? :rolleyes:

I'm just pointing out that it's disingenuous for you to claim that it was an innocent question.

As for "fanboy" reactions accusing you of things you didn't say, yes, the :p after the Lady Gaga comment means that Mike was TOTALLY serious.

[Future Proof]

I'm just pointing out that it's disingenuous for you to claim that it was an innocent question.

Yes, I had gathered that at some point before, during or after your comparing my question to a smear campaign. Classy. ;)

I'll claim naivety and no more, I had sincerely intended on asking a simple question but based off of the reaction of others (fanboys!!!), I suppose that wasn't possible.

...


.....






.....



So does anyone know?? :D

[cacophony]

Now who's being overly dramatic? :rolleyes:

I'm just pointing out that it's disingenuous for you to claim that it was an innocent question.

You're definitely projecting. I didn't get anything dramatic and serious out of the initial post.

This thread has taken a turn that would make Karl sad. Don't make him sad, boys.

[the mongoose]

http://i51.tinypic.com/vy5qg8.png

:p

[Future Proof]

http://i51.tinypic.com/vy5qg8.png

:p

Not as funny as you thought it was. :(

[ThingInABook]

yeah, the topic took a very weird turn... a nasty weird turn mmm

not fun anymore :(

[Future Proof]

yeah, the topic took a very weird turn... a nasty weird turn mmm

not fun anymore :(

Least of all for me. :) But whatever, I don't like to be accused of trying to burn someone untruthfully, especially someone who I respect as much as Karl, whose story actually helped give me confidence to hit the wagon a number of years back. Now the admaxistrator has forced me off the wagon.

Just kidding. But hey, TheBang, why don't you practice neutrality in your position instead of arbitrarily being accusatory? :mad:

/pissed
/rant
/thread

[TheBang]

Why do I need to be neutral? I'm not moderating anything in this thread. Did I threaten to oppress you with my powers?

The question didn't even bother me that much. It was the disavowal of the implications of it afterward. You can't honestly believe that asking the question:

"Premium Tequila, Diamond Jigsaw makes me...wonder if Karl's drinking again?"

has no inferences? You tried to brush it off as "What? I'm just asking a simple question?" But it's not even the same as asking something like "I wonder if Karl drank milk for breakfast this morning?" or even "I wonder what guitar Karl played on Diamond Jigsaw?"

Just own up to what you said. If it was a joke, say, "Oh, sorry, that's was probably in poor taste." If it was a genuine question, say, "Sorry, I didn't actually mean it that way, but I can see how it could be taken that way." Or don't even say anything. I don't really see any responses where anyone was genuinely upset by the thread. Just don't say "It was just a question! I didn't say alcoholic, you rabid fanboys who need therapy!"

P.S. I'm sorry it wasn't clear that I was equating your behavior to the implications in asking questions in that manner (and then saying "it's just a question; I'm not actually saying he did it"), and not to the actual smear campaign. I thought that was clear from my post, but I guess not.

[BrotherLovesDub]

Forum is so much cooler now that we can post pics.

[TheBang]

Forum is so much cooler now that we can post pics.
I thought you turned off pics for yourself.

[BrotherLovesDub]

Then I turned them back on after someone said I'd miss some sweet pics from inside lemonworld! I was tricked!

[Future Proof]

Why do I need to be neutral? I'm not moderating anything in this thread. Did I threaten to oppress you with my powers?

The question didn't even bother me that much. It was the disavowal of the implications of it afterward. You can't honestly believe that asking the question:

"Premium Tequila, Diamond Jigsaw makes me...wonder if Karl's drinking again?"

has no inferences? You tried to brush it off as "What? I'm just asking a simple question?" But it's not even the same as asking something like "I wonder if Karl drank milk for breakfast this morning?" or even "I wonder what guitar Karl played on Diamond Jigsaw?"

What is it that you think I was inferring? Yes, I had asked if Karl has as of late been drinking alcoholic beverages. I just don't understand what you think that I was inferring when I asked.

Because the problem is, I wasn't inferring anything. I hadn't came to any conclusions. Before I do that, I like to ask questions, collect data, not jump to conclusions. Karl is on record as saying that a majority of his lyrics (though not all!) are snapshots if you will of things happening around him. So I asked. The problem arose when you started digging around, thinking that I had to have been up to something deceitful.

If you are thinking that I was trying to start some rumor that Karl was drinking, I can't help you with that. I just wanted to know if the lyric was autobiographical. I've already explained myself through and through. And you'd be wrong to think I'm trying to implicate Karl on anything, for your information. I'm not however going to own up to anything that I didn't do. If I had to guess, you're probably mad that I asked the question at all, which I think that I handled the subject matter very gently without judgment, implication or painting Karl in a bad light. And if you are, that's fine, just stop playing the idea that I had some ulterior motive because it's insulting and untrue.

Anymore of this, please see me in private. We can continue to squabble out here but others are already complaining and I'm not going to stop defending myself because tbh what you're trying to hang on me makes me look bad and I don't appreciate it.

[dubman]

Forum is so much cooler now that we can post pics.
shut your face, mongoose is the kind of stupid that will find a way to be an unfunny dickbasket whether he has images or not

[TheBang]

Because the problem is, I wasn't inferring anything.
If you read carefully, you'll see that I never accused you of doing so. I said, whether you intended or not, the question that you asked is full of implication. I always said that "your statement" or "your question" is full of implication. I never said that YOU implied. I can see that you still don't understand that.

The thing that really set me off was when you were like "It's just a question. I didn't mean what you guys are inferring." You'll notice I didn't say anything until you said that. That, to me, smacked of the tactics that really bother me, like that Republican smear campaign where they try to pass it off as research questions. Also, ref. "glenn beck killed a girl in 1990." I'm honestly flabbergasted that you can't recognize how that question is loaded with implication.

The problem arose when you started digging around, thinking that I had to have been up to something deceitful.
No, it didn't turn ugly until you responded to my post about the Republican smear campaign. To be fair, probably because it wasn't clear that I wasn't accusing of engaging in a smear campaign.

I think that I handled the subject matter very gently without judgment, implication or painting Karl in a bad light.
No, I don't think you did. Handling it gently would have been something like this: "I know Karl's had alcohol troubles in the past, so I was surprised to hear the Tequila lyric in Diamond Jigsaw. Do you think he's been drinking again? Or is maybe just referencing experiences in the past?" The brevity of what you wrote came off as flippant. But again, I understand now that you can't recognize the difference, and that's part of what's causing the problem.

[Future Proof]

No, I don't think you did. Handling it gently would have been something like this: "I know Karl's had alcohol troubles in the past, so I was surprised to hear the Tequila lyric in Diamond Jigsaw. Do you think he's been drinking again? Or is maybe just referencing experiences in the past?" The brevity of what you wrote came off as flippant. But again, I understand now that you can't recognize the difference, and that's part of what's causing the problem.

Uhm yea I had made an active choice in not to specifically reference his past, as if to just dig up the bones of it to animate it for leisure. That was my way of showing respect. Flowery and pretense isn't always good, but I guess you can't see that. And it's obvious that I'm right, that you are pissed that I even asked the question in the first place.

We're going to have to agree to disagree. And it looks like I'm going to have to never have to worry again about making you angry since I can see that it's something I do naturally. :)

[TheBang]

Uhm yea I had made an active choice in not to specifically reference his past, as if to just dig up the bones of it to animate it for leisure. That was my way of showing respect.
And see, even though you explicitly didn't mention it, it's still implicitly there. Except now it's up to reader interpretation, rather than on your own terms.

And it looks like I'm going to have to never have to worry again about making you angry since I can see that it's something I do naturally. :)
Nah, don't worry about it. It's not like I'm going to have a vendetta or ban you or something because of a disagreement.

[cacophony]

OH MY GOD WHY DO YOU CARE?

you're not karl's personal protector. who the fuck cares if his "brevity" came off as "flippant?" so the fuck what? he asked pretty much exactly what your reworded version asked, he just used fewer words. personally i didn't think for a second that he was trying to start a rumor, rubbing his hands together in devilish delight, or gnawing his fingernails in anxiety. he observed a lyric and asked, essentially, whether anyone else wondered if it was autobiographical because booze references don't come up too often in recent tracks.

how is this worthy of 7 pages of snippy angst-ridden bitching at each other?

relax, fellas. as i said way back on page 1: discussing karl's lyrics? madness this way lies. as evidenced by this stupid argument.

[Dirty0900]

OH MY GOD WHY DO YOU CARE?

you're not karl's personal protector. who the fuck cares if his "brevity" came off as "flippant?" so the fuck what? he asked pretty much exactly what your reworded version asked, he just used fewer words. personally i didn't think for a second that he was trying to start a rumor, rubbing his hands together in devilish delight, or gnawing his fingernails in anxiety. he observed a lyric and asked, essentially, whether anyone else wondered if it was autobiographical because booze references don't come up too often in recent tracks.

how is this worthy of 7 pages of snippy angst-ridden bitching at each other?

relax, fellas. as i said way back on page 1: discussing karl's lyrics? madness this way lies. as evidenced by this stupid argument.

So when he's moody, does he drink black coffee?

[Future Proof]

I can be so mean sometimes! Anyways, post deleted, I am withdrawing from the matter entirely since it just can't get out of the public arena (though I DID ASK to take it private).

[unwound floors]

So when he's moody, does he drink black coffee?

Does he drown his past regrets in coffee and cigarettes?

(If you're referencing what I think you are then a million life points to you.)

[gypster]

I guess the white stretched limo is a line of coke... But just want to say this is my favorite song right now...

[purlieu]

So, then, are there any UW songs that actually have a message that can be clearly interpreted?


M.E.

[Andrea]

M.E.? What a powerful drug... :D

[big screen satellite]

why oh why oh why does everything have to relate to drugs...???!?!?!

a white stretch limo is a pretty normal sight in London, for example...

why would a non drug using 50 year old singer need to refer to drugs in a vield / disguised way, if at all....

born slippy - lager - was written during KH's well recounted drinking days, they have moved on a bit from then, and i seriously don not think that many if any of underworld lyrical references are references to anything other than actual things... a white stretch limo is simply that, a limo, parked outside... if you feel the need to interpret it as drugs then fair enough, thats more a problem associated with dance music culture and youth culture of today - i just don't feel the need to pin it on KH....

[Andrea]

oh sorry, I didn´t mean drug as narcotics I meant the enchantment of the music of course
M.E. is one of my favourites

[Champiness]

I like M.E. but the clear lyrics were because it was originally intended to be a MK1 song. Hence the (somewhat) cheesy nature of lines like "I'm coming to get you if you don't give up".