Obstacle 2 by Interpol Lyrics Meaning – Decoding the Emotional Labyrinth of Indie Rock’s Finest
Lyrics
Gonna wrap you up tight
Gonna play with the braids
That you came here with tonight
I’m gonna hold your face
And toast the snow that fell
Because friends don’t waste wine
When there’s words to sell
I feel like love in the kitchen
With the culinary eye
I think he’s makin’ something special
And I’m smart enough to try
If you don’t trust yourself
For at least a minute each day
Well, you should trust in this, girl
‘Cause loving is coming our way
You can fix me up, girl
We’ll go a long long way
If you can fix me up, girl
You’ll go a long long way
I’ll stand by all this drinking (take my love in these small doses)
If it helps me through these days (take my love in these small doses)
It takes a long time just to get this all straight (take my love in these small doses)
I’ll showcase on Route 7 (take my love in these small doses)
When I find the right place (take my love in these small doses)
It takes a long time just to get this all straight (take my love in these small doses)
In my mind
This is my, my, my free time
Because friends don’t waste wine
When there’s words to sell
If you can fix me up, girl, we’ll go a long long way
If you can fix me up, girl, you’ll go a long long way
I’ll stand by all this drinking (take my love in these small doses)
If it helps me through these days (take my love in these small doses)
I’ve spent a long time corresponding in my own way (take my love in these small doses)
I’ll showcase on Route 7 (take my love in these small doses)
When I find the right place (take my love in these small doses)
It takes a long time just to get this all straight (take my love in these small doses)
In my mind
This is my, my, my free time
To break it all away
Spend it all today
Spend it all today
It took time, then I found you
It took time, then I found you
It took time, then I found you
It took time, then I found you, oh, oh, ooh, ooh
Among the pantheon of early 2000s indie anthems, Interpol’s ‘Obstacle 2’ is often whispered about in hushed, reverent tones. A standout track from their acclaimed album ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’, the song’s abstract lyrics paint a picture dense with emotional complexity, inviting listeners into a world of shadowy introspection and layered meaning.
Delving deep into the cryptic narrative laid out by frontman Paul Banks, we find a piece that is as much a poetic riddle as a song. Its verses and choruses twist and writhe, suggesting a tale of love, self-doubt, and the search for solace in a dissonant world.
Unraveling the Gordian Knot of ‘Obstacle 2’
The enigmatic opening lines of ‘Obstacle 2’, gesturing at intimacy and protection, set the stage for a journey into the personal and the private. When Banks sings about playing with the braids and toasting the snow, the imagery conjures scenes of closeness juxtaposed with the coldness of the outside world. It suggests a sanctuary fashioned within the icy landscape of human experience.
The motif of snow not only paints a picture of a literal chill but also symbolizes the frozen aspects of our internal lives—feelings and memories we’re too scared to touch, let alone share with others. Yet, in the sanctuary Bank illustrates, there is warmth and the promise of thawing, even if temporary.
The Vino-Veritas: Reflections on Wine and Words
‘Because friends don’t waste wine when there’s words to sell’ emerges as a line of haunting beauty and weight. The liquid libations serve as a metaphor for the preciousness of time and connection, whilst ‘words to sell’ suggests communication that is not just fragile, but also valuable—a commodity perhaps, that can be squandered like the wine itself.
The intertwining of friendship, communication, and intoxication raises the specter of escapism. Yet, there’s a resolute assertion here: despite the escapism, there’s a fundamental value to the communion of souls that happens over a bottle shared, a ritual that shouldn’t be treated lightly or taken for granted.
A Recipe for Love: Culinary Metaphors and Crafting Connection
The ‘culinary eye’ verse brings forth the nurturing aspect of creating something special, a theme that transcends the preparation of food to hint at the careful crafting of a relationship. It’s an acknowledgment that love, much like an artisanal dish, requires skill, patience, and a willingness to ‘try’.
In the kitchen of relationships, trust is the key ingredient that is often the hardest to measure out. Banks’s avowal to trust in the process, to trust in love’s slow simmer, resonates with anyone who has ever doubted the heat of their own emotional stovetop.
The Poignant Potion of Small Doses and Standing By
Moving through the refrain of ‘take my love in these small doses,’ there’s a portrayal of a love cautious and carefully dosed out. It reflects the fear of overindulging or becoming too vulnerable too quickly, a sentiment echoed by many who have felt the sting of heartbreak.
Banks here hints at a pragmatism within the emotional whirlwind of ‘Obstacle 2’. While love can be the remedy for what ails, it can also be the poison. The need to ‘stand by all this drinking’ if it provides even a temporary respite underscores the sometimes necessary evils we embrace to make it ‘through these days’.
Taking Time, Finding Space: The Journey to Emotional Resonance
In the song’s conclusion, the notion of ‘spend it all today’ acts as a clarion call to embrace the present. It’s a declaration that, despite the obstacles faced, there is power in casting all into the ring of now, to surrender to the moment irrespective of the time it took to arrive here.
‘It took time, then I found you’ speaks to the universal human search for connection, love, and understanding. This emotional pilgrimage is rendered with aching clarity, amplifying the song’s final refrain into an anthem for anyone who has wandered the labyrinth of their own heart, searching for an exit, or better yet, an entrance to something profound and true.
