Month of May Lyrics
Gonna make a record in the month of May
In the month of May, in the month of May
Gonna make a record in the month of May
When the violent wind blows the wires away
The month of May, it’s a violent thing
In the city, their hearts start to sing
Well, some people sing, it sounds like they’re screaming
I used to doubt it but now I believe it
Month of May, everybody’s in love
Then the city was hit from above
And just when I knew what I wanted to say
A violent wind blew the wires away
[Interlude]
We were shocked in the suburbs!
[Verse 2]
Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
Kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
Well, some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
I said, some things are pure, and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
So young, so young
So much pain for someone so young
Well, I know it’s heavy, I know it ain’t light
But how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?
First they built the road (First they built the road)
Then they built the town (Then they built the town)
That’s why we’re still driving around
And around and around and around and around
And around and around and around
(And around and around and around and around)
2009, 2010
Wanna make a record how I felt then
When we stood outside in the month of May
And watched the violent wind blow the wires away
If I die in the month of May
Let the wind take my body away, yeah
Wish I may, I wish I might
Don’t lay me down there with my arms folded tight
[Chorus]
Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away
Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away
Gonna start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires
The wires away
About
By the time The Suburbs came out in 2010, Arcade Fire had already successfully transitioned from indie darlings to hanging with Bruce Springsteen, and their sound started to transition too. While Funeral and Neon Bible sounded like albums to be played in churches, The Suburbs sounds more fit for a stadium.
“Month of May” is the perfect example—a driving rock song with a touch of panic. It remains the most aggressive rock song Arcade Fire has ever written, and it’s one of many risks the band has taken that paid off.
One reason Arcade Fire has managed to stay interesting after all these years is because they’ve never been afraid to expand their palette. Sometimes that means experimentation and challenging the listener—other times, it just means making a straightforward rock song.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In an interview with NPR, band frontman Win Butler said,
Living in Montreal, the winters are so insane that in May, when it finally starts to break, there’s this really crazy feeling in the air as people kind of re-emerge from their houses, and there’s this almost kind of violent energy about it. And the weather gets really weird, and there’s wind storms. And like yesterday, it was like 95 degrees, and there was a hailstorm. Like, these clouds just came in, and hail came down, and the wind knocked out all the power lines, and there were power outages, and we were trying to rehearse. So [‘Month of May’] is just trying to get some of that feeling onto a record.
- 1.The Suburbs
- 3.Modern Man
- 4.Rococo
- 5.Empty Room
- 7.Half Light I
- 9.Suburban War
- 10.Month of May
- 11.Wasted Hours
- 12.Deep Blue
- 13.We Used to Wait
