Following the brief two line intro, we’re introduced to one of the greatest pop music bass lines of all time. A simple youtube search of “Cannonball bass line”, yields countless videos of people giving their best shot at covering Kim Deal’s timeless bass line.

In an interview with Pitchfork, singer Devon Welsh said that:

his goal is “to communicate a lot with as little as possible,” a patient, minimal sound that avoids the pitfalls of style or genre by subscribing to none at all.

…and here we are.The hook is a perfect example of this…you can feel so much of his pain and his spiraling emotions, when he’s barely said much to us at all. This is the sign of someone who is mastering their art.

Childhood’s End is a 1953 sci-fi book by Arthur C. Clarke. In the book, aliens descend upon earth and promptly end all of war and essentially create a harmonious utopia, without ever showing their true appearance, but rather ruling indirectly.

Like the book’s plot, the singer could perhaps be referring to events happening around him and life being playing out in a way that is a byproduct of other forces beyond his control.

So modest and effortlessly baller. Destined for greatness indeed:

The track crescendos into a beautiful hook reminiscent of a young Bobby Brown:

Eddie realizes what a delicate creature these women are and let’s them know his future plans. You can hear the staccato switch, indicating that his portfolio is off the charts and he’s the type of guy you wanna bring home to Mama.

This is a diatribe on Eddie’s plans to slowly arouse his woman, before bringing it home with his and her “O” faces.

On the track’s opening stanza, Eddie lets the ladies know what a smooth cat he is. In fact, he’s such a true pimp, that they can just decipher hours of poetry from the first two words that come out of his mouth. Magnificent.

Kalopsia is the delusion of things being more beautiful than they are. The song’s subject is struggling with this concept as the song unfolds…

This conjures notions of Ra, the ancient Egyptian Sun God. By the Fifth Dynasty (2494 to 2345 BC) he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday sun.

The Sun that towers over the desert at seemingly every moment, is who Homme reveres as his deity.