Flobots: Handlebars Meaning
Handlebars Lyrics
No handlebars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars
Look at me, look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when...
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Ever notice what building is at the base of the unfinished tower? The capitol building and the tower is the corporation building. So our leaders are the base for corporations and are controlled by them
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I think the song starts out as a child speaking. Children are always telling you about their dreams and wanting to show you things that they've learned. And also the child has blind faith with proud to be an American. Then things begin to change and time passes. The child has learned a lot and now can see the strings that control the system. The child is now an adult and has lost their innocence. They are so driven by their work and always trying to beat the next obstacle that they lost sight of the dreams that they once had.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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How I thought of this song was that there were two friends, and they grew to have different interests, one went into politicians and government while the other wanted to be more free.
At the start when you see the brown haired person walking down the street I took it as he was a caring loving person, and when he picks up the fruit, I took it as he cared about the world and where it was heading.
Then when the other bold person was walking and it was about the car and the person tossed the cigarette on the ground, I think that it showed that this person was starting to not care about the earth. It sounded to me that when he was walking, the singer was singing as if he was head strong, and that he was ontop of the world. I think he mind got corrupted with power and greed.
When the dove gets killed when it is flying, I take that the government and people of power are killing freedom. Same with the part where the recking ball hits the wall with the white dove painted on it.
Then I think that it switches back to the brown haired person and he is done with what the government and people of power is doing, so he gathers people and starts rebelling.
Then I think it switches back to the head strong blond boy, who doesn't care about people and only lives for destruction.
I think that next, after all the people rebelling the bold person still sees himself doing good and not destroying the world. But then he sees his friend die, and all the other people giving their lives to have a free and clean world, and he sees what he has done and he is devastated. -
This song is about Nordic culture, and the singers desire to return to the purer time of the vikings and the Visigoths. It begins with the bike line; the bicycle being first invented by the Normans who later used it to lay waste to 7th century England. This becomes very apparent with the Leif Ericson reference. Several other references to Nordic culture follow, including the platypus and the "Proud to be an American" (America first discovered by Leif Ericson himself. The Normans were also the first civilization to develop rudimentary anti-biotics (mostly derived from the mold on rotting cheese or fish). The microphone line is also a reference to Norse culture as the etomolgy of the word microphone is derived from the Norse word "mikropon", meaning "loud". The missile reference is a nod to the fact that the Normans were the first civilization to employ the long bow in battle. Finally, the holocaust line is a reference to Ragnarok, the Nordic apocalypse that the vikings could have brought about about to destroy the earth at any time, they just didn't feel like doing it. Wait, actually, this is just some hippy sh*t about the Bush Administration, but I still like the song.
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It can mean many things to many people, but watching this made me realize something, to define it better I have a story...
A mother gives birth to two boys and they grow up best friends, the mother dies and they both split ways, once both friendly energetic childish teens, now young men.
One gets a job at a factory, where he is the underdog, whom everyone takes there anger out on.
The other volunteers at a soup kitchen and gives all he has to the needy, and everyone loves him.
The man that works in the factory gets promoted to executive and hunts down and fires everyone who critisized him.
The other brother becomes poor himself, but does not notice, and he keeps giving as he had before.
The brother gets promoted again, and is recomended to a higher up company, now as he co-leads a weapon refinery, his brother is spending more and more time with the elderly.
The brother decides to run for governor, and with money and power succedes. A few years later, he runs for president, and again, with power, wealth, connections, he wins.Orders a draft, and sends thousands of soldiers, age 15-50 to Iraq.
His brother got drafted, but didn't show up at themilitary base, instead he started gathering revolters in secrecy, because now with the comunist government, everthing is secret or death.
Through with the war the 'President', bombs Iraq while his troops are still there. Sending out enforcers to stop the riots going on, his brother gets caught, feeling little remorse, the brother and his followers, and anyone else are banished to a underground city.
The president worried people are coming to get him, orders assassinations on many people.
The banished brother has by now had enough, inspiring his followers, led an all or nothing attack on the capital, having never resorted to vilance befor, the brother and his followers were quickly gunned down,
The next morning the president steps outside of his estate long enough to notice the turmoil from the past night, he ordered a search warrant for a certain body, well enough, his younger brothers body turned up, and the moments before his stotic death he remembered his mothers voice befor she died,
"Take care of your brother, swear on it"
"I swear mom, I would never let anything happen to him, if something did happen, I would cry tears of blood."
A little rough around the edges but, short 5 minute story. -
I belive:
In the begining he can ride with no handle bars, and he thinks its amazaing, like he can do anything, annd slowly he tries to, *making a comic book, opening a thirft store" It is just the start, yet he become a littl epower mad and relises what he , as a inidvuial can do, good and bad. Its a great song, showing how man kind can really f*** up -
I would like to interpret this song without the music video as simple as this:
1st verse: What most people try to do on a regular basis that won't amount to anything e.g Riding your bike with no handlebars
2nd verse: What most people can do, but most likely choose not to. e.g Make a computer that can survive water conditions
3rd verse: What people can do to basically kill all humanity. e.g End the planet in a holocaust.
Idk if it is a very good interpretation, but just putting out there -
The way I saw it, I think the song is about the power we posses, and about the choices we make.
Like many people have mentioned, the music video has the two boys going separate ways, one becoming part of the corporate world and the other becoming part of the peaceful world. (Can be seen as liberals and conservatives)
In an interview with the singer, he said that he was inspired to have this song because one day he was riding his bike, and he was able to ride without handlebars, which he thought was quite an accomplishment, but then he rememebred that we were bombing people in israel.
so I would like to say that the song is about the power we have as people. We can do amazing things, or horrible things to each other. Notice how he says that he could hand out a million vaccinations or let them all die from exasperation, have'm all healed by lacerations or let'm die from assasination. I can put anyone in jail just because I don't like them.
I can lead a nation with a microphone
i can split an atom of a molecule
the song begins with more childish images, riding bicycles with no handlebars, seeing a palatypus, writing a comic book, but becomes more and more powerful.
and notice at the height of his power, near the end of the song, all his words are negative, when he talks about hitting a target through a telescope, and ending the world in a holocaust.
this goes along with the music video as well.
the song ends with the image of riding bicycles with no handlebars, which shows us that all of this began with a simple act of power.
We have the power. We simply have to choose what we do with it -
This is a lot like the prelude to LP's What Ive done. The corrupt brother realizes what he did, and I can see the next song opening up right there.
The song starts when they learn to ride their bikes with no handlebars and feel great. They stop at a cross road, one marked with the C for corruption and the other with peace. They hug and go their separate ways and slowly lose contact. The Freedom tower in the back( replace to trade centers) creeps up and grows as the story progresses. The political bother earns money and talks about how easy it is. He eventually gains power until he goes corrupt and starts thinking big and bigger until he appears to be a dictator. And the sign of the dove until this point was being destroyed until the easy going brother decides to do something. He tries to set up a rebellion and marches on the dictator's speech. They throw some bottles at the riot control and a sniper starts shooting. Then the riot control brings out SMG's and end the rebellion. The Corupt man seeing his brother/friend died and becomes self-conscience of what he became and has a flashback when things where simpler until he made the decision to go into politics or business. Thanks for reading :) -
I thought the song was purely anti-capitalist – my analysis is based solely on listening to the lyrics. Marx’s continually attacked the bourgeoisie – or middle class – in the manifesto for the blatant exploitation of labor or the lower class. In my opinion, the Handlebars lyrics are mocking those in society who conform to the capitalist system - namely the middle class. There are references to different types of people from the middle class who readily give their consent to the maintaining the capitalist system – engineers, doctors, small business owners, and scientist ect – all of which pay taxes, most likely vote, and most likely are clueless to the true nature of US foreign policy, which the song ends with.
“I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance”
These lines are describing middle class capitalist. The song then drives home how the United States has used capitalism and political realism to develop a powerful military capable of crushing any global interest antithetical to its capitalist agenda – none of which would be possible without the consent of the middle class. It ends describing how it would levy a nuclear holocaust in defense of the corporate agenda – depicting the brutal nature of United States foreign policy and the possibilities of what the future could truly bring.
Once again, I have not viewed the video yet. Most of the posts here are interpreting the song based on the video. -
I have a different thought than everyone else. I thought it was about having the ability to do whatever you want if you try, if I can ride a bike with no handlebars I can make a comic book or I can split the atom of a molecule.
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This song is just about how we as people have so much power and influence on what happens in the world and we can choose to change the world for the worst or the better
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I believe this song partly tells us anything we do can effect the lives and lifestyles of the world. Such as the line when Jonny 5 says:
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die from exasperation
Have'em all healed from their lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command
That's the kind of power superiors can hold over top of our heads and unless the lower classes work harder to reach the top of the food chain they might not ever have the confidence to do something that would make history -
When I first saw the video and listened to the song I thought, "wow, this is stupid if they're gonna keep singing about handlebars" Then it moved on and showed the difference between two friends and how one loves freedom (represented by the dove) and how one becomes arrogant from (I can ride my bike with no handlebars) to (I can end the planet in a holocaust). This isn't just about government arrogance, ignorance, and corruption, it's about human nature and corruption of the mind.
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