Monday, November 3, 2008

One More Time!

I know the words to this song seem strange and childish, but it's one of the best stories behind a song that I've ever heard.

The Flaming Lips had recently released Soft Bulletin and played a few dates over in Japan.  While they were there they met a woman who worked for a magazine and owned a record store and struck up a friendship that they maintained through emails after they left Japan.  In the Spring of 2000 they found out that she had some sort of heart condition and wasn't doing very well.  

Wayne Coyne wrote Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots as an optimistic tribute to the fight that she was putting up against her condition.  Sadly, she died shortly thereafter, but her song remains.

I hope I can write songs that mean this much.

Her name is Yoshimi.
She's a black belt in karate.
Working for the city,
she has to discipline her body

Cause she knows that it's demanding
to defeat those evil machines.
I know she can beat them

Oh, Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots eat me.
Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those 
robots defeat me

Those evil natured robots
they're programmed to destroy us.
She's gotta be strong to fight them,
so she's taking lots of vitamins

Cause she knows that
it'd be tragic
if those evil robots win.
I know she can beat them.

Oh, Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots defeat me.
Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those 
robots eat me

Cause she knows that
it'd be tragic
if those evil robots win.
I know she can beat them.

Oh, Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots defeat me.
Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots defeat me.

Oh, Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots eat me.
Yoshimi,
they don't believe me,
but you won't let those
robots eat me.

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