User:JuPitEer/The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One

"The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One" is the opening track of the Neutral Milk Hotel album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

Though the lyrics of the opening verse are somewhat ambiguous, the subject matter soon leans towards a pair of bitter, miserable parents who argue violently. At the end of the song, the mother is described to "drink until she was no longer speaking" while the father would constantly think of suicide, but could never muster up the courage to do it ("dad would dream of all the different ways to die/each one a little more than he could dare to try"). Throughout the album, Mangum refers to a similarly depressed father several times; suicide is also a common theme. Also present are a pair of young lovers and their first experiences with sexual intercourse ("As we would lay and learn/What each other's bodies were for/And this is the room one afternoon I knew I could love you/And from above you, how I sank into your soul/Into that secret place where no one dares to go"). This is also considered a reference to his first reading of Anne Frank's diary who is a common theme through the whole album.

Free of percussion, the song focuses on Jeff Mangum's doubletracked vocals and acoustic guitar performance. After the second verse, an accordion is introduced.

The song is in the key of F major. The end of the song leads into the following, "The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three", also in F major.

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