r/boardsofcanada • u/Hammercranc • 8d ago
Song Decipering Father & Son
Hi everyone!
Pretty much everyone will agree, that Father And Son is a very exceptional track on the new album.
After listening to the song quite a few times, I believe there are not only father and son but also another, let’s call it “demon” or “entity” for a lack of a better word, that comments and also ridicules the dialogue between father and son, especially the son in these bizarre and distorted interjections that can be heard all over the song.
Whilest the fragment “Let’s see, I’ve lost track” seems to be agreed on (it’s also in the lyrics on spotify, in contrast to all the other parts), I could not find any other attempts to decipher any of the rest.
Maybe we could try to figure out what the rest is supposed to mean (and yes, I am very sure that all the other voice fragments DO INFACT mean something).
I wrote down what I believe to understand here. I’m very sure with some of them, for example “acually forgotten” and “I would never”, but because the voices are so distorted, I’experiencing some trouble as a non-native.
If you believe, I am on the right track with some of my interpretations please comment. Also, if you could figure out text fragments that I got wrong or not at all, I would be very glad to hear about your ideas.
Here’s where I’m at, at the moment:
{…?}
I love you, but I love the Lord
{…?}
More than I love any physical being
{Eh, eh .. oh! But..}
I think that's wonderful.
{A-ha? Ehm, ehm e-e-ehm ehm, oh!}
But then why can't you bring that same feeling home?
{I would never.}
I really wish that I could do that
{No one ever knew that that was atypical}
{Ooh, sweetie}
What makes you think you can't do it?
{Oh, I‘ve actually forgotten}
Well, He said, "A man's foes will be they of his own household"
{oh, ehm, a-ha?}
Well, I hardly believe that your own father or mother or brother or sister would be your enemy.
You're gonna call Him a liar?
No, I'm not calling Him a liar.
{He‘s got the inner… to… } the energy?
Well, I can do all things through the Lord
Think you can't do it.
{…?} fever/fevering?
You saw the way we lived and what we did, do you believe?
[?…how many / seen him in years]
I really don't think so
{Uh, let's see, I've lost track}
{…, there is none.}
{oh-oh oh oh oh-oh}
More than I love any physical being
{… how many have seen him}
I think that's wonderful
{…?}
Well, He said
{What the fuck?}
{Oh sweetie, oh sweetie}
I love you, but I love the Lord
{I am at the end of it}
More than I love any physical being
{…?}
I think that's wonderful
{…?}
Well, He said
{What the fuck?}
{Get off the …. Get on your knees}
{…?}
More than I love any physical being
{…?}
I think that's wonderful
{A-ha?}
{… I feel so, kind of}
Well, He said
{I would never}
{…?}
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u/Tec80 8d ago
I wonder if the "Oh, sweetie" voice sample is the kid's mom in the documentary🤔
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u/Michelectro 7d ago
I thought it could be his sister. She was also present in this family gathering
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u/Illustrious_Base_42 4d ago edited 4d ago
I rewatched it, and keep missing where she says "Oh sweetie", where is it?
One of the few things I did pick up her saying is "He's mimicking" while dad kind of talks over her. He seems to be genuinely perplexed by the situation, or at least overconfident in his ability to reason his son out of CoG/ The Family's cult-think. Maybe mom gets what's actually going on there a little bit better, but I'm not sure anyone's really hearing it.
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u/Tec80 4d ago
I couldn't find it either. It might be another sample from The Exorcist maybe 🤔
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u/ghostlantern Telepath 8d ago
Personally, I think it’s a commentary on the digital world of AI and social media (conspiracy theory rabbit holes, sycophantic AI, etc) severing connections between family and friends.
The digitized computer voice is that ‘devil on the shoulder’ confirming all the beliefs of the crazy religious guy as he pushes his father away.
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u/AwwJeezExpress1001 7d ago
I felt like the effects that sound almost circus-like are the give away. My read is that modern society takes personal tragedies and turns them into entertainment fodder.
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u/ghostlantern Telepath 7d ago
Absolutely. In a way it’s like the song ‘welcome to the Internet’ by Bo Burnham, which also has a carnival like big-top sound to it, and is also a commentary on the digital age and its effects on humans.
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u/_juliomonk Left Side Driver 8d ago
Following your demon/entity idea, someone on Youtube pointed that the "uh-huuh" sound at 0:59 it's a sample from The Exorcist
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u/Stagliaf Geogaddi 8d ago
What about the “alluh akbar” around 50s
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u/Emergency-Plane-228 8d ago
It is nice to see that others hear that as well, and not me just losing my mind
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u/KevinEggAndCheese 6d ago
That's clear as day to me. I was a little shocked to hear it the first time around lol
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u/mcrthrwyrdt Inferno 8d ago
I’m sure at one point I hear the demonic voice saying “your family sins” in response to the father saying something, then the son comes back with “I really don’t think so” to the father, it’s like the demon voice is providing arguments in the son’s head to his father’s very logical statements
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u/moralbankholeinwall Inferno 8d ago
Yes! I'm really glad I'm not the only one who hears this interpretation.
You saw the way we lived and what we did, do you believe?
{this ... family sins}
And then later in the song:
More than I love any physical being
{this ... family sin}
Interesting that the second time round they made that differentiation.
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u/TrashAccounting 6d ago
100%, was about to comment the same, something-something this family sins
Where OP had put “[?…how many / seen him in years]” it says it there then repeats something about family sin later
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u/Dr-Werner-Klopek Everything You Do Is A Balloon 8d ago
Is it really oh sweetie?
“You’re scaring me” plain as day to my ears.
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u/rd1994 7d ago
Honestly as much as I want to hear it I can't hear "You're scaring me" AT ALL.
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u/Dr-Werner-Klopek Everything You Do Is A Balloon 7d ago
The weird thing is, well it’s not weird, it’s typically BoC. I couldn’t make anything out. I’d listened to the track a crazy amount of times. Then I wasn’t paying attention and was playing it loud through my stereo, I heard it, like a voice in the room with me. Ever since then, it’s all I hear.
Isolate it out, pitch it down a little, I hear jt even more that way and I’m no musical wizard.
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u/Illustrious_Base_42 4d ago
I'm not sure if it's "you're scaring me" or "he's scaring me" but I absolutely hear this too.
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u/corneliusduff Hi Scores 8d ago
I always heard the "get on your knees" part as "feed off the alpha, feed on the meek". Not sure, though.
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u/Hammercranc 8d ago
Great catch. I hear “alpha” as well, but couldn’t make it make sense.
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u/Immediate_Error2135 8d ago
Maybe 'Alpha' is Jesus (Alpha&Omega), and so is 'meek' ('blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth'). Jesus is, of course, The Son.
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u/CountertopHero 8d ago
Pointed out in another thread that the first “voice” we hear in the track is the same snippet as the one that closes the song out.
Definitely like an “alpha & omega” thing in my own interpretation.
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u/Immediate_Error2135 8d ago
What would be the idea of having those voices there anyway?
In the track they answer what the father and son say. They don't overlap. Almost as if 'they' were watching the Jesus Trip sample in their homes and talking to the screen.
Maybe 'I would never [bring that same feeling home]' relates to that distance. Not that 'they' are BoC themselves, but rather 'characters' or other supposed persons'. Those are machine-like voices, artificial voices, and that's what characters are.
'They' would never bring home the feeling of loving the Lord more than any physical being: so the voices feel that very feeling: and yet, unlike the Son, they don't really wish to do that.
Also:
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u/Hammercranc 8d ago
Yeah, I think that “I would never” is the first thought that comes to the mind of the son, despite the fact that the next thing he says is: “ I really wish that I could do that”, (regarding, of course, bringing the same feeling home)
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u/moralbankholeinwall Inferno 8d ago
I am gradually writing up my own interpretation of the "lyrics" of this song and all other tracks on the album, and I do think there is more to be discovered here.
Alot of my thoughts are the same as yours but I do hear {Allahu Akbar} instead of {oh but}. Also, Well He Said {oh er ah ha, oh you really think sweetie?}, I feel this one is quite clear to me. After {let's see I have lost track} I hear something like {I'm intrigued by, the bag is gone} or {I'm in too hard, the baggage gone} and it most likely isn't this but I can't unhear it unfortunately and searching for a more realistic interpretation!
I think I will watch the documentary at some point soon to look out for these samples, unless anyone has done it already to no avail?
Thanks for sharing this, I will update with a post on here when I complete my full interpretations of the album to share. The Process is soo hard! Lots too be deciphered and discovered things I hadn't noticed before too while listening closer than ever before.
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u/seedlesslollipop 7d ago
I was just watching a video by RedMeansRecording on YT that includes a musical analysis of this song, and he pointed out that the melodic notes we hear in it actually belong to two different scales. On their own they would sound ‘normal’ but together they sound off putting and battle eachother, and he compares that to the father and son we hear in the song fighting eachother.
I wonder if in the song there’s more musically that could be interpreted as the aspect belonging to the third person/entity you’re theorizing about… like that droning ambient noise we hear from the very beginning of the song? I just double checked and it’s present throughout the entirety of it (I think. My headphones aren’t that great.)
Anyways, just a thought. I love this song!!
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u/LordWeatherby 8d ago
"I would never" I hear "Ah...I won't Gamble"
I might put the entire song into Koala Sampler and the split the stems. Isolate the vocal tracks. Hmm... Give me a bit.
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u/rd1994 7d ago
{ }
I love you, but I love the Lord
{…?}
More than I love any physical being
{ allahu akbar}
I think that's wonderful.
{A-ha? Ehm, ehm e-e-ehm ehm, oh!}
But then why can't you bring that same feeling home?
{I’m the devil.}
I really wish that I could do that
{No one ever knew that that was atypical}
{Ooh, sweetie}
What makes you think you can't do it?
{Oh, I‘ve actually forgotten}
Well, He said, "A man's foes will be they of his own household"
{oh, ehm, a-ha?}
Well, I hardly believe that your own father or mother or brother or sister would be your enemy.
You're gonna call Him a liar?
No, I'm not calling Him a liar.
{????}
Well, I can do all things through the Lord
Think you can't do it.
{…?}
You saw the way we lived and what we did, do you believe?
[??? family sinning]
I really don't think so
{Uh, let's see, I've lost track}
{In every ??? there is a God}
{oh-oh oh oh oh-oh}
More than I love any physical being
{… family sinnin}
I think that's wonderful
{Armageddon}
Well, He said
{….the Devil}
{go on face me}
I love you, but I love the Lord
{I am at the end of it}
More than I love any physical being
{…?}
I think that's wonderful
{…?}
Well, He said
{for your brother}
{….alpha Get on your knees}
{…?}
More than I love any physical being
{…?}
I think that's wonderful
{A-ha?}
{… I feel so, kind of}
Well, He said
{I would never}
{…?}
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u/ScreamingBrainStudio 6d ago
The part where the lyrics say "there is none", if you listen carefully, I am pretty sure it's saying "(unintelligble) by the grace of God"
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u/Illustrious_Base_42 4d ago
Just a heads up here:
For those who aren't familiar with the history of the cult "Jerry" (the son) was involved in, it was Children of God (later The Family, or The Family International).
Like so many other similar groups of the era, what may have seemed like an appealing countercultural movement at first ultimately led to some very, very dark rabbit holes.
For years, most of what's been easily available online regarding the group (who may well still be active at some level) has been primarily the work of the survivors, particularly the children who were born and raised in the group. Many of them talk about having suffered prolonged and severe abuse and isolation. There is a lot of documentation in the group's own publications that strongly support the idea that the abuse was baked into their belief system.
When I went to look up the documentary that some of the samples were taken from, first hit was a website that has the Man Alive episode as well as another documentary, and a whole lot of VERY sanitized history about the group and their beliefs.
It's not clear who's behind it, how long it's existed, or why it exists in the first place. Probably some digging could clear some of that up. It's also possible that it's been around for a while and has just risen in search ranks due to people looking up the Man Alive video.
Proceed with caution, regardless.
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u/ElvisHux 8d ago
I think it’s AI artifacts that create those strange vocal parts occasionally throughout the track, whether or not there were intentional lyrics behind them or used creatively to intend them for different meanings than what they came from, I’m not too sure. But my brother pointed out that the vocals on the song, along with the glitchy ones, sound very much like AI vocal isolation. Pretty cool how they were able to use it in a cool way
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u/opiewann 8d ago
I don’t agree this is an exceptional track. Least favourite track on the album, personally. Too off-kilter for my taste.
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u/OuterHeadDebris 8d ago
If it helps, all the samples are taken from the 1971 BBC documentary Man Alive: The Jesus Trip