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Scene 6 (The Telescope) of just The Telescope is the track of twelve on The Residents 2007 album The Voice of Midnight. The album was distributed by Mute Records.
Plot[]
Nate, after talking to Professor Caligari goes back to the shop where Nate saw "The Sandman." When he walks in and tells the man that he needs a telescope just so he can look at the moon. Nate then asks if they have met before, a real long time ago. (Referring to when Nate's father was killed.) The man denies it and Nate asks again but backs off after the second time. Nate picks a tiny telescope that folds up and can be carried in your pocket.
The telescope given to Nate
After apologizing and paying for the telescope, he takes it home and starts to use it to look out the window of his apartment. Once he looks outside, The Sandman asks him what he sees. This is where Nate reveals he's looking at Professor Caligari's daughter.
The last part of the song is a poem by The Sandman. The poem is rather cryptic, but it's meaning is explained to the best of our abilities here.
"Leaving land again he sucked himself into a hole." This line is in reference to Nate looking at Professor Caligari's daughter, it's implied he's attracted to of slightly obsessed with her, the next line. "Sold himself a polar bear and turned it into gold." Is harder to understand, it could be taken as him falling in love with someone very different then him at first sight. The polar bear line referring to how different Professor Caligari's daughter from Nate and turning it to gold is his obsession. "But it never suited him. And soon became so cold." These are two lines, but their meanings are very simple. Professor Caligari's daughter never returned Nate's feelings and cold refers to her gaze upon Nate and the polar bear line from before. It could also be a reference to the fact her character in the original story was a robot. The final line of the poem. "That he found the ground around him had become a grassy knoll." Is likely referring to how Nate becomes so obsessed with Professor Caligari's daughter, that he neglects himself, his environment, and his relationships, such as the one with Claire.
Lyrics[]
NATE "Excuse me, mister, I need to buy a telescope. Not a very strong one, I'll mainly just be looking at the moon. I, I can't afford to spend very much. Don't I know you? You look really familiar to me... HAVEN'T I MET YOU SOMEWHERE? A LONG TIME AGO?!? No? ARE YOU SURE?!?! Yeah, okay... Let me see that one... It's beautiful... I love the way it folds up so small, it even fits in my pocket... It feels so nice in my hand. I guess it must be really expensive. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It can't be that cheap! Uh, I mean, I mean it's really inexpensive for such quality... Okay, yeah, I'll take it... Thanks, mister, thanks... Uh, I'm sorry if I got so upset a minute ago, it just that you, you remind me of someone. Thanks again, mister, goodbye. "This thing is really cool, I can see everything... It's, it's like magic. I can't wait to get home and look out the window." SANDMAN "Come to the window Look through the glass Come to the window Tell me what you see" NATE "I see a hand caressing A cat in the dark It sits in the shadows It touches my heart It's beautiful" SANDMAN "Leaving land again he sucked himself into a hole Sold himself a polar bear and turned it into gold But it never suited him And soon became so cold That he found the ground around him had become a grassy knoll."
Releases[]
Versions[]
Album Version (5:54)
- ↑ Album Version (5:54)
Notes[]
A version of The Telescope appears on The Voice of Midnight Alternate Instrumentals bootleg.
Sources[]
- The Voice of Midnight on The Residents website
- E.T.A Hoffmann's Der Sandman
- The Voice of Midnight manual on Discogs
Special Thanks[]
A special thanks goes out to Muni Aprile on the wiki for helping better understand the poem sequence.