I envision him as one of the tiny geeky kids that get picked on all the time I was one of them; I'm currently having to endure the high school version of this-- gossip, anyone? Quite comically, "When he's underwater does he get wet, or does the water get him instead? No one cares what he's like, he's just the puny nerd. Along comes the bully. That's Triangle Man, obviously. He beats up Particle Man because he can. That's a lot like my school, actually. Universe Man, one quite the other hand, is most likely the older kid, like a high schooler or someone's older brother.
Lastly, we have Person Man, this guy who's probably not the brightest bulb in the box. Triangle Man beats him up, and if I remember correctly, bullies used to say stuff like "It's trash day! Fun, huh? Aurora Hawthorne. But I can't hear this song ever without thinking of the video's wrestling motif, which frustratingly robs this song of any supposition of meaning.
So, yeah. That annoys me. Science and religion. I've thought this since one odd peach-schnapps-oriented night freshman year of college and here it is in its Wikiness - and I'm upset someone else came up with it first, but it IS kinda obvious.
I mean, look at Particle Man - he has amazing properties, but yet no one knows them all. Meanwhile, here's Universe Man, waiting in the wings - and when they meet, not just the millennium hand and the eon hand, but Particle and Triangle and Person Man as well, it's a happy land. That's yet to come, though, as Person Man struggles through his trials and tribulations, including living his life in a garbage can - here I think of pre-Renaissance feudal serfdom as Triangle Man, the Church, hates Person Man, inducing him to live out his earthly life in squalor in exchange for a possible heavenly reward, and of course Triangle Man wins, and poor Person Man gets hit on the head with a frying pan, which may or may not have been invented yet.
Triangle man is change. I'd like to mention i thought the idea about kids drawing characters to fight each other was great. Has anyone considered triangle man to be God, representing the trinity, universe man being his perfect creation, and and person man and particle man being his failed creations? The common man. I thought this song was about evolution. Particle man - First small organisms. Triangle man - The evil of the world Universe man - Time passes, creatures develop Person man - Us, blundering about.
I think someone hit the nail on the head when talking about religion. Okay, not happy land for the satanists, atheists and alla them, but For the Christians it is.
Person Man is humankind, crappy as we are. Most of us have had the experience of breakup, figuratively and potentially literally as well being hit on the head with a frying pan. The world we live in is full of trash, no matter where you go.
Sometimes you have to wonder what kind of crazy sadist made these poor freaks. And then along comes Satan Triangle Man , beating the hell out of us literally and dragging a good many of us off implied, never mentioned in the song. Then the happy instrumental solo comes in and makes us all laugh. I doubt if this song is a heavy-handed religious allegory, either pro-religion or anti-religion.
Probably it is just a simple story about cute characters, as Linnell says it is. I do think, however, that Universe Man is some sort of God figure. His watch recalls the "watchmaker proof" of the existence of God, which was popular in the eighteenth century.
The basic idea was that the universe was so intricately designed and well put-together, like a watch, that it must have a Designer. While I doubt either John had any deep meaning concealed in the song's lyrics, it is nonetheless fun to speculate. The song is about Everything. The entire universe.
From it's smallest, core elements "Particle Man" to the enormous sum of all things "Universe Man" , which is comprised of the former. It explores the dimensions literally of space. It also deals with the internal conflict within the universe wars, supernovas, combustion, entropy, natural selection that make it run.
Now, if the song went from smallest to biggest, Person Man's verse would come third. It comes fourth, suggesting that humanity is an afterthought of the entire universal process. Which is why Person Man is so messed up.
Just my thoughts. And, for the record, String Theory postulates the existence of eleven dimensions. Not ten. I was pretty sure it was a song about fighting superheroes and basic story structure, too It makes the most sense. In every superhero comic book or show, you have "particle man", the main character--the character we know the least about, but put up with anyway.
During the first encounter with the bad guy, "Triangle Man" and when you think about it, an awful lot of villains are triangular in general shape , "Particle Man" always loses.
Then, we have "Universe Man". Since "Triangle Man" wants none of what "Universe Man" is serving, he doesn't screw with him. Then, there's the matter of "Person Man". We all know "Person Man". He's the guy who's not the main character, but because we know about him, we can relate to him.
He doesn't come from the greatest background, he's obviously not invincible, and he has a little bit of that edgy angst that just about anyone can identify with. Unfortunately, he's unable to stand against "Triangle Man", and is defeated. However, in most superhero stories, this is the point where "Particle Man" comes in and kicks "Triangle Man's" butt Looking at the song as being about superheroes, perhaps Person Man represents the innocent bystanders who are affected by the actions of the villains Triangle Man or otherwise.
Or maybe Person Man could be the comic relief to counterbalance the hero Particle Man; there is a comical nature to the frying pan and garbage can lyric.
Although, as could be the case with such a character, if one looks at the situation seriously, one can't help but wonder about Person Man's mental and emotional state. He's got a watch with a minute hand, "Millennium hand and an eon hand" plain and simple time, its been around for 15 billion years. Some are, some are not.
A mess? Definitely, when you look at the situation the world is in. Do you think you can make a difference in this world? I believe in both Scientology and Christianity, both Darwinism and creationism, for it was only thanks to "God" that we were able to evolve If you would like to tell me about your views and hear more about mine, email me at pingasopayaso gmail. Ok guys, I just think it's a bizarre song. Randomness is what I call it.
Yeah, maybe some of their sogns have meanings, but this is just whatever comes to mind I guess. They're weird guys. That's why everybody likes 'em so much. I think it has to do with types of people. Particle man is the scientist.
There are 4 unanswered questions used in his stanza. He is an inquisitive, analytical person, who may be of small stature. Triangle man is a brute and bully. He is shaped like a triangle, which is the torso shape of body builders. There are no questions about him. He is just an angry, hateful guy who likes to beat up weaker people. Person man is the philosopher type of person. He asks existential questions, which make him miserable.
The last person is the boss type. He is the boss of all of them. He may be older or richer or bigger. But he has the watch to control when everybody can be happy. And he doesn't have any questions in his stanza either, which makes either pretty sure of himself or not inquisitive, or both.
Yet he is in charge. The social dynamics can be applied to various settings: school, work, family, religion etc. I posted something before I had a username, and now I've thought this over again. They're saying how powerful Particle Man, Triangle Man, and Universe Man are, just to build up that people today have some Person man is the stereotypical, unhappy, human. Just my interpretation, don't mind me. Okay, so Particle Man is a guy whos the size of a particle.
Triangle man is shaped like a triangle, and he's more then likely quite a bit larger then Particle man, so he fights him and wins. Okay, so Universe Man is as big as the entire universe, man. He owns a really expensive watch I assume it's expensive, but I have no evidence to prove it , that has some feature that forces people to be happy. Person man is just some guy who has a social disorder caused by a concussion. Once again, Triangle Man beats another guy that's less powerful then him Okay, I'm sorry guys.
That was totally dumb. I don't know what I'm talking about. This song freaks me out. You guys have much better interpretations then I do. I need to stay in my league Children's books. Listen here all of you who are complaining about there being no meaning. Shut your faces. I also believe that the deepness of the song is inversely proportional to its seriousness. That is to say, the sillier and less serious the song, the deeper of a meaning it has.
Take Cowtown for example. I suggest you go look up the interp. I nearly shit myself when I read it. I think TMBG are brilliant. They take these messages and embed them into their songs and people hardly notice because the songs seem to be merely silly tunes.
The, my friends, is poetry in its truest state. Furthermore, why bother writing and interpretation entry when all you have to say is "this song is just silly, it has no deep meaning. That's like writing someone a note in your own made up language. It is waste of everyone's time. I think "they" refers to the millennium hand and the eon hand. I don't know what happy land refers to. Maybe heaven. Maybe it refers to the end final end of particle man and person man.
When time ends then triangle man will have no one to fight and will be happy. Which makes sense if triangle man is God and God wins against everything else. This is clearly a song written spontaneously. I don't think Linnell had much in mind before he started writing. But this is why the song is likely to have a deep meaning to it. Consideration of the demanding technical aspects of the songwriting, rhythm, meter, melody and so forth, caused the words to be pulled from a sort of subconscious grab bag.
While the words might not be very coherent, I reject the idea that they are simply the random output of a strange mind: writing something truly random is very very difficult, possibly impossible. Your thoughts are bound to seep in somewhere, and "random" thoughts can sometimes reflect the deepest truths. Therefore I think an analysis of the subconscious undercurrents of the song would be more fitting than an analysis. I've heard a "yo momma" joke of that "wet" line.
As in, "Yo momma's so fat, when she jumps in the water, she doesn't get wet, the water gets her. Quite possibly it's both the subatomic particle thing and the momma joke. This was recorded in , before the first gulf war. An interesting thing I noticed is that, in support of all these religious theories involving Triangle Man, his name is the only one out of four that is repeated three times in a row:.
Particle Man, Particle Man, Doing the things Even if this isn't religious and the song is nonsensical, it's interesting that the three-sided character is referenced thrice per opening. Person man-a dysfunctional slacker type. He gets fired, hence the hate-fight-Triangle part. This one's really good: It's a Venn diagram! Logically, with the better aspects of both, and a "base" between the two, Triangle could easily beat either one in a fight!
However, since Universe is the backdrop, none of them could even try to attack him! The line "When he's underwater does he get wet, or does the water get him instead? Manhattan seems to fit aspects of both Universe Man and Particle Man. He has no personality "What's he like? It's not important" , his symbol is the hydrogen atom, etc. He's also a godlike figure, and, even better, is constantly connected with watch imagery.
Also, the line "when they meet, it's a happy land" is a horrifying description of the ending, where the "doomsday clock" running through the series strikes midnight, and the villain's scheme to cause world peace, through killing a massive amount of people it makes sense in the story, I just don't want to spoil it , goes off, creating a "happy land" through fear of a greater enemy.
Universe Man could also be that "threat," as it is both enormously powerful and more directly tied to the "watch hands" motifs, and being unspeakably large. Triangle Man is Ozymandius. OK, screw the spoiler thing, he's the villain. First, he is paired consistently with the pyramid, which is what, everybody? Good, children!
Man to go away forever. He "wins" in the end, i. Person Man, as noted, is Rorschach. He lives most of his life as a bum, i. Yes, you have to type it that way, captures the inflection. Hell, he's downright insane in a lot of ways. And, of course, they have a fight, and Triangle wins. It sounds weird, but it fits nearly every word of the song in some way, so it does make you think. Probably there are bits or should I say 'particles' of truth in most of these interpretations, but like others are saying, I'm sure that TMBG did not set out to write such a complex song.
To me the song has always been about human suffering, and specifically the eternal question of why God allows it.
The watch means he controls time, or is eternal. Perhaps it's a mockery of religion. At a Toronto concert once, Linnell started singing Kumbaya in the middle of the song. People were laughing nervously but Linnell seemed to be serious. This confirmed my interpretation for me, because Kum Ba Yah is, in part, a prayer for God to respond to suffering. The way I always interpreted it, Triangle Man is the endless circle of birth-life-death.
No matter whether you're a human Person Man or a tiny one-celled organism Particle Man , you can't escape it. Universe Man is God, all-Powerful and usually kind, but he measures time in millenniums and eons. It's not that he doesn't care about our miniscule lives, it's just that he's looking at a much, much bigger picture, so we're all at the mercy of Triangle Man.
Like so may of TMBG's songs, this one is about how our brains get in the way of directly perceiving reality. This song is specifically about abstraction and personification, two of our most basic cognitive tools.
Although each can be useful on its own, when they are mashed up, the results are unexpectedly wacky and zany. Particle Man represents the scientific world of the very small. Cells, Atoms, the Quantum world. Triangle Man represents religion in the trinity. Triangle man hates Particle man, for the obvious reason that explaining the natural world, like any science, destroys the supposed miracle and power of God. Religion and Science fight, Religion wins.
It's easier to understand and been around longer in our minds. Universe Man represents the scientific world of the very big. The cosmos. Universe Man controls time and space and could destroy any Man if he so chose, but seem to be relatively non-intrusive despite his power. Person Man represents the middle world, where we live. Humans hit on the head with a fying pan stupid , living a garbage can polluted earth , is he worthless? Who came up with person man? Triangle Man religion hates Person Man, too.
Constantly asking questions like "Who came up with with this? Triangle Man doesn't like such intellect. He fights with Person Man, and wins. The moral: Religion beats out human intellect and science, as it still does today. But the universe still has more than enough power to destroy Triangle Man, Person Man, and even Particle Man to a degree. If you spend enough time reading about physics and cosmology as I'm quite sure Mr. Linnell has , you are struck by the gulf between the vast scale of the universe on the one hand and the very tiny, infinitesimal particles that make it up.
In fact, the modern understanding of cosmogenesis is intricately wedded to the properties of these nearly-non-existent bits of matter. We can barely comprehend mankind's lack of significance in the face of this great scale of things. Stuck in the middle, we are at the mercy of the top and the bottom of this scale, and of the indifferent, inflexible laws that control everything at all the levels. That's why I think of triangle man as the 'laws of nature', defeating all comers.
The symbol may be inspired by the prominence of triangles and the proofs related to them in high school Geometry class. The fundamental state of being is a molecule, so 'triangle man' appears to hate particle man, overcoming its natural desire to be itself, and forces particle man to join 'triangles'. Think about what the artist's conception of an H20 molecule looks like, fer instance. Okay, then, there's universe man which is not at war with anybody, because they're all just part of him, including particles, triangles, and persons.
He's just benignly hanging out there, not really part of the drama. Then, person man. When persons or any organisms break down, what do they break down into? Ding, ding! Lyrics submitted by Irrational. Log in now to tell us what you think this song means. Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. Log in. Lyrics Artists add. Particle man, particle man Doing the things a particle can What's he like?
It's not important Particle man Is he a dot, or is he a speck? When he's underwater does he get wet? Or does the water get him instead? Nobody knows, Particle man Triangle man, Triangle man Triangle man hates particle man They have a fight, Triangle wins Triangle man Universe man, Universe man Size of the entire universe man Usually kind to smaller man Universe man He's got a watch with a minute hand, Millennium hand and an eon hand When they meet it's a happy land Powerful man, universe man Person man, person man Hit on the head with a frying pan Lives his life in a garbage can Person man Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless? Who came up with person man? Degraded man, person man Triangle man, triangle man Triangle man hates person man They have a fight, triangle wins Triangle man Edit Lyrics. Lyrics powered by LyricFind. Particle Man song meanings. Add Your Thoughts 53 Comments.
General Comment Particle man is the atom, basic building block of our reality. What is he like? It's not important. From Aristotle to Neils Bohr, there have been many different models for what the atom is like. All of these models are different, useful to varying degrees, and totally wrong. Our most accurate model, Quantum Physics, only attests to measure reality in terms of statistical possibility. Recent studies of Dr. Nassim Harramein have concluded that atoms have an "event horizon" singularity identical to black holes.
The triangle is one of the oldest sacred symbols in human history. Here, Triangle Man represents the Illuminati, a global elitist cult who orchestrated the arms races and the wars of the 20th century. During WWII, all corporate-backed governments researched fission and atom smashing.
They build the bomb. Triangle wins. Triangle man. Universe man is the Creator, the conscious life behind the universe. The creator loves particle man, and indeed love is what binds our universe together. This is consistent with mystical teachings throughout history from St.
John of the Cross to the Dali Llama. Person man, person man, hit on the head with a class war. The global elite have forced them all to live in garbage cans. Now with total control, there is nothing to stop the Illuminati from establishing a permanent slave class.
We had a class war, and Triangle won. Triangle Man hates Person Man. This basic principle, when understood, can explain many of the inequities and atrocities of the past century on Planet Earth. KingGraham on April 25, Link. There was an error. Pretty much hit t on the head as far as the way I interpret it. Although, I'd just say that I think Triangle Man might represent religion.
Spiral on May 07,
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