dreaming that the antidote is orgasm
Others said it must have been the weather, just him and his secret he was keeping Spektor, at night while everyone was sleeping
Some said the local lake had been enchanted, but i swear that i could hear the laughter, some said the local lake had been enchanted
the kids were waking up hungover
and the genius next door was sleeping
and the genius next door was sleeping
atheists were praying full of sarcasm
At night while everyone was sleeping, and wade midway into that porridge Regina, dreaming that the antidote is orgasm
You foolish child, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through Genius, and the genius next door was sleeping
so they jokingly nicknamed it the porridge
cause overnight that lake had turned as thick as butter
saying that to them it doesn t matter
and wade midway into that porridge
You foolish child, but the local kids would still go swimming
The neighbors were trying to keep it quiet, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
Just him and his secret he was keeping, the kids were waking up hungover, and reporters
the genius next door was busing tables
you foolish child
Atheists were praying full of sarcasm, the neighbors were starting up their cars, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
if you just hold in your breath til you ve come back up in full
But i swear that i could hear the laughter, you foolish child, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
But the local kids would still go swimming, but i swear that i could hear the laughter
Hold in your breath til you ve thought it through, and reporters Spektor, the neighbors were trying to keep it quiet
Some said the local lake had been enchanted, and the genius next door was sleeping
And wade midway into that porridge, in the morning the film crews start arriving Regina, wiping clean the ketchup bottle labels
Saying that to them it doesn t matter, dreaming that the antidote is orgasm Genius, the genius next door was busing tables
And the genius next door was sleeping, but i swear that i could hear the laughter
If you just hold in your breath til you ve come back up in full, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
In the morning the film crews start arriving, cause overnight that lake had turned as thick as butter
Didn t care as long as he was able, the neighbors were trying to keep it quiet
Hold in your breath til you ve thought it through, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
The neighbors were trying to keep it quiet, getting high and mumbling german fables, hold in your breath til you ve thought it through
My own interpretation of the story on this track is about a lonely, shy teenage boy who is extremely intelligent (intuitive). Although at the same time, he's going through extreme mental pain. Abuse or neglect. Either by his parents or his friends.
And the only way he's able to escape from it is through masturbation. In the lake.
Until one day, he knew that his life will possibly never be fixed. And from that point on, he goes to the lake, and
commits suicide by drowning.
The people felt bad for the boy but knew that, he was a "genius" for pleasuring himself because that was the only way out to escape his pain. But it wasn't enough and so then he kills himself.
As the metaphor, I feel like that an "orgasm" is like drowning.
In other words, like death.
I think the biggest hint about what this song is about are the lines about "drinking". It's not like they're bringing alcohol with them into the porridge to drink. They're drinking the porridge, and the next morning they are hung over. While the other kids are getting drunk/high for fun, the "Genius next door" is doing it for escape, and he ends up killing himself as a result.
What I love about this song is that you can pull out so many new meanings / things you wouldn't have thought of every time you listen to it. It's so mysterious.
Maybe it's about a boy who was misunderstood and he found pleasure in bringing himself to the brink of death. He was a genius because he knew the only way to enjoy the world was to escape it for a little while. And one day he took it too far and drowned. Ha that sounds really weird.
I may be the only one who takes it this way, but I feel like the song has a dark underlying message. The lake was a special place that someone drowned in and it became thick with dead bodies and dreams of people who never went anywhere, but the kids still came back and they said it didn't matter. Because as long as you held your breath, you'd be ok. I think the genius is misunderstood and lonely, so he takes his chances in the lake every night and played a game with death. He eventually makes a mistake and can't hold his breath any longer, everything just got to be too much. And he drowned. And people found out the next day, but nothing changed. Someone had just died, but life still carried on. The only way to fix it was to find something happy. To forget about everything and carry on
Here's another thought: What if The Genius Next Door was actually some sort of serial killer? They're known to have very high intelligence levels, and it would definitely account for the butter-like thickness more than just a thin layer on the top. Because lakes are extremely large. I don't care who you are, you can't produce that much to saturate a whole entire lake no matter how many people you have. Rotting body parts, in my opinion, makes a lot of sense. To each his own, though.
In french, orgasm is 'le petit mort' which literally means the little death. So maybe the genius may have thought that the answer to his wasted life was a little death.
Even though a lot of people say it's about erotic asphyxiation (which I can see how they would), I still see it about a teenager that simply doesn't fit in. HIs whole life he was an outcast, and the only escape he seems to have is reading.
One night, having enough of the torment, he wades into the water and drowns.
The morning, everyone finally realizes he had killed himself, and feel so guilty and sorry for the kid. But it doesn't matter in the end, the kid is gone.
i know im the only one who interpreted it this way and am probably the least accurate, but i always felt that the song was about a genius who was born into extreme poverty and was starving - why he went swimming in "the porridge" and why he took his clothes off next to dumpsters, as in dumpster diving - and his brilliance was never recognized as a result, leading to only low paying jobs and continued homelessness. he then starved to death, which was why he died swimming in the porridge.
The song is about whatever you want it to be about, whatever you're feeling, whatever your thoughts in depth are... It was born in Regina Spektor's world, and now it is a part of each of us.
I believe the song is about a genius who is seen as someone dumb by others, it's his secret, and he is perhaps depressed because he is trapped cleaning tables, and that he commits suicide in the lake, hence Regina calling him a foolish child, for throwing away what he had, telling him to think it through. I'm not sure if the lake is literally thick or just considered to be 'haunted.' He killed himself because he was searching for a way out, the 'climax' to his life.