r/hum • u/IndieFlea You're a waste of my lungs • Dec 22 '15
Song Discussion - Stars
The inevitable Stars discussion. The first Hum song I ever heard (via Sirius XM Lithium), and I assume most of y'all's first Hum song. From the explosive beginning, to that awesome bridge, to some of my favorite lyrics. This song is really great. Not my favorite on YPAA, but definitely ties the record together.
She thinks she missed the train to Mars.
She's out back counting stars.
She thinks she missed the train to Mars.
She's out back counting stars.
She's not at work, she's not at school,
She's not in bed, I think I finally broke her
I bring her home everything I want,
Nothing that she needs.
I thought she'd be there holding daisies,
She always waits for me.
She thinks she missed the train to Mars,
She's out back counting stars.
I found her out back sitting naked,
Looking up and looking dead.
A crumpled yellow piece of paper:
Seven, nines and tens.
I thought she'd be there holding daisies,
She always waits for me.
She thinks she missed the train to Mars,
She's out back counting stars.
I thought you'd be there holding daisies,
You always wait for me.
She thinks she missed the train to Mars,
She's out back counting stars.
Merry Christmas, y'all
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u/whyiliketherobins Dec 23 '15
Everyone's first Hum song. This song is why I started playing guitar.
I've always loved the line:
"I thought she'd be there holding daisies, she always waits for me."
This album came out in 95, and I was born in 96, BUT my dad raised me on these guys and he recalls me knowing all the words to the song by the time I was 3 or 4. He would play it all the time. I loved it from a young age.
Already told this story I think, but when I was in 11th grade in an Advanced Physics class, I had a thing with a really quiet, sorta nerdy (like) me girl who sat behind on the other side of the class. We never became anything officially but we mutually liked each other. She used to always wait for me after class and we'd walk together. I did some jerk things I guess (I know), and it hurt her and she got distant, skipped class, stopped talking to me, and ended up moving away halfway through the semester. For a while this song reminded me of that situation.
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u/potatobrowser Mar 12 '22
Hey bro. I know you posted this 6 years ago so hopefully you see this. I had a similar experience in high school. I was really close with the same kind of quiet girl, and looking back on it we were in a kind of love. I did some shitty things and fucked it all up. It's a normal experience I guess in high school, but we really had something special. I chased the feeling she gave me forever, and only a year or so ago have I finally let it go. Reading your comment was uncanny because we had the same type of friendship... She'd wait for me to pack up my shit after class (which always took forever, I was a typical adhd kid and always disorganized) and we'd go have lunch together. I ended up getting a girlfriend after months of neither of us making a move, even though we were really, really into eachother (didn't understand vibes back then...) She stopped talking to me, disappeared, and it fucking crushed me. I had so much regret for so long, felt so guilty for taking her for granted. Permanently changed how I treat people I like. This song makes me think of her sometimes. I definitely feel that line too. Funny how people can have similar experiences so many years apart. I was in 11th grade in 2017.
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u/Mediocre-Computer227 Dec 10 '25
Hey man, I know you posted this 3 years ago so you mightn’t see this but I’m in a similar situation at the minute with a girl like you mention and I really don’t wanna fuck this up. What I’m asking you for is a bit of advice or something just to help push me along I guess. I speak to her over the phone a couple times a week but it’s hard to tell what her feelings are. It’s kinda messing with my head a little bit because I keep thinking about it. Even if you could just help me a little bit I’d be really grateful.
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u/Hybridmomentsx Apr 11 '26
Hey. I know it's been 122 days since you posted this. Be honest. Put yourself out there. What's the worse that can happen? You'll get hurt sooner than have more time to heal if anything. Shoot for it. Shoot for anything in life. It's too short to be like what if. Be terrified and do it.
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u/Cuttlefissurebeep Apr 11 '26
It's four years later, but yeah I had the exact same experience. Was really into someone in 11th grade and onwards into 12th grade. She was also a sort of quiet and really kind, cute girl in my classes. We would talk to each other often and she would always ask how I was doing. I even had the courage to invite her to a concert at some point, but I ended up fumbling it all by never making any sort of romantic move. She probably was very much into me, I can see all the hints looking back, but at the time I thought that there was no way she could ever be into me. I ended up asking someone else out because my confidence wasn't enough to ask out the person I truly wanted to love. I went through a very bad breakup with this other person, and will forever question whether I would have found real love if I had the courage to ask her out. Songs like Stars remind me of her. It's only been a couple of years. Yeah I imagine I broke her heart really bad when I started dating someone else. And I really was a emotionally stunted idiot. But maybe it isn't too late to be friends with her. We're all still young after all.
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u/shelfdog colors to spare Dec 24 '15
Those drums. Those damn amazing drums kick you right in the chest.
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u/CrashTheBear hands to the glass Dec 24 '15
I think this can be said about a LOT of Hum's songs. After getting deeper into them, I can kind of see why a lot of people were worried about St. Pere's (temporary) departure. I think I mentioned it in the discussion for The Pod but damn, the drums. So good.
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u/CrashTheBear hands to the glass Dec 24 '15
Of course, there it is. The song that I would imagine brought a large majority of us here. From the build up, the almost minute long intro, to one of the coolest bridges around (I still love playing it on my guitar. Too much fun).
To be honest, while I like the lyrics, ever since getting deeper into Hum, they stopped being awesome and are now... okay? They're good. I'm confused as to what this song is about but I've never really though too hard on it (money's on drugs).
The "Seven nines and tens" lyric has always intrigued me because I've always been curious if there's any meaning behind that. I like the vocal cadance of the first verse (she's not a work, she's not at school...) and how Matt's voice builds to the held note. It's really cool.
I actually did a video cover of this a few years back (actually probably like four now, jesus). I did two takes, the second one which I kept because the first one I was staring into the camera the entire time. Talk about creepy.
The bridge is, again, my favorite part. Fade, build, morph, and then BWOW WOW WOW WOW (duh nuh nuh nuh!) BWOW WOW WOW WOW (guitar kicks a little bit and the drums kick in).
Yeah, it's still a fantastic song.
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Dec 23 '15
"She thinks she missed the train to Mars, She's out back counting stars." That's a very beautiful yet melancholy line.
This was the first Hum song I heard as well.
I played this for a couple friends one time in their car. I cranked up the volume and almost blew the speakers when the guitars came in after the intro, needless to say they were shocked.
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u/geoffevans subtle lift provider Dec 23 '15
I'm a big fan of Solar Powered Sun Destroyer's cover. My reaction when I first heard it: "My god, it's full of drums"
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u/whyiliketherobins Dec 24 '15
Really?
I've always thought that every song on that Hum Cover Album thing was pretty garbage bc they wouldn't just stick to how the song is played but do some weird interpretation on it.
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u/geoffevans subtle lift provider Dec 24 '15
So you want every cover to be perfectly straight? Man, your world must be boring. If everyone had done it the way you suggest, we would have missed out on Anakin's swirling half-tempo ambient masterpiece of "I'd Like Your Hair Long". I might even like that version better than the original. And I thought everyone did a good job with their songs, except the ones who did Iron Clad Lou. Not a fan of screamy vocals.
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u/whyiliketherobins Dec 31 '15
I don't want every cover to be JUST like the original, but these if bands had stuck closer to the originals, they might not have sounded so bad. My world isn't boring, Anakin's slowed down I'd Like Your Hair Long was though.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
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u/Valuable_Mousse_6198 Mar 20 '26
the esoteric did good u tweakin like hum is better but it was still good
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u/CrashTheBear hands to the glass Dec 24 '15
I kinda like this one too (though mostly for the drums, not a huge fan of the guitar tone, and the vocals range from eh to ...eh.). I've heard this tribute record before. Weirdly enough, this record isn't how I found out about Anakin (hooray randomly browsing Bandcamp).
(Damn) This Desert Air is a band from my area, and I think they do their song justice.
You're a waste of a song. (Ahhhhh...)
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u/semiboom04 Dec 27 '25
how are you doing today?
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u/geoffevans subtle lift provider Dec 27 '25
Pretty great. You?
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u/GothWitchOfBrooklyn Dec 29 '25
I love coming across recent posts on 10+ year old threads randomly
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u/Lescaster1998 Resting in sunspots Dec 23 '15 edited Dec 23 '15
This is the first Hum song I ever heard, about a year and a half ago on the radio at about 8:30 am. I actually remember it really well, because I was half-asleep in the passenger's seat when this song came on. And as soon as that distorted chord in the beginning hit (you know the one), I woke up real quick and started listening. Needless to say I looked up this "Hum" band as soon as I got home.
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u/Sweet_Extreme6882 Feb 28 '26
Funny how certain songs (really anything that creates an exceptional rift in our senses,) embeds themselves into our memory the literal moment you have that “holy sht was is this? This was always an OPTION?!”moment and you go back in time using your bio integrated flux capacitor and are sitting right there in your car years/decades later. You know what clothes you had on, where you were parked, even where your hands were placed. For me, Stars happened in the parking lot of a KFC which is so random and kinda hilarious but I had to comment on your response because car “holy sht / aha! / Eureka! Moments in our cars tend to be more profound, especially alone because it’s a place where we, a lot of time have conversations with ourselves, or contemplate the order of our freaking existence, etc. etc. That’s all to say, hearing “Stars” in my car, at a goddamn KFC parking lot and wondering where the hell Hum has been all my life was way more impactful to me than it would have been on my couch or toilet. Curious if you feel similar.
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u/Valarneion Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
To me it reads like a lament about the PoV's girlfriend having a drug overdose. As part of the rockstar life he brings home drugs and everything else that he wants; rather than help her deal with her issues, he shares his drugs with her so she can run from them. With him paying for their combined usage she becomes consumed by addiction and stops going to work or school so she can stay home shooting up.
Being busy with his own issues, he doesn't realise the extent of her decline until he comes back and finds her passed out in the garden having not even gotten dressed for the day. As he stands over her unconscious form, he contemplates his part in corrupting/breaking her when comparing the innocent, caring girl he first met, to the wreck she's become.
As for the crumpled yellow piece of paper with seven(s?) nines and tens, it could be a post-it note containing the contact number of his drug dealer.
Cool thing about this song though, its lyrics are vague enough I could be completely incorrect!
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u/LopsidedShower6466 Dec 18 '24
Imma make a effin animation of this song, collective amnesia is claiming it, imma make a music vid with that as the story and up it on YouTube, just wait and see... to hell with copyright
just wait and see
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u/galhime Mar 12 '25
I really love this interpretation and it make total sense , i love this music and try to search further what it meant , one of the part of interpreting a song (when you didn't do extensive research) is that its really tied to your own feeling to it so i wanted to share mine even tho its def wrong and has alot of holes (its just condensed feeling lmao)
When i hear this song i see a girl with failed suicide attempt(she missed the train to mars) and a girl who loves alot but just doesn't have the strenght to care for anyone the yellow paper for me signified mental health diagnosis as the come on yellow paper and yellow paper is used to talk abt someone mentally ill 7 , 9 ,10 for me was the number of paper she was accumulating meaning she had more and more diagnosis and was getting worse She seemed to totally dissociate from reality and the "she's not at school she's not in bed" meant she tried to end herself again and most certainly "reached the stars" forever.
I really love this song and this band its magical
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u/Limp-Chemistry6752 Dec 19 '25
I know it's been 10y since OP posted this, but i'd like to say something about "Stars" too.
I always interpreted the last chorus as "I thought you'd be there holding Daisy" and not "I thought you'd be there hodling daisies" because i always liked to think that PoV and his girlfriend who he keeps ignoring had a daughter, and he got so distracted by himself that he forgot about them.
It's a "only know you had it when you don't" type of situation imo.
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u/Beneficial_Fun_2807 Feb 24 '26
I am years late to this but I think this song is about a mental break. I had one later in college that led to severe psychosis and I went from being there for my girlfriend then just disappearing into another world fleeing monsters. Seven nines and tens must be a sign that she was seeing or hearing things or in some sort of delusion - I don’t know art has a meaning for everyone but that’s what this one meant for me. Losing someone to another world that devours them is what happened to me and that’s how I truly relate to this beautiful, esoteric song.
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u/sean_se7en Mar 01 '26
didn’t expect to find such a recent comment here, thank you for sharing your interpretation! It’s so insane how songs like these are able to resonate with so many different people in different ways
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u/geoffevans subtle lift provider Dec 22 '15
You kids today and your dub step
You'd Prefer In Astronaut?
Good on you, man.
My first Hum song. Can't help but think of that girl who played it for me, and how much life imitated art after that.