Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don't understand
They singing
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear god what is that horrible song they're singing
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo!
Rococo!
They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They're moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don't know what game they're playing
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo!
Rococo!
(Rococo)
(Rococo)
Rococo!
Rococo!
(Rococo)
(Rococo)
Rococo!
About This Song
"Rococo" is a biting critique of pretentious youth culture and empty intellectualism, using the ornate 18th-century art movement as a metaphor for superficial sophistication. The song captures Arcade Fire's frustration with "modern kids" who use elaborate language without understanding, building up cultural movements only to tear them down in endless cycles of trend-chasing. Musically, it features the band's signature anthemic build with layered instrumentation and Win Butler's passionate vocals, creating an ironic contrast between the song's accessible rock sound and its critique of cultural elitism. The repetitive "rococo" chant becomes both hypnotic and mocking, embodying the very pretension it condemns while serving as a standout track on *The Suburbs* that explores themes of generational disconnect and cultural authenticity.
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