Neighborhood 3 (Power Out)
| "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" | ||||
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| Single by Arcade Fire | ||||
| from the album Funeral | ||||
| Released | May 22, 2005 | |||
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| Recorded | August 2003 – early 2004 at the Hotel2Tango (Montreal) | |||
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| Length | 5:08 | |||
| Label | Rough Trade | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Arcade Fire, Josh Deu | |||
| Producer(s) | Arcade Fire | |||
| Arcade Fire singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover art | ||||
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"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is an indie rock song by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire. It was the third single released from the band's debut album, Funeral.
The single was released on May 22, 2005, on the Rough Trade Records label. The single peaked at #26 on the UK Singles Chart, and it remained on the chart for two weeks. Arcade Fire won the 2006 Juno Award for "Songwriter of the Year" for "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)", along with two other tracks from Funeral, and the song's music video was nominated "Video of the Year".
The lyrics were written by Butler and Chassagne along with former band member Deu and inspired by the North American ice storm of 1998 in Montreal, which left the city in a blackout for over a week.
The lyrics are mostly metaphorical and ambiguous, which has led to speculation as to what message they convey. The lyrics are dark ("Kids are dying out in the snow") and have a theme of hopelessness ("Don't have any dreams / Don't have any plans"). Butler acknowledges that the two used the outage "as a basis to start from, to talk about other stuff", and so there are many ideas addressed in the song.
Despite the pessimistic atmosphere, Butler has indicated that there are "two sides" to the lyrics, and it can be interpreted as "uplifting", noting the lyrics "And the power's out / In the heart of man / Take it from your heart / Put it in your hand." Says Butler: "If there's something fucked up in your heart, you're going to put it in your hand as a sword."
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