The Flaming Lips - Fight Test - Lyrics Meaning

This song is on The Flaming Lips' tenth studio album, which was released in 2002 and titled, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. The song is about recognizing and seizing the moment to do something important or memorable in your life. The lead singer, Wayne Coyne, sings that he was attempting to do the honorable thing and avoid a confrontation with someone in the hope that over time the other person would see that they were wrong. Then Coyne realizes that a perfect moment to take control of a situation in his life has passed him by and now he is filled with regret. He says, "Oh to fight is to defend if it's not now than tell me when...", which means the aggressive act of physical confrontation is really an act of protecting what is his and if he doesn't do it now, there might not be another chance.

The chorus has Coyne repeating the line, "it's all a mystery". This line is reference to the question of how to be a man in a general sense. He wants to understand how to do the honorable and forthright thing, but he must overcome his fears. Coyne goes on to tell his audience that the only thing worse than losing is not trying or taking a stand and that is what's at the heart of this song. In the last verse Coyne says that you may not always be ready to face these situations, but you will never be prepared for all scenarios and how you respond is what makes you a man.