"I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars" Evaluation
Effects of Riding a Bicycle without Hands
The album Fight with Tools was released in October of 2007 by the Flobots, since then it has become a hit among young people nationwide. The group formed in 2000 and has since then released two albums. Their most notable track “No Handlebars” speaks about the abuse of power.
The song “No Handlebars” is referring to a theme of power abuse. The song can be split in half by a very distinct change in tone occurring between lines. The first half of the song has a positive easy going tone in which the lyrics take on the form of a child telling the listener what he/she is capable of. All the lines in the first versus begin with “I Can,” this was done to depict the power of a child. “I can tie a knot in a cherry stem,” (line 16) making it clear that the Flobots are speaking of the power of a child. Also line 14 references the innocent curiosity of a child saying, “I can take apart the remote control.” The song tells of the dominance of tasks in the perspective of a child. Line 7 goes, “look at me, look at me,” showing the child wanting attention for his dominance over the bicycle. The child is very proud of his accomplishments and wants to be recognized for conquering various tasks. The task all appeal to a child in the first half of the song, therefore portraying innocence. The Flobots show how small and time fully meaning accomplishments of a child (riding a bike without hands) can be related to darker more sinister accomplishments as adults with real power.
The second half of the song picks up speed and has a much darker feel. Where the first half references a child, the second speaks of the power of an adult. As an adult one has a different sort of power than that of a child differentiated by the magnitude of reactions of one’s actions. The speaker is depicted as being in a highly dominating position of power most likely as a leader. Lines 62-63 go, “I can...
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