This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Freshman year,
Mom asks "What do you want to do
when you get out of here?"
I said, "Well, gee, I'm only 13,
but I think I'd like to play my guitar...
be a star."
"Well," she said, "that's not it,
you got time to go.
Good sense will kick in anytime, you know.
I'm not worried, I'm not worried."
Sophomore year,
she asked the same old thing,
my answer had remained unchanged.
I saw her fidget with her thumbs.
She said, "You like computers, John,
you like computers, don't you?
Yeah, I always see you with computers...
maybe you could do something with computers.
Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?"
Junior year,
It's a little more intense,
She says, "What do you want to do with your life?"
I'm not on offense, I know exactly what I aim to be,
and I'm only 17.
She said, "Well, all I ask, is that you pay attention in class,
so if you happen to change your mind in time,
you can still go somewhere reputable...
do us proud."
So I went downstairs,
and I played guitar loud.
Yeah, senior year,
Same old question,
She said, "What do you want to do?"
I said, "Play my guitar and sing."
She said, "There's no such thing."
She said, "There's no such thing..."
(speaking: I love you Mom)
"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat, take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well, I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding up my sleeve
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above
So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They listen to Phish, but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
Well, well something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above
I am invincible
You are invincible
We are invincible
As long as we're alive
We're alive... alive.
Do I have to tell a story
of a thousand rainy days
since we first met?
It's a big enough umbrella
but it's always me
that ends up getting wet.
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above
I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for
Mom asks "What do you want to do
when you get out of here?"
I said, "Well, gee, I'm only 13,
but I think I'd like to play my guitar...
be a star."
"Well," she said, "that's not it,
you got time to go.
Good sense will kick in anytime, you know.
I'm not worried, I'm not worried."
Sophomore year,
she asked the same old thing,
my answer had remained unchanged.
I saw her fidget with her thumbs.
She said, "You like computers, John,
you like computers, don't you?
Yeah, I always see you with computers...
maybe you could do something with computers.
Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?"
Junior year,
It's a little more intense,
She says, "What do you want to do with your life?"
I'm not on offense, I know exactly what I aim to be,
and I'm only 17.
She said, "Well, all I ask, is that you pay attention in class,
so if you happen to change your mind in time,
you can still go somewhere reputable...
do us proud."
So I went downstairs,
and I played guitar loud.
Yeah, senior year,
Same old question,
She said, "What do you want to do?"
I said, "Play my guitar and sing."
She said, "There's no such thing."
She said, "There's no such thing..."
(speaking: I love you Mom)
"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat, take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well, I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding up my sleeve
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above
So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They listen to Phish, but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
Well, well something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above
I am invincible
You are invincible
We are invincible
As long as we're alive
We're alive... alive.
Do I have to tell a story
of a thousand rainy days
since we first met?
It's a big enough umbrella
but it's always me
that ends up getting wet.
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above
I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for
Lyrics submitted by DMBphan41
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The first time I heard this "intro" to "No Such Thing" I was like..."Ooooh!" It just means that if you have a dream, stick to it and don't let others sway your mind. :)