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"
Getting a little erratic here
And I don't know who to trust
I guess they got a way of reading my mind
I guess I got to adjust
I've got my arms that flip, flop, flip, flop, flip
I got my head on a spring
Well I thought I got you on my side
I haven't got fucking anything
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even trying to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I got nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
Uh huh
I kind of see through the cracks when I press up on the wall
I'm not looking to stand up real high, I'd be happy to crawl
I think I'm losing my grip, but I can still make a fist
You know I still got my one good arm that I can beat
I can beat myself up with
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even trying to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I got nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid that I'm starting to fade away
Hey, and for what it was worth
I really used to believe
That maybe there's some great thing
That we could achieve
And now I can't tell the difference
Or know what to feel
Between what I've been trying so hard to see
And what appears to be real
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
And I don't know who to trust
I guess they got a way of reading my mind
I guess I got to adjust
I've got my arms that flip, flop, flip, flop, flip
I got my head on a spring
Well I thought I got you on my side
I haven't got fucking anything
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even trying to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I got nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
Uh huh
I kind of see through the cracks when I press up on the wall
I'm not looking to stand up real high, I'd be happy to crawl
I think I'm losing my grip, but I can still make a fist
You know I still got my one good arm that I can beat
I can beat myself up with
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even trying to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I got nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid that I'm starting to fade away
Hey, and for what it was worth
I really used to believe
That maybe there's some great thing
That we could achieve
And now I can't tell the difference
Or know what to feel
Between what I've been trying so hard to see
And what appears to be real
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
My world is getting smaller everyday
Hey hey hey hey, and that's okay
Lyrics submitted by thewhitepony33
Getting Smaller Lyrics as written by Trent Reznor
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I like this song, it makes me feel good about myself. I can relate to this for sure.
"I'm not looking to stand up real high, I'd be happy to crawl I think I'm losing my grip But I can still make a fist "
And if you didn't nut in your pants you got a whole bunch of other songs to look forward too and you can bet it will sound different than this one, if you look at what bands are doing lately is changing up sounds on an album to get a sense of variety. If you heard the other leaked tracks like hand that feeds, line begins to blur, and this one, then you know that they all have their own sound really. From what I've heard I'm convinced this will be a pretty sweet album.