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"
Don't wanna be second best,
Don't wanna stand in line,
Don't wanna fall behind.
Don't wanna get caught out,
Don't want to do without.
And then the lesson I must learn
Is that I've got to wait my turn.
Looks like I've gotta be hot and cold,
Gotta be taught and told,
Got to be good as gold.
But perfectly honestly,
I think it would be good for me.
'cause its a hindrance to my health if I'm a stranger to myself
(Whoa whoa)
Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes,
Bring me to my knees.
Well I must be my own master,
Or a miniature disaster will be,
Will be the death of me.
I don't have to raise my voice,
Don't have to be underhand,
Just gotta understand.
That it's gonna be up and down,
Gonna be lost and found.
And then I can't take to the sky
Before I like it on the ground
And I need to patient, And I need to be brave,
I need to discover how I need to behave,
And I'll find out the answers when I know what to ask,
But I'm speaking this wrong language,
And everybody's talking too fast
Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes,
Bring me to my knees.
Well I must be my own master,
Or a miniature disaster will be, will be (yeah yeah)
Well I've got to run a little faster
Or a miniature disaster will be, will be, oh,
Well I need to know I'll last if a little
Miniature disaster hits me,
It could be the death of me.
Don't wanna stand in line,
Don't wanna fall behind.
Don't wanna get caught out,
Don't want to do without.
And then the lesson I must learn
Is that I've got to wait my turn.
Looks like I've gotta be hot and cold,
Gotta be taught and told,
Got to be good as gold.
But perfectly honestly,
I think it would be good for me.
'cause its a hindrance to my health if I'm a stranger to myself
(Whoa whoa)
Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes,
Bring me to my knees.
Well I must be my own master,
Or a miniature disaster will be,
Will be the death of me.
I don't have to raise my voice,
Don't have to be underhand,
Just gotta understand.
That it's gonna be up and down,
Gonna be lost and found.
And then I can't take to the sky
Before I like it on the ground
And I need to patient, And I need to be brave,
I need to discover how I need to behave,
And I'll find out the answers when I know what to ask,
But I'm speaking this wrong language,
And everybody's talking too fast
Miniature disasters and minor catastrophes,
Bring me to my knees.
Well I must be my own master,
Or a miniature disaster will be, will be (yeah yeah)
Well I've got to run a little faster
Or a miniature disaster will be, will be, oh,
Well I need to know I'll last if a little
Miniature disaster hits me,
It could be the death of me.
Lyrics submitted by Joekubrick
Miniature Disasters Lyrics as written by Kt Tunstall Katie Tunstall
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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 think the reason nobody's commented is because it's not at all cryptic. That's why it's an obvious favorite. It means just what it means about being patient and taking life as it comes. Trying not to panic about every little thing that comes your way. It'a about being the one holding the reigns of your life. I love it.
I can't believe no one has commented on this song. This and Universe & U are my favorite tracks, but hell, I love them all (with the slight exception of Suddenly I See).
I really think the basis of this song is that just the little things that fall through in life can sometimes culminate into a pressure unbearable, which "bring me to my knees." I also think it has to do with learning to tame your impatience with life and becoming ultimately a more realized person who can learn to cope with life without panicking into a bedlam.
I believe that the lyrics are "Don't wanna get called out" not "caught out".... I really like this song, but don't have anything insightful to say about it.
this song just shows her maturity as an artist. it shows she has discipline and the ability to take hard knocks but learning to take the smaller knocks and appreciating them for how they grow her.
I sang this for an audition, and got me in so I feel like I should really comment on it (:
But there really isn't anything more I can think of adding that other people haven't said already.
love this song...perfectly describes how all the small things can easilly get blown into something big
I loved this song from the moment I first heard it. It coincided with a big realisation I had spiritually. To be free spiritually (metaphorically, taking to the sky) we have to be ethical and comfortable with ourselves and like it on the ground.
I loved this song from the moment I first heard it. It coincided with a big realisation I had spiritually. To be free spiritually (metaphorically, taking to the sky) we have to be ethical and comfortable with ourselves and like it on the ground.