I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time
For me to go, so let me know if it's alright
I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
And then you whisper in my ear
"I know what you're doing here"
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time
For me to go, so let me know if it's alright
I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
And then you whisper in my ear
"I know what you're doing here"
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
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Dreamwalker
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
OH...MY...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!!!!!!!! I've had "Bourbon" for a while now, and always loved it, but had had NO IDEA about the amazing trilogy. Ok, so here's my interpertation:
"LTBOTS": Jenny (the narrator's girlfriend) has just moved out, and they're either separated or broken up. The guy is obsessed and depressed, sitting around drinking, watching tv, and (potentionally) stalking her. And he is broken up, drunk, and wailing throughout the song, talking to her, either in real life or in his mind, asking her if he still has a chance, telling her that he wants to be with her, that he NEEDS to be with her. And in the end, as his voice becomes slurred, I think he's either falling asleep or getting preoccupied with another idea (killing her?)
OR
I had another idea while writing this, and I think I like this version better: The narrator was drinking, mourning his break-up with Jenny. He confronted her, telling her, in drunken, slurred wails, that he loves her (obssessively). And "hold you tight" is more aphixiating than sweet, and "before you say goodbye" is before you die. And near the end, as the song climaxes, is the actual killing. And at the very end, as his voice begins echoing the most and slows and softening is him whispering to her as he lays her down or as she loses conscienceness as she dies.
"MS" Still blinded by his love and horriffied with what he's done, the killer stuck her in the backseat of his car. She was weak, but still alive, crying out, but no one heard her, no one could save her. He drives faster and faster, still half drunk and completely psychotic, saying "we were such a good thing" "make it go away" too much is happening, its just too much, i can't cope, it's too much stress on you, let me ease your pain, baby, "let me take a little more off your mind." So he takes her to the beach and kills her (probabily choking her) watching her die (taking her breath away and watching her disappear) And as he dumps her body into the sea, he cries out why did she have to be such a slut? why did she drive him to this? (a real short skirt/gloss&curls/guilty girl) whether or not she actually was a slut is irrelevent. And this is their secret, this is because he loves her, because because becausebecausebecause BECAUSE! and they were so good together. nononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono
"JWAFOM": this one's pretty self-explainatory. He's being interrogeted by the police, and he's been there all day. He's trying to leave, telling them that he knows his rights, that they don't have anything on him, and that there's no motive for him to kill her. After all, haha, Jenny WAS a friend of his. But at the same time, he can't help but replay the seen in his mind, relishing how she didn't make a sound as he "held her close." And he is starts off sounding sad and regrettful, like a friend would after finding out that their friend died, saying, sadly, oh, poor Jenny, she was my friend, how could this happen? But as the song progresses, the narrator slowly loses it, and his voice begins to lose his cool and the music becomes a little more frantic. I think the murderer might be suggesting that she committed suicide, saying that something just "wasn't the same." "She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go" might have sounded like a suicide "note" to the police, but to the narrator, it was just another justification. I love how the song starts with stylized fuzzy radio talk, helicopter choppers, and sirens.
(sorry for any misspellings. And if I sounded a bit crazy, I was just getting in the right mindset)
this actually makes more sense than most theories. i never saw midnight show that way...but it does in fact make a lot of sense. i always saw it as him picking up a hooker and thinking of jenny. but that makes much more sense.
@randomRANCOR YO OKAY SO I REALLY LIKE THIS THEORY, but I have an idea! What if Everything Will Be Alright (the last track on Hot Fuss) is his arrest and he's trying to convince himself to stay positive?