Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Looking for something I've never seen
Alone and I'm in between
The place that I'm from and the place that I'm in
A city I never been
I found a friend or should I say a foe
Said just a few things you should know
We don't want you to see we come and we go
Here today, gone tomorrow
We're only taking turns
Holding this world
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand
If I say who I know it just goes to show
You need me less than I need you
Take it from me we don't give sympathy
You can trust me trust nobody
But I said you and me we don't have honesty
The things we don't want to speak
I'll try to get out but I never will
Traffic is perfectly still
We're only taking turns
Holding this world
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand
And then again maybe you don't
And then again maybe you won't
When you're older you might understand
When you're older you might understand
Alone and I'm in between
The place that I'm from and the place that I'm in
A city I never been
I found a friend or should I say a foe
Said just a few things you should know
We don't want you to see we come and we go
Here today, gone tomorrow
We're only taking turns
Holding this world
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand
If I say who I know it just goes to show
You need me less than I need you
Take it from me we don't give sympathy
You can trust me trust nobody
But I said you and me we don't have honesty
The things we don't want to speak
I'll try to get out but I never will
Traffic is perfectly still
We're only taking turns
Holding this world
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand
And then again maybe you don't
And then again maybe you won't
When you're older you might understand
When you're older you might understand
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Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
To me, this song talks about not knowing who you are. It's like he's trying to tell someone younger than him, that when you reach a certain age you start to question things. You start to really evaluate everything you thought was important and if it really is anymore. It's like he's questioning every fiber of his being, and a younger person is trying to understand, wants to understand even, but can't. Because he'll never understand until he's there. This song really means a lot to me, I found it at a point in my life when I really was questioning everything in my life, who i was and who I am going to be. Thank God for The Fray and this song.
I think this song is about a parent trying to explain to their child why they are getting a divorce with the other parent. When it says 'we're only taking turns, holding this world" the parent is trying to say that they are going to be taking turns taking care of the children, and its how its always been anyway, because the family never did anything together. They are sayng that the child might not understand it right now, but when they are older they will understand. Also when the song says,"if i say who i know it just goes to show you need me less than i need you." the parent has probably cheated, but they need their child, and are afraid if they tell them that they have cheated, then the child wont trust them anymore, and hate them. wow...ive been wanting to say what i thought of this song forever. I iove this song. its amazing! =]
I completely agree, that's what I thought when I first heard the song. There are multiple interpretations, but I take it as a parent telling a child about a divorce.
This song means that there's really no one out there. Friends come and go, and nothing ever lasts forever. Not everyone understands it, but when their put through situations they will. It's really about having no one.
i know that this is not what the song is about but i feel like telling this anyway..i had to do this project 2 years ago in 10th grade english where we read a book and had to pick a song that related best to it..and my book was about a jewish girl who tried to hide from the nazi's during the holocaust with her family by traveling to another country and becoming like a slave or worker for other people in that country..and she befriends the familys daughter who is about her age and i felt these lyrics spoke exactly that story.
"the place that i'm from and the place that i'm in, a city i've never been"
obviously her moving to this new country and all of these new things so different from what she is used to
"i found a friend or should i say a foe, said there's a few things you should know"
sometimes the family's she lived with were nazi familys almost, or people who would turn her in if they knew she was jewish..so she found a "friend" or so they thought, but in reality an enemy.
"we dont want you to see, we come and we go, here today gone tomorrow"
if at all her family thought the family they were working for might be onto them, they would quickly leave that house and move on to a new one and change their image completely. there one day, gone the next.
"if i say who i know it just goes to show you need me less than i need you"
the girl thinks she needs her as a servant and to help around her house but in reality the jewish girl needs her more, to hide her there and keep her safe, she just doesn't know that
"take it from me we don't give sympathy, you can trust me, trust nobody"
maybe she feels bad cause she is lying to the girl about who she is, but then again gives no sympathy because look at what is happening to her and her family, they are getting killed for no reason except that they're jewish. she is saying she can trust her but then again..her whole idea of her is a lie so, trust nobody.
i think the chorus "were only taking turns holding this world" relates to how some different race or religion is always targeted, whoever is "on top" is always changing..taking turns.
anyway that is about it i know the song is about any of that but i thought it just related too well to go unsaid.
The closing song, "Trust Me," off of "How to Save a Life," is one of King's favorites to play during live sets. "It's such a beautiful song. I kind of lose myself in it. It's the story from the early days of The Fray -- when we didn't have a label, and you didn't know who to trust, and people were telling us which direction to go in. It's a song about the feeling of almost being alone, despite there be a lot of people around.
I agree with this more than anything, but certain lyrics of the song I like to imagine are about bf/gf relationships, it's much more romantic and it fits the music better. But it's not about that. They wrote the song as if someone from a record company talked to them bout the negative control over the music industry.<br /> <br /> I think it could've been one of the producers or someone "in the know" who he called a friend for telling them the truth, but also a foe b/c the wise man was playing for the wrong team. But he still gave them some good info. <br /> <br /> Like "we don't want you to see, we come and we go." That could mean that their potential record company didn't want The Fray to see what they do to their popularity, their paychecks, and importantly, their music. All these ppl, producers, bosses, the top ppl of the record company have a say in what they sing & how it sounds and EVERYTHING and these people come and go. Anyone ever looked at all the producers & diff ppl who were involved in each song on an album? Here today gone tomorrow. No one's ever really there w/ them permanently in that business. So it'd be easy for them to get lost. They could record a song and the producer, maybe, could change it, and b/c they signed the contract, it'd have to stay that way. Or b/c the producer's in a different country or state working w/ another artist, it'd have to stay that way here today gone tomorrow. Secret evils that they don't want the band to know about.<br /> <br /> The ppl in charge over those companies practically hold the world in their hands. They manipulate and influence what we hear from our favorite artists. The bosses pass on the necessary info to the new CEOs. Info that none of us "regular" ppl are supposed to know and so the corrosion of music continues decade after decade. It's always been this way and that wise person was telling them that when they're older they'll understand the imperfections of the music industry.<br /> <br /> He told the wise man that because they know so few ppl in the buisness, telling him who they knew would only prove that the wise guy needs them less than they need him. And then Sir Wisdom told them that they, he and the big bosses don't give sympathy (think of Britney Spears, and artists that they force into getting hooked on drugs to continue releasing music) and that they should trust him, they should trust nobody.<br /> <br /> And Joe & Issac admit to the wise man that they don't have honesty b/c there's stuff they don't want to say. What they didn't wanna say was that altho they just heard how the record company will push & pull and manipulate them into doing things Their way, they still want to go for it and try. Then they say they'll try to get out but they know they won't, cause the industry is evil and once you get in, most of the time it's like selling your soul to the devil, not literally, but when you're under contract, etc, you're kinda stuck. <br /> <br /> Traffic is perfectly still. Could mean the conversation in that verse screeched to a halt. I think they made that verse romantic sounding so it could fool ppl into thinking it was about getting older or relationships. I doubt they would've gotten away w/ a song like this if they'd made it completely blatant. LUCKILY, it looks like the record company aren't forcing The Fray into anything or twisting their songs and such so woot-woot
That's what I love about this site; everyone can personaly relate to these songs and give their opinions on it. Okay, my turn.
I love this song. It's one of those songs that when you first hear it, you're like "Omgosh, that is such a beautiful song in more ways than one".
I love the lyrics, "If I say who I know, it just goes to show, you need me less than I need you"
and
"But I said you and me We don't have honesty The things we don't want to speak I'll try to get out but I never will Traffic is perfectly still"
I'm not sure why I love those lyrics so much, but I know that a few months back when I first accidently stubbled on this song (I downloaded the wrong song) it really touched me because I was in this mixed up, sort-of relationship and it spoke exactly what I was feeling and couldn't sum it up in words. Trust me (sorry for the cliche lol) that's such an awesome feeling when you find a song like that.
So anyways, onto my interpretation. I feel it's about a girl and a guy in this weird relationship and don't really know what to do about it. Things have gone wrong between them and one of them (from whoever's perspect you are looking at this from) see's the differences between them and realises that maybe they can't be together after all. Maybe there is no happy ending for them.
lol Yeah, I'm seeing deep into this song.
This song can be broken into several different themes both literally and figuratively. I think the first verse is about being in a new city while on tour. "I found a friend or should I say foe..." possibly referring to all the people in the music business wanting a piece of you while your on top. Many artist write about this. The rest of this verse fits well with this idea.
As for the chorus... "We're only taking turns, holding this world" - a beautiful way of saying...we're here and then we die.
"It's how it's always been" - generation after generation no matter the high's and low's the world keeps spinning. "when your older you will understand" - a phrase we have all heard and can relate to...fit's beautifully to the rest of the chorus.
Second verse. "If I say who I know..." beautiful and true. Both "Take it from me we don't give sympathy..." & "But I said you and me we don't have honesty..." a look at the bitterness of life that we all face. "I try to get out, but I never will"... we all get ourselves stuck in situations that we can't seem to get out of.
And finally the end "Then again maybe you don't/won't" - Life is hard...some learn from their mistakes, some get it, and then again some don't!
Beautiful song...reminds me of "Wheel" by John Mayer. Another modern-day-poets' look on life!
everytime i listen to this sing i cry. its my favorite fray song right now and has been for a while.
We're only taking turns Holding this world
those lyrics are so powerful and im not even sure why. it means that as you get older you take on responsibilities but for some reason i feel like is so much more behind what he is trying to say.
ok so i read all these comments just to see if anyone interpreted it the same as me so i know this is probably wrong butit may help some in the same situation as me , the day my brother left for iraq this song came on to me and to me it is an older soldier who has been there for awhile tlaking to a new soldier. Looking for something I've never seen Alone and I'm in between The place that I'm from and The place that I'm in A city I never been I found a friend or should I say a foe Said there's a few things you should know We don't want you to see We come and we go Here today, gone tomorrow.
this is the new soldier in a new place all alone and he meets a bitter older soldier who he doesnt knwo whether to trust and how the soldier is explainin dont trust me or build a relationship because there is a good chance of me not making it to tomorrow. idk i just always think of my brother holding the world up liek the lyric whenever i hear it .
So far, I've read a lot of good interpretations on the meaning of this song, but I think everyone is looking into it too much. This song is about growth and being exposed to the real world, and let me explain why.
In the first stanza, the the narrator-(1) describes a desire to be somewhere new and also describes his setting in a new city with all of the independence that the new experience entails. One day narrator-(1) comes into contact with a person who apparently has life experience and is willing to offer some advice. However, this advice is a little callous and pessimistic, which is why the narrator-(1) isn't sure if this other person is a "friend" for offering advice or a "foe" for being somewhat negative in the advice.
The narration quickly changes to this other person for the rest of the song, whom I will now refer to as narrator-(2). From this point on, the narrator-(2) describes how the whole life experience will turn out to be anonymous and stagnant. People come and go taking turns holding this world, and you can't get out... the "traffic" is still.
In my opinion, the coolest part of this story is that the narrator-(2) needs narrator-(1) more than the other way around. I take this to mean that the older guy wants to validate his existence in his meaningless life by giving the younger guy a head start so that the younger guy doesn't fall into the traps of life. By offering valuable advice to the younger guy, the older guy can leave knowing he did something meaningful. But alas, the older guy (narrator-2) realizes that the younger guy (narrator-1) may not understand the pitfalls in life until he has experience them, by which time it is too late. When you are older you might understand.
If any of you remember the Dr. Seuss tale titled "The Lorax," then you might better understand the narration of this song.