Find me the captain
Tell him I want to know
Just who is steering and who's merely holding on
And when the next wave is the last wave
I'll drag him downwards to the engine room
And never let go
Oh Nicole
From the moment we met we let it get out of control
The universal dance
The black romance of running prey
The slowing down
The giving in
The final give away
I cry for mercy
You stare back blankly
I want to jump but if you're pushing me
I'll hold on tightly


Lyrics submitted by Leif_Erikson

Nicole Lyrics as written by Nicholas Talbot

Lyrics © WARP MUSIC LIMITED

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Nicole song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always thought that the narrator is on a ship with his love and that he'd kill the captain if he does any harm to her. These lines create a very, dark but special atmosphere nonetheless – even without getting the meaning.

    Maybe the second verse is about how love fades away. Maybe this one is just a simple love song. For sure one of my favourites by Gravenhurst.

    KarlKanteon November 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    gee, does anyone know what a metaphor is? the speaker isn't literally on a fucking boat.

    seymour_glasson April 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Haha Seymour, right on (although we could do without the "fucking").

    I think the meaning is quite obvious. The narrator's love life is going to hell and he wants to confront God/Fate (the captain, for the metaphorically challenged) to find out when he's finally going to be happy ("when the next wave is the last wave"), and if he's in control of his own life at all ("just who is steering and who's merely holding on").

    wookion June 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    Obviously this is a love song. "Find me the captain Tell him I want to know Just who is steering and who's merely holding on And when the next wave is the last wave"

    As said, this is a metaphor, he si asking who is holding on and who is giving up in his relationship, and how long will it last.

    "I'll drag him downwards to the engine room And never let go"

    Perhaps this is referring to isolation after a breaking up. If this is a metaphor about a felling, the "engine room" could be the heart, the soul, the brain...

    "Oh Nicole From the moment we met we let it get out of control"

    The lack of balance in their relationship that led to this situation.

    "The universal dance The black romance of running prey The slowing down The giving in The final give away"

    To me these are the stages of an ending relationship: first there is love, than someone is going away, they're back together, they surrender to the fact that's over. Or it could include courtship, the running prey is the one you love that don't love you back, then surrender to your love and finally break your heart.

    "I cry for mercy You stare back blankly I want to jump but if you're pushing me I'll hold on tightly"

    This I cannot really understand. First two lines are easy. One has done something wrong and the other just says the whole relationship never meant anything. Or he wants to get back and the other says it's over. Last two line could mean he wants to die but he doesn't want to be because of the other. Or, if the ship is the relationship, he wants to break up but as far as she tries to push away he doesn't want it to end..

    My two cents, sorry for bad english and for stupid thoughts, just heard this song for the first time yesterday (and I used to have this album) and was shocked how beautiful it is. RIP.

    franz h. blakeon September 02, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    In the context of the artist's epilepsy and subsequent unexplained death, I conjecture that he is asking who is in charge of his own body or mind and predicting his own intentional demise (when the next wave is the last wave ill drag him downwards to the engine room amd never let go). Maybe Nicole is his own life which he is mourning its loss in advance.

    Stunning and very sad song.

    Theeagleon April 04, 2017   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    I like this song. My name is Nicole and it is a pretty song. I don't understand the beginning with the ship and the captain and stuff though -.-

    very pretty though!*

    -nkyon February 05, 2006   Link

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

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
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”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.
Album art
Punchline
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.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.