This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Shoot a dream in your arm
And sleep away
It's not the stuff that kills you
That keeps your life at bay
Every crash pulls you in reach
Of a watershed of signal flares
That cover your beach
These are just placebos
To make us feel all right
Illusions in our pockets
Make our feathers float us high
For a second I thought I saw
Your eyelids rise
A moment something restless
Caught you by surprise
Surprise, surprise
We are so beautiful
When we sleep
Hearts of gold and eyes
So deep, deep, deep
But love won't cure the chaos
And hope won't hide the loss
And peace is not the heroine
That shouts above the cause
And love is wild for reasons
And hope though short in sight
Might be the only thing
That wakes you by surprise
Surprise, surprise
And dream, little ones
See the world just begun
And love is wild for reasons
And hope though short in sight
Might be the only thing
That wakes you by surprise
For a moment I thought I saw
Your eyelids rise
Surprise, surprise
And sleep away
It's not the stuff that kills you
That keeps your life at bay
Every crash pulls you in reach
Of a watershed of signal flares
That cover your beach
These are just placebos
To make us feel all right
Illusions in our pockets
Make our feathers float us high
For a second I thought I saw
Your eyelids rise
A moment something restless
Caught you by surprise
Surprise, surprise
We are so beautiful
When we sleep
Hearts of gold and eyes
So deep, deep, deep
But love won't cure the chaos
And hope won't hide the loss
And peace is not the heroine
That shouts above the cause
And love is wild for reasons
And hope though short in sight
Might be the only thing
That wakes you by surprise
Surprise, surprise
And dream, little ones
See the world just begun
And love is wild for reasons
And hope though short in sight
Might be the only thing
That wakes you by surprise
For a moment I thought I saw
Your eyelids rise
Surprise, surprise
Lyrics submitted by JoshPowell
Surprise Lyrics as written by Dan Haseltine Charlie Lowell
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
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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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song is quite cryptic, so it helps to know the context in the album. Two songs ago was "Good Monsters" which is about the evil that is the indifference of good people. The previous song was "Oh My God," which is about the struggle to trust God amid a world that really sucks.
With that in mind, I think that this song is written to a Christian/good person struggling to awake from complacency.
Indifference is consistently described in terms of a person taking drugs so they can be happy at the expense of those who need them. Every time the drugs run out and they crash, they have a chance to see the plethora of signs that people need them.
"We are so beautiful when we sleep"
This is one of the most sarcastic lines I've ever heard in a song.
"But love won't cure the chaos, and hope won't hide the loss, And peace is not the heroine that shouts above the cause."
This is a form of love, hope, and peace that is present in the mind of a sleeping hero that could have been. And it is worthless.
"hope though short in sight, Might be the only thing that wakes you by surprise"
Hope for the future might be mere delusions. But it's the only chance.
As the song ends, the person being addressed has just begun to see ugly world he's not helping. But rather than being congratulated for being so progressive, the singer is disgusted that the bar has been set so low, that the mere rise of an eyelid is enough to be the case of surprise.