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



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

Surprise song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

9 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think the meaning of this song is much more obvious than what you might think. I think its about a friend who drugged himself/herself into a coma from heroin (or something els).

    Shoot a dream in your arm and sleep away, It's not the stuff that kills you that keeps your life at bay.

    this first line is clearly about some one using heroin.

    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, For a moment something restless caught you by surprise, Surprise, surprise, surprise.

    the first part of this verse is the singer morning the loss of his friend to placebos to make us feel all right, drugs, and the second part is about wishing and hopeing that your friend comes back, for a second i thought i saw your eye lids rise.

    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, surprise.

    the first two lines of this verse are about seeing some one in a coma, and the next two are the singer morning the fact that they cant do anything to help their sleeping friend. the final three lines are the singer accepting that he still needs to love and hope because it might be the only thing that wakes you by suprise.

    it ends with the singer thinking that his friend has finally awoke, for a second i thought i saw your i lids rise, but fishes with him still waiting for his friend because, suprise, his friend is still helplessly sleeping.

    aggroforgoldon August 08, 2010   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
The Night We Met
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"
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
No Surprises
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.
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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/
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.