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.
Daddy always said
These are the 88 keys to pain
And daddy always said
Rinse down the hurt before it stains
But daddy never said that after this not much remains
If only he told her to play her life instead of shame
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
No one understands
These are her 88 keys to pain
And no one ever sees her
Rinse down the hurt before it stains
But now she's finally realized
Not much of her remains
If only she knew how to play her life like she plays her shame
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
Daddy always said these are the 88 keys to pain
Oooh, yeah
Oh huh
88 (88 keys to pain)
88 (88 keys to shame)
88 (Oh)
Oh that's all she has
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She plays in the dark
These are the 88 keys to pain
And daddy always said
Rinse down the hurt before it stains
But daddy never said that after this not much remains
If only he told her to play her life instead of shame
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
No one understands
These are her 88 keys to pain
And no one ever sees her
Rinse down the hurt before it stains
But now she's finally realized
Not much of her remains
If only she knew how to play her life like she plays her shame
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
Daddy always said these are the 88 keys to pain
Oooh, yeah
Oh huh
88 (88 keys to pain)
88 (88 keys to shame)
88 (Oh)
Oh that's all she has
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
When the lights go down
And the world's asleep
She plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She's haunted by a whiskey melody
When she plays piano in the dark
Piano in the dark
She plays in the dark
Lyrics submitted by Cassieh
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No Surprises
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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:
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Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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That's exactly what I always thought it was about.
Although I see it as more figurative than literal...perhaps the piano just represents her finding secret and self-inflicted ways to rid herself of the pain that she went through.
"Rinse down the hurt before it stains" - part of the whiskey melody that haunts her? Or it could mean hide the pain before anyone sees it...? Perhaps even the father telling her not to say anything about the ambiguous situation between the two of them...?
An even more general way to look at the whole song is about a kid who grows up in a not-so-family-oriented home, and all she knows is the little amount of attention she's given, and so her view of the world is distorted...like a child who's been neglected...?