To answer a question
It'll probably take more
If you're already there
Well, then you probably don't know
Well, we were the people
That we wanted to know
And we're the places that we wanted to go

It's hard to get hold of
And hard to let go
Always something we look for
From the day we were born
Instead, we're the people that we wanted to know
And we're the places that we wanted to go
Yeah, we're the places that we wanted to go
We're the places that we wanted to go

Always asking a question
And I don't want to know
Like the wind across strings
That had finally let go
And the people you love
But you didn't quite know
They're the places that you wanted to go

Bark at the neighbor's
And then bark at the dog
Sniffing the wind
Whimpering for someone to know
But we were the people that we wanted to know
And we're the places that we wanted go
Yeah, we're the places that we wanted to go
Yeah, we're the places that we wanted to go

It was not the intention
But we let it all go
Well, it messed up the function
And sure fucked up the flow
I hardly have people that I needed to know
'Cause you're the people that I wanted to know

All this scrambling around
Hunting high and then low
Looking for the face love
Or somewhere to go
I hardly have places that I need to go
'Cause you're the places that I wanted to go
Yeah, you're the places that we wanted to go
Yeah, you're the places that we wanted to go

You're the people that we wanted to know
Shouldn't have to ask
You shouldn't have to ask
'Cause we are your real place


Lyrics submitted by SparklingLemonade, edited by spacebat11

People as Places as People Lyrics as written by Isaac Brock Eric Judy

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SCHUBERT MUSIC PUBLISHING INC.

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People as Places as People song meanings
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  • +5
    General Comment

    ive listened to this song for 5 months and never understood it until today..... its about being who you are with the people who love and shaped you as a person, but constantly dreaming about the places you want to go. i know that as someone who constantly moves you look at life as always getting to that PLACE. everything you do is to get to where you think you want to go, and things will be perfect once you're there. i think the part about the dog sniffing and whimpering for someone to know is just because you focus so much on getting away from where you are, you dont see the value of the PEOPLE who are around you. and then you get there and you see that its not what you wanted it to be like, you just fucked up your everyday flow of life for what? and you dont know anybody that you love because you left them all where you came from. and youre just left with this sinking feeling of knowing that you left all the people you wanted to know for the places that you wanted to go. whats the place without the people?

    CrimsonanCloveron October 12, 2007   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I think this song is Isaac Brock's confrontation of his restlessness. As he's expressed in many of his past lyrics, Isaac is always on the go, a new destination, a new place (gotta gotta gotta move, where do you move when what you're moving from is yourself?). This song seems like a new step in that process. Isaac seems a bit more content with himself here, and he realizes that he was searching for himself and not for something outside in all the new places and new people. He then makes it into a universal by saying we are the places we want to go. There is also a hint of a romantic in him when he you are the places I wanted to go. So I think it can be taken on that level as well.

    tenserockon February 24, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    ok so im guessing this song is about his earlier days of youth when your in a moment your going to remember the rest of your life you never really know intill it over but then its to late and you just wish you can go back. and when he says you were the places i wanted to go , i think he means that it really does not matter where you go as long as your with that certain person, "we were the people we wanted to know" to me that comes across as just being young, rebelious just a kid haveing fun.

    when he says "whimpering for someone to know" this is the most powerful line in the song i think. just crying and crying and just needing attention from anyone. really sad. and when he says the thing about loving someone but never knowing, its like you dont know what you got till its gone kinda thing.

    christopherblazekon April 04, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I interpret this song as a sort of existential musing. We are islands unto ourselves. I think this quote applies well:

    Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    We're all searching for an escape...an it usually involves other people. It's kind of absurd when you think about it: we are all made of matter, we don't choose whether or not we come into existence, so we might as well make the most of it by seeking the company of others. We have to learn to be comfortable in our own skins and heads before we can even seek out other islands, let alone head out in the world by ourselves.

    Friendship is probably the one thing humans can't live without. Who and where do you go when you're feeling lost? Either people or nature.

    I don't really detect a sort of ironic or sarcastic tone in this. To me, it's about learning all there is to know about yourself, trusting your feelings, trusting yourself enough to trust and know other people. What's the point of existence if you can't even understand yourself and the people around you? We all have amazing capabilities we never knew we had....we exist.

    suclid003on April 17, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song has two main points.

    One, it's about appreciating the times you have with your friends, because friends mean everything.

    Two, it's saying that it doesn't matter the places you go. Isaac is saying that the people you're with make the places you go worth while.

    otherpeoplesliveson May 09, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    it reminds me of the feelings i have for my family and closest friends, many of which are not with me, and i miss dearly; based on my own experience, to me this song seems to lament the regrets of not having lived in the moment enjoying those things so important to us and held close to our hearts, because we're always searching elsewhere for fulfillment, and too often settle for instant gratification. So much time is lost that we never gain back.... heinsight is 20/20, they say, and sharpens the pain of memory even more. If i could go back, i'd hope i'd give all i could to those people, places, and moments... now gone.

    MeAsMissyAsMelissaon February 09, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    wouldnt it make sense if this song just meant that we look everywhere for something that is right in front of us. all the places and people we search through for more meaning leads us back to nowhere/. all the science, travel, and philosophy or whatever else we use to escape will never lead us past the realization that the world we have in front of us and the people that live this limited time here with us should be the people and things we love because it is all we have

    natowillowon April 16, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    maybe im just high but i think this song is actually someone trying to understand himself and the nature of his existence, but he realizes that to understand his existence, he has to first understand the universe and the nature of IT'S existence. he tries to for his entire life but now he thinks it was all just a big waste of time and nothing should have ever happened. i dunno if thats right but this is an amazing song!

    expressfreelyon May 08, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song is about fate. About being young and always looking for the things you need to complete you...make resistance worthwhile. on one path thinking you need or want to reach a certain point in life or have certain people around you. Either you or those people disappoint you along the way. Fucking up the flow...causes arguments (barking) through no intention of your own. But as you get older you realise that what you wanted and what you needed are two different things...when you find the person who completes you, it doesn't matter 'where' you are, as long as your with them. Wwhen that happens....you just know and the other person should know too....they shouldn't have to ask.

    liverbirdon September 21, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song also seems to pick up a theme that many of Modest mouse's other songs do. They seem to refer to the fact that no matter what, you never really know people, even the ones that are close you to. And in this instance that may include yourself. "It's hard to get hold of and hard to let go always something we'd looked for from the day we were born," for me refers to finding yourself, and in that regard, what truly makes you happy with the realization that it may be impossible to be happy when you are trying to make everyone else happy. This song affirms that the coexistence of true happiness for more than one person is not possible due to human nature. The music video really shows this aspect as well, and I think that the band emphasizes this with the use of a tree as the girls boyfriend. A sort of inanimate object that defies the complexities of human nature and human life, but at the same time remains vulnerable to the dark side of it in order to highlight this impossible coexistence of happiness. "because you're the people that I wanted to know," here I think they are talking about that idol in your life, and how ultimately we all base our lives around the goal of being just like that idol.

    "...and then bark at the dog he's sniffling and whimpering for someone to know," for me refers to a deep loneliness that occurs often in life because you may find yourself ultimately lonely. Here I think the band questions why we do try to please people instead of ourselves. And they then give the answer... we don't want to be by ourselves. Why he chose a dog, perhaps because its known as the most loyal animal, it may just symbolize loyalty and how loyal we are to making others satisfied for our sake, but ultimately we lose ourselves.

    cameo88on August 24, 2010   Link

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