You know
You can be
The first of
This century
To bleed through
To find truth
To know what
You should do
You know
It could be
Anything

Sometimes (sometimes)
You might find (you might find)
A crack or (a crack or)
A fault line (a fault line)
But dressed down (but dressed down)
Or made up (or made up)
You'll find (you'll find)
A real love (a real love)
A place to
Come home to
At night

So what did we pay for
And why did we care?
What were we after
And why was it there?
Desire gave way to a false sense of hope
And we fell for the lie that it's what we all chose
And I yell to my friends
It will all be okay
But they didn't believe me
They still don't today
They never do anything they haven't before
In the same solid room with no lock on the door
And over and over and over again
The same failed solutions to all the same problems
Scream why, why I can't understand
Why the things that I do never go as I plan

And the vultures begin
They're some circling
The dogs lick their teeth
Bright white and gleaming

But just hold yours up
We've barely begun
To fight something else, so
Let's see what you've got
This wide open shot
Take it or leave it

'Cause we're getting out
We're getting out of here
And you'll never find us again
You'll never find us again


Lyrics submitted by ellie117

The First of the Century Lyrics as written by

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The First Of The Century song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

14 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    Now, I hate to not focus on what I think this song "means," considering that is what this site is about, but I feel the need to comment on the song in general.

    I really enjoy the beginning, but to the contrary of what everyone else has said: I hate it as soon as it builds up. The rhythm is terrible and it fucks up the flow. The album as a whole is terrible, minus very few songs ("Buttoned Down" and "Soon We'll Be Living in the Future") and this song is the "perfect" way to end such a disappointing album.

    I dislike how all of the songs sound nothing like old Straylight Run and the fact that Michelle sings so often makes me angry. I liked it better when she only sang on two songs (or subtle back up on others) and not sound like she's singing at the mall.

    I hope everyone bashes me for this comment.

    OKRadiohead97on July 02, 2007   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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.