This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
What gives this mess some grace
Unless it's kicks, man
Unless it's fiction
Unless it's sweat or it's songs
What hits against this chest
Unless it's a sick man's hand
From some mid-level band
He's been driving too long
On a dark windless night
With the stereo on
With the towns flying by
And the ground getting soft
And the sound in the sky
Coming down from above
It surrounds you at times
And it's whispering, oh
What pulls your body down
That is quicksand
So we climb out quick, hand over hand
For your mouth's all filled up
What picks you up from down
Unless it's tricks, man
When I been fixed, I am convinced
That I will not get so broke up again
And on a seven day high
That heavenly song
Punches right through my mind
And pumps through my blood
And I know it's a lie
But I still give my love
And my heart's all alive
For your hands to pluck off, oh
What gives this mess some grace
Unless it's fictions
Unless it's licks, man
Unless it's lies or it's love
What breaks this heart the most
Is the ghost of some rock 'n' roll fan
Exploding up from the stands
With her heart opened up
And I wanna tell her, your love isn't lost
Say, my heart is still crossed
Scream, you're so wonderful
What a dream in the dark
About working so hard
About growing so stoned
Trying not to turn up
Trying not to believe in the light on your own
La, la, la, la, oh, oh, oh, oh
Unless it's kicks, man
Unless it's fiction
Unless it's sweat or it's songs
What hits against this chest
Unless it's a sick man's hand
From some mid-level band
He's been driving too long
On a dark windless night
With the stereo on
With the towns flying by
And the ground getting soft
And the sound in the sky
Coming down from above
It surrounds you at times
And it's whispering, oh
What pulls your body down
That is quicksand
So we climb out quick, hand over hand
For your mouth's all filled up
What picks you up from down
Unless it's tricks, man
When I been fixed, I am convinced
That I will not get so broke up again
And on a seven day high
That heavenly song
Punches right through my mind
And pumps through my blood
And I know it's a lie
But I still give my love
And my heart's all alive
For your hands to pluck off, oh
What gives this mess some grace
Unless it's fictions
Unless it's licks, man
Unless it's lies or it's love
What breaks this heart the most
Is the ghost of some rock 'n' roll fan
Exploding up from the stands
With her heart opened up
And I wanna tell her, your love isn't lost
Say, my heart is still crossed
Scream, you're so wonderful
What a dream in the dark
About working so hard
About growing so stoned
Trying not to turn up
Trying not to believe in the light on your own
La, la, la, la, oh, oh, oh, oh
Lyrics submitted by smileforthecamera
Unless It's Kicks Lyrics as written by Will Robinson Sheff
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
I think tinydancer has been most accurate so far in deciphering the meaning. In an interview of Will Sheff I read recently, he spoke of fandon:
"I think that in a lot of ways the album is about fandom. Or that's one of the things that it's about. And it's motivated out of fandom. I'm a tremendous fan of pop music, and art, and all of this stuff. I think there's kind of a tragic element to being a fan, where you believe it. You know what I mean? You believe these people are your friends. I've often felt as a child growing up that I was closer to writers that I had never met or that were dead than I was to my friends-- well, I really didn't have that many friends-- but the people that I was hanging out with and seeing everyday. There's something very beautiful about that, but there's also something really pathetic about it. I've been on both sides of it, because I know, also, that sometimes people will come up to me and they'll talk to me and many of the fans are very, very sane.
But there is a kind of fan that will come up to talk to you and they're crazy and it becomes clear after a little bit [laughs], and you start to realize that they have an idea of you in their head that has nothing to do-- well, it actually has something to do-- with who you are, but it isn't who you are. And all you are is a star in their solar system...symbols and things that are personally significant to them but would be inscrutable to anyone else...Being a groupie is, in some ways, just an extreme form of fandom. I think that everyone has experienced, on some level, the emotion that motivates you to be a groupie. Groupies are also regularly disrespected, but all it is is somebody who loves something so much that they get involved with it sexually. Or maybe it doesn't even have to do with sex. I have felt a sense of fandom for things that I have loved that is so intense that it starts to bleed into spirituality, bleed into sexuality, and bleed into all kinds of areas of your life that love for a simple rock album should not be occupying."
Some artists seem to pretend that they don’t care about their fans, whether to give them a certain attitude or an air of authenticity. What Will Sheff addresses here is the fact that the whole give-and-take between a “mid-level band” and their fans is not a concrete economy; it’s an unstable, uneven relationship, but, in truth, neither would exist without the other. And this often goes unrecognized.
Will Sheff is an absolute nobody to the bank teller and the checkout clerk. He’s just a guy. He’s his parents’ son. He’s just another one of his landlord’s tenants, and he has to pay rent on time. What he does on stage and on a record doesn’t matter to most people in this world, but it means everything to some people, and that’s what he’ll leave behind when he leaves this earth.
Sheff understands that art is about making something that resonates with other people, and that’s his legacy. He also understands that these people might be relatively few and scattered, but that only makes it more meaningful. He understands that the people who love his music the most also have plenty of people in their lives who won’t get it.
And it’s a little depressing (and sort of liberating) to think of it that way - the “lie” that all of this music we love is actually important. It’s just faith that these things have some greater consequence. I love the schism that exists here - the sheer amount of commerce we have around something that isn’t tangibly important, something that doesn’t even place in our “hierarchy of human needs.” I love it because it reminds me of faith, or at least in the way that I believe in God.
Can I prove empirically the existence of God? Can I make a compelling case as to why music matters so much to me? No. Neither make even a little bit of sense on paper, but I’m trying not to believe in the “lie” all on my own.
also, by the way, I walked into an elevator in my hotel during SXSW and suddenly found myself face-to-face with Will. Not wanting to gush all over him in a full elevator, I simply said "Will?" like an old friend, and he treated me like one as we shot the shit for a few minutes about SXSW and the shows he was playing. It was really cool.
could it be "my heart's on the vine"? It makes sense within the context of the verse.
By the way it's "hums through my blood"
I can't believe nobody's mentioned this yet... the main reason the words are so catchy is Sheff's consonance.
I'll capitalize every 's' sound:
What giveS thiS meSS Some graCe unleSS it'S kickS, man UnleSS it'S fiction UnleSS it'S Sweat or it'S SongS?
I think we're looking for "sibilance"
I've only listened to this song once and I'm already fucking in love with it. I want to listen to it over and over and over again. And just dance. It's a dancing song.
Yeah this song is amazing! damn, the whole album is amazing. Thank you for posting all the lyrics, I really appreciate it
holy fucking shit, this song makes me explode with ;lKSDJFlkjsdfj'lsdk/.fjs'kjDL"FKJ". It's been on repeat since I downloaded the new album, which was like.. an hour ago, BUT STILL HOMG THIS SON G IS COMPLETELY FUCKING AMAZINg.
On a side note: Will Scheff's voice may not be the best, but it puts so much emotion in the song its fucking incredible, no other singer could give Okkervil the intensity of emotion you feel when you listen to them.
Actually, Sheff's voice is wonderful.
And on a seven day high That heavenly song Punches right through my mind And pumps through my blood --> That's more logical, but for some reason i hear "and it comes through my blood".
And, oh, it's a lie --> i think it's "And I know it's a lie" But I still give my love And my heart's all alive(?) --> Not sure about this one either For your hands to pluck off
Also, I imagine this song would be AMAZING live. i haven't heard the rest of the album yet, but like everyone else said, this is a really great song and I REALLY can't wait to hear the rest of the album!
And my heart's on the line (is what i hear)
Such a great tune, love it.