2-1

Honestly when I first heard this song, I had no clue what she was talking about. What's interesting is that everybody who first came across it seems to have been confused by at least one part; and that's ironic as I feel the song is talking about things in life which confuse us when we get carried away with our own personal beliefs and ideas. And not only when we believe things, but when we don't believe or understand things. The line that sticks out is "will you/we be ready" - I think she's talking about mankind and will we be ready when we find out that things we always thought were true and believed in are in fact "not always how they seem".

First verse is so clever. It's on a large scale. What I gather from it is that she's basically telling us how we always get things wrong trying to fill in the gaps. How we first thought the Earth was flat, then we decided it wasn't, then we decided that we are in orbit and then it seemed our own surroundings supposedly told us of "billion galaxies". There she quite easily sums up the increasing knowledge we are gaining of our existence. Whenever I hear it though, it sounds as if she's almost making fun of our indecisiveness or our stupidity in trying to place things in boxes with labels and tags.

Second verse is blatantly about personal beliefs which are on a smaller scale in comparison to the "billions of galaxies". "Interim of life" bleeds temporariness and that since we know we'll all die one day, just knowing that makes us clutch at straws to try to understand things. And then although polyfilla is used to fill cracks, she sounds doubtful of its purpose - "polyfilla way looks strong in the weakness of the gaps" - though it may look strong, the chorus goes on to say that "things are not always as they seem. What we use to fill gaps in our knowledge, whether it be science or religion (whichever side you're on) or anything else, isn't always sufficient enough - or one thing is sufficient and one thing isn't.

Definitely agree with LUNASOL about the bridge. I also think that Imogen cleverly conducted the song and it sounds misleading - the beat and the instruments become racy and more intense and so when she starts asking the person she's talking to, "What's in your head?" and "How it all got in there", it sounds as if she's attacking them for what they believe. But then as the music calms, she asks, "Tell me, is it my fault?" pretty much asking whether their weakness in their beliefs or ideas is because she's spent so long trying to tear them down - (also making fun in the first verse of their belief perhaps). And then she says apologetically almost, "And I care about you darling". They're both in the same boat as we all are: trying to figure out what's fact and what's fiction; what's real and what's fake; what's truth and what's false.

And I'm sorry, but who else ever says more about "being ready" than those who believe that the Son of God will return one day? I have no idea from what viewpoint Imogen says this -- (perhaps I can glean a little from the song "Oh Me, Oh My" where she asks: "God, are you there? If so where are you hiding, I'm having trouble in finding you") -- but it sounds hauntingly familiar of those so-called "Jesus freaks"...