Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Lucy's underground
She's got a mouth to feed
Am I underground
Or am I in between

Lucy's underground
She's got a mouth to feed
Am I underground
Or am I in too deep

Show me love
You've got your hand on the button now
Showin' love
You've got your hand on the button now

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Lucy's underground
She's never comin' back
Am I still alive
Or has the light gone black

Take me underground
Take me all the way
Bring me to the fire
Throw me in the flame

So, show me love
You've got your hands on the button now
Showin' love
You've got your hand on the button now

I'd rather die
I'd rather die
Than to be with you

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh (than to be with you)
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh (I'd rather die)
Oh, oh, oh, oh


Lyrics submitted by davidbernie, edited by kamikazi137, 0scarA1berto

When I'm Small Lyrics as written by Joshua Carter Caleb Shreve

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

When I'm Small song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

65 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +8
    Lyric Correction

    these are the lyrics in the CD cover:

    Lucy's underground she's got a mouth to feed Am I underground or am I in between Lucy's underground she's got a mouse to feed Am I underground or am I in too deep

    Show me love you've got your hand on the button now sure enough you've got your hand on the button now

    Lucy's underground she's never coming back Am I still alive or has the light gone black Take me underground take me all the way bring me to the fire throw me in the flames

    So show me love you've got your hands on the button now sure enough you've got your hands on the button now

    I'd rather die I'd rather die than to be with you

    danceyrselfcleanon August 10, 2011   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    llamaperson those are the correct lyrics. If you watch her sing it acoustic version you can easily tell what they lyrics are.

    I think everyone has their own interpretation of a song, this is mine: It is about raw intense pain that someone has given you. She feels as if she is dead or dying from it. She is asking show me love, show enough. I need to feel something, because she feels like she is dying or that she is dead and "underground". Also going along with the underground...the pain that she feels is almost unbearable, she asks take me underground, take me all the way, bring me to the fire, throw me in the flames...In other words if this is the way She has to feel just kill her, because then she wouldn't have to feel this desperation. You can tell the intensity and desperation in her voice when she says "I'd rather die, I'd rather die, Than to be with you. This person has really broken her down and hurt her.

    I am thinking that you've got your hand on the button now, is like knowing what buttons to push to get someone to do what you want or to get under their skin. As far as the having a mouth to feed...I am not sure about this part...but I am hoping some other people have an opinion on this song.

    Phantogram said most of their songs came from dreams they had, partly. I did a little research. Absolutely love this song! My favorite on the album. Link below to watch the acoustic version.

    youtube.com/watch

    JennaLacyon May 11, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i like to imagine this song is about rise and fall of lucy, who was once in the sky with diamonds.

    perquisiteon February 19, 2011   Link
  • +3
    My Opinion

    Lucy = Lucifer It's something i heard my GF call her mom once. I first thought it was in reference to Lucy in the sky (dreamer) only to find out she meant Lucifer (evil)

    gennr8oron January 23, 2013   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song could mean a lot of things- it's very metaphorical. My take on it is that she's talking about LSD "Lucy" as it's most commonly taken as a square on paper "She's got a mouth to feed" From there she may be talking about how Lucy used to make her feel love, and now it has lost the magic. "Throw me in to the flames" section could mean wanting to feel the full effects. It also jives with the underground line, going from underground to the center of the earth- where it would be molten. "I'd rather die than to be with you" could be taken as 3rd person "I'd rather die than be with myself without feeling love"

    luckyluckyon April 14, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This is what I believe the lyrics are (they make more sense too): Lucy's underground She's got a mouth to feed Am I underground Or am I in between

    Lucy's underground She's got a mouth to feed Am I underground Or am I in too deep

    Show me love You've got your hand on the button of Showing love You've got your hand on the button now

    Lucy's underground She's never coming back Am I still alive Or has the light gone black

    Take me underground Take me all the way And bring me to the fire Throw me in the flames

    So show me love You've got your hand on the button of Showing love You've got your hand on the button now

    I would rather die I would rather die Than to be with you

    tabbyfapon February 16, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Oh...possibly the meaning of she got a mouth to feed is that she is doing what she has to do to survive this hell that she is in and the song title when I'm small...is like she feels meaningless to this person. Just an idea.

    JennaLacyon May 11, 2011   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    This is a break up song. The character Lucy is a name given to her heart/emotional afflictions prevalent during the relationship. Lucy has given herself completely to her partner, but, inferred, her partner hasn't reciprocated. In other words, she (the singer) has given her hearts complete love (Lucy), but her love hasn't. When Lucy goes underground, this is saying her heart is broken. The first verse is questioning weather she is distraught by it, and the second is confirming and also wishing to be let go of the pain. Her afflictions will cease given the expression of love ("you've got your hand on the button now") from the chorus. Finally at the end she can't take it anymore (I'd rather die).

    adamdquion September 02, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I don't think it's a coincidence that a song featuring Lucy follows a track with diamonds in the title and lyrics.

    Keels811on October 11, 2016   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    I'm currently an inpatient in a mental unit for teenagers, and I've recently come across this song. This is how I interpret it:

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh Lucy's underground She's got a mouth to feed Am I underground Or am I in between

    In the unit I'm in, there is a girl called Lucy, who I'm guessing is Schizophrenic. I've never accepted that there's something wrong with me mentally, but Lucy has. I interpret the underground bit as being mentally ill. Am I underground? (Am I mentally ill?) Or am I in between?

    Lucy's underground She's got a mouth to feed Am I underground Or am I in too deep

    This bit I interpret as, am I actually mentally ill, and the reason why I haven't accepted it is because I'm 'in too deep'? As in I'm too busy living in my head and I've been living like this for so long that I don't see what it looks like from the outside, and how it isn't normal for other people.

    Show me love You've got your hand on the button now Showin' love You've got your hand on the button now

    I'm allowed home every weekend on 'leave', and when I have to go back Sunday night, my Mum walks me to the door and presses a button, which basically rings a bell, and then one of the nurses comes to let me in. I interpret this part as how even though I don't see it this way, my Mum is doing what she thinks is best for me by bringing me back there. She is 'showin' love'.

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh

    Lucy's underground, She's never comin' back Am I still alive Or has the light gone black

    This bit I interpret as Lucy will maybe be this way for her whole life, because if she does have Schizophrenia (I've never really asked her, but I think she has), then I may be wrong, but I think it's one of those things you have for life. This bit I see as can I ever be 'cured', or am I too far gone to come back? Is the old me still alive, or is she dead, and this is just how I am now?

    Take me underground Take me all the way Bring me to the fire Throw me in the flame

    Pretty much all the time I feel very suicidal, so I interpret this part as wanting to die. Not trying to help yourself or anything, but just going along with suicidal thoughts, because its the easier thing to do, and I don't really want to stick around any longer anyway.

    So, show me love You've got your hands on the button now Showin' love You've got your hand on the button now

    I'd rather die, I'd rather die, Than to be with you

    I interpret this bit as I'd rather die than be with myself. My head is an extremely dark place, and I'd rather die, than have to be with me anymore.

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh, (than to be with you) Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh, (I'd rather die) Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh

    I know that when Phantogram wrote this song, they definitely didn't write it about me, but this is just my interpretation.

    LoudSilenceson March 22, 2015   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
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
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
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.