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.
It all starts with an observation
When you look in the mirror and say
I don't remember
Don't remember being this
Tired and worn out this
Weathered and strung out so why
And you turn around to find an empty room
Turn around to wonder
To wander alone
Are you alone like me
Have you aged a century a day since the weather changed
Since mother earth fell into depression
Can you hear the whispering of the wind though a green cotton jacket
Can you hear me challenging gravity
And from six hundred miles away
Will you hear me crashing down
Down
From an eight story building I fly like the Raven
And as I fly I wonder if I'll ever see Phoenix again
Phoenix again
Pattern-less matter left from a dying sun
Swirls around, seeks to absorb
Anything able to save its abysmal existence
And fashion itself into something of value
So why
Why is it taking me so long to fly away from here
So why
Why is it taking me so long to leave this hollow
So Why
Why can't I leave this hollow
Leave this desert
Leave this desert
Gathering all my ashes from the ground
I map out my rebirth
Soon I'll be flying
Soon I'll light the sky
A million years pass like a moment
Nova and star become the same
Become the same
After Phoenix slips away and all our demons are free to run
Run right through the space between us
Piercing our hearts with their talons of fury
Eating through confidence mouthfuls of self respect
Two times 'round the sun and we're ready to harvest
From the sound of their growling they'd have to be starving
Maybe if I leave you here I can ride this comet back to earth
Surfing the plasma at a million miles an hour
How did we let it come this far
Pacing down the corridor and feeling uneasy
Racing off the ledge
Of an eight story building I'd fly like the Raven
And as I fly I wonder if I'll ever see Phoenix again
Now you're alone like me
Now you've aged a century a day since the weather changed
Since mother earth fell into depression
You can hear the whispering of the wind through a green cotton jacket
You can hear me challenging gravity
And from six hundred miles away
You will hear me crashing down
Down
It all ends in a revelation
When I look in your dull eyes and scream
I don't remember
Don't remember you with this
Chip on your shoulder
The winds blowing colder
But why
And I turn on both of you and walk away
Turn around to wonder
To wander alone
When you look in the mirror and say
I don't remember
Don't remember being this
Tired and worn out this
Weathered and strung out so why
And you turn around to find an empty room
Turn around to wonder
To wander alone
Are you alone like me
Have you aged a century a day since the weather changed
Since mother earth fell into depression
Can you hear the whispering of the wind though a green cotton jacket
Can you hear me challenging gravity
And from six hundred miles away
Will you hear me crashing down
Down
From an eight story building I fly like the Raven
And as I fly I wonder if I'll ever see Phoenix again
Phoenix again
Pattern-less matter left from a dying sun
Swirls around, seeks to absorb
Anything able to save its abysmal existence
And fashion itself into something of value
So why
Why is it taking me so long to fly away from here
So why
Why is it taking me so long to leave this hollow
So Why
Why can't I leave this hollow
Leave this desert
Leave this desert
Gathering all my ashes from the ground
I map out my rebirth
Soon I'll be flying
Soon I'll light the sky
A million years pass like a moment
Nova and star become the same
Become the same
After Phoenix slips away and all our demons are free to run
Run right through the space between us
Piercing our hearts with their talons of fury
Eating through confidence mouthfuls of self respect
Two times 'round the sun and we're ready to harvest
From the sound of their growling they'd have to be starving
Maybe if I leave you here I can ride this comet back to earth
Surfing the plasma at a million miles an hour
How did we let it come this far
Pacing down the corridor and feeling uneasy
Racing off the ledge
Of an eight story building I'd fly like the Raven
And as I fly I wonder if I'll ever see Phoenix again
Now you're alone like me
Now you've aged a century a day since the weather changed
Since mother earth fell into depression
You can hear the whispering of the wind through a green cotton jacket
You can hear me challenging gravity
And from six hundred miles away
You will hear me crashing down
Down
It all ends in a revelation
When I look in your dull eyes and scream
I don't remember
Don't remember you with this
Chip on your shoulder
The winds blowing colder
But why
And I turn on both of you and walk away
Turn around to wonder
To wander alone
Lyrics submitted by Dr Fishopolis
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