Venom radio and venom television
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone
Lay the young blue bodies with the old red bodies
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone

With my kid on my shoulders I try
Not to hurt anybody I like
But I don't have the drugs to sort
I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out

I defend my family with my orange umbrella
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone
With my shiny new star-spangled tennis shoes on
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone

With my kid on my shoulders I try
Not to hurt anybody I like
But I don't have the drugs to sort
I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out
I don't have the drugs to sort
I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out

Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul

Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul, soul, soul
Soul, soul, soul, soul, soul, soul, soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul, soul
Yellow voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul, soul, soul
Soul, soul, soul, soul, soul, soul


Lyrics submitted by funnastyfun, edited by mpod, smallwonderrobot

Afraid Of Everyone Lyrics as written by Aaron Brooking Dessner Matthew Donald Berninger

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Afraid of Everyone song meanings
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38 Comments

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  • +10
    General Comment

    I interpret this song to be mainly on the negative and 'fright' inducing elements of the American Media, cough cough "FOX News" cough cough. We are taught to be afraid and cautious of any and everything. Sure the world can be scary but not everyone is out to get you! "Venom radio and venom television, I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone" The poison that is being taught over the radio waves and television news channels is teaching us to be frightened and worried constantly. This is a rebellion and conscious awareness that we recognize the manipulation of our fake or frightening news. "With my shiny new Star-Spangled tennis shoes on." Sounds a lot like the Patriot stuff we hear a lot. "I'm afraid of everyone." People we are isolating ourselves from the world! Why? "I don't have the drugs to sort it out". Because isn't that the easy way to forget your issues, take medications or lose yourself in alcohol? He wants you to know that he doesn't want to live with drugs to ease any problems. Let's live with an open mind and a friendly positive outlook on an even closer world. "Your voices all in my soul soul soul soul Your voice is swallowing' my soul soul soul soul Your voices swallowing my soul soul soul Soul Soul soul soul soul soul soul soul soul soul soul". I leave with this, let's not close our doors to a world that is growing closer and lets stop the hate speech.

    LoganTHISisITon May 19, 2010   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    This song, for me, is the anthem of our time. We struggle to find a way to make sense of it all, to find ourselves amid the noise and mayhem of mass culture, to be kind to others, to be good citizens, good parents, and yet we are overwhelmed with this anxiety that stops us dead in our tracks. Standing there in our brand new clothes, we feel an emptiness that cannot be numbed with any drugs and we are afraid of what the future holds in store for us, afraid of living. My personal version reads: "your voice has stolen my soul soul soul".

    emilinaon January 23, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Another great song, reminds me of a paranoid schizophrenic off his meds. As far as "yellow" versus "your", it definitely sounds like he's saying 2 distinct syllables, so I think he is saying "yellow", especially since it fits the color motif.

    tommygon May 17, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    AVC: One of the most memorable songs on High Violet is “Afraid Of Everyone,” which you wrote about being a new father. Did you have any trepidation about writing about such a potentially trite subject?

    MB: I had a lot of trepidation. Once you do have a child you want to talk about every detail of it. And it is really boring to all your friends and it should be. I was really worried about even going there at all. One of my favorite bands, who I won’t mention, named a record after the singer’s first-born child, named the single after them, and the kid was on the cover. It was just such a drag. So yeah, I was kind of worried. It was just such a big part of my life in the past two years. My daughter is almost 16 months old now. It was a major part of what was going on in my head, so it was going to get itself in there somewhere as much as I tried not to. But I think I was able to do it without being too annoying.

    avclub.com/articles/matt-berninger-of-the-national,41019/

    Seems to reinforce the idea that it's about the fear that goes along with being a new father.

    zms676on October 01, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    then i'm radio and then i'm television i'm afraid of everyone lay the young blue bodies with the old red violets i'm afraid of everyone

    with my kid on my shoulders i try not to hurt anybody out loud but i don't have the drugs to sort it out

    i defend my family with my orange umbrella i'm afraid of everyone with my shiny new starspangled tennis shoes on i'm afraid of everyone

    with my kid on my shoulders i try not to hurt anybody i like but i don't have the drugs to sort it out

    your voice has stolen my soul

    flamebroiledchickenon April 15, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    health insurance.

    th3zooon May 17, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Someone in this message string noted the use of various colors in the song. I too am intrigued by it. A repetitious use of a basic theme is never for a basic purpose, not with a band like the National. Then another person clarified that the last lines seem to include yet another color, yellow. I thought about that and what seems to me to be the over-arching theme of making everyone your enemy, and then I remembered that Homeland Security uses a color-coded threat level. Of 5 colors, at least 4 (if you accept that the last lines use yellow) are present in the song. In order of increasing threat, the color coded levels are green (for low, the only one not used, but also the least interesting or dramatic), blue (called "guarded," or a general risk of terrorist attacks), yellow ("elevated," meaning a significant risk of terrorist attacks), orange ("high," meaning a high risk or terrorist attacks) and red ("severe," meaning a severe risk of terrorist attacks).

    The first stanza notes that blue young bodies are laid to rest in the old red violets (note, violet, or purple, is a secondary color on the color wheel composed of equal parts red and blue, but anyway...). This may mean that later, when the thret is blue (guarded), the past severe (red) attacks (911) mean that our blue guardians are dying because of that severe past event.

    The next stanza, many observe above, seems spoken by a father protecting his family. I agree. That level of concern and protection is always at least high, even without evidence. Homeland's orange level is called high, and it means a high risk of terrorist attacks.

    Finally, there is the last stanza (or lines), that may say, "Yellow voices swallowing my soul. . .soul . . .soul. . ." There now and seemingly almost forever exist persistent (and sometimes uninformed, and sometimes overconcerned, and sometimes appropriately worried, and sometimes sensational, and sometimes mean, and sometimes racist, and almost always disappointing) voices telling us the threat is always signficant, always elevated, always yellow. Why? Who? Where do you put this frustration? The difficulty in the answer explains why the teller is losing his soul over all over this. That no one person can be fingered only adds to it all. And, thus, there are no definite villains, we (me?) all had a part in this scary, unsettling mess, and: I am afraid of everyone.

    jaimemarquarton October 21, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    On the darkest of days, this song is bliss. If you are happy, don't listen. I think the meaning is obvious. But I don't have the drugs to sort it out. I love guitar and build up/ending so much it hurts. I like to listen to this on Monday mornings on the bus, everyone is so unhappy that this song makes me happy. Sort of.

    nicolemusicon June 14, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is haunting at first listen....

    theDrunkPianiston April 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I hear:

    Venom radio and venom television I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone Lay the young blue bodies, with the old red bodies I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone With my kid on my shoulders I try Not to hurt anybody I like But I don't have the drugs to sort, I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out

    I defend my family with my orange umbrella I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone With my shiny new starspangled tennis shoes on I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone With my kid on my shoulders I try Not to hurt anybody I like But I don't have the drugs to sort, I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out I don't have the drugs to sort it out, sort it out

    You're the voices swallowing my soul, soul, soul.

    defjukieon April 21, 2010   Link

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