You know you've got a lot to learn
You feel it but your heart won't burn
The fear is runnin' every nerve
You're turning to the ones you've hurt

And nothing ever satisfies
You're screamin' but your tongue's still tied
Starvin' but your love won't feed
Nothin' ever sets you free

You know you've got a long way down
You'll feel it when you hit the ground

It's not what you wanted
It's not what you came here for
This place just leaves you cold
Where nothing matters

Pinned inside the walls of sound
Reachin' but your hands are bound
Cryin' but your love's so sweet
You're singin' but your heart still weeps

And no one ever seems to care
Feels [Incomprehensible] on air

It's not what you wanted
It's not what you came here for
This place just leaves you cold
Where nothing matters

I can't wait for time to save us
And I can't break your fall forever
'Cause you always take, you always take too much
You always take, you always take too much

It's not what you wanted
It's not what you came here for
This place just leaves you cold
Where nothing matters

It's not what you wanted
It's not what you came here for
This place just leaves you cold
Where nothing matters


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings

It's Not What You Wanted Lyrics as written by Robert Turner Peter Hayes

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

It's Not What You Wanted song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I believe the lyrics should say You're turning FROM the ones your've hurt instead of "You're turning to the ones you've hurt." In life, people hurt/harm those closest to them. You can't have hate/anger, etc, without love. All you'd have would be apathy/indifference.

    interpretationdechansonon June 14, 2012   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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
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”
Album art
Dreamwalker
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.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
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.