This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
And another one bites the dust
But why can I not conquer love?
And I might've got to be with one
I learned to fight this war without weapons
And I wanted it , I wanted it bad
But there was so many red flags
Now another one bites the dust
And let's be clear, I trust no one
You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
I've got an elastic heart
Yeah, I've got an elastic heart
And now we stay up through the night
Let's be clear, won't close my eyes
And I know that I can't survive
I walked too far to save my life
And I want it, I want my life so bad
I'm doing everything I can
Then another one bites the dust
It's hard to lose a chosen one
You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
You won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
I've got an elastic heart
But why can I not conquer love?
And I might've got to be with one
I learned to fight this war without weapons
And I wanted it , I wanted it bad
But there was so many red flags
Now another one bites the dust
And let's be clear, I trust no one
You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
I've got an elastic heart
Yeah, I've got an elastic heart
And now we stay up through the night
Let's be clear, won't close my eyes
And I know that I can't survive
I walked too far to save my life
And I want it, I want my life so bad
I'm doing everything I can
Then another one bites the dust
It's hard to lose a chosen one
You did not break me
I'm still fighting for peace
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
But you won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart
But your blade it might be too sharp
I'm like a rubber band, until you pull too hard
But I may snap and I move fast
You won't see me move no more
'Cause I've got an elastic heart
I've got an elastic heart
Lyrics submitted by g0ld3n, edited by shaycraft2810, MIS55BHL, hehill, JulzlovesRP, greenjello, jaybles22, adambell, Morgantown, iambetter
Elastic Heart Lyrics as written by Abel Tesfaye Andrew Fitzgerald Swanson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Hayalperest
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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."
No Surprises
Radiohead
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Elastic Heart is about mania, the upswing of bipolarity. I’ve known that person: she's irresistible when she’s high, her energy ballooning to fill a room. Her mania is effervescent and urgent and sometimes frightening. She’s the best part of life—until she isn’t. When the mania ebbs, she’s as wilted as if she’d been to battle.
Sia knows this; she's smart about it, too, because—as her music video depicts—bipolarity isn't defined by two opposite and contending halves as much as it’s parasitic. In Sia's video, Maddie Ziegler is that affliction, charismatic in her wildness and her anger. By the video’s end, she’s driven Shia LaBeouf to exhaustion, to his slump at the cage's edge.
Mania’s push and pull requires an elastic heart. It’s a battle, as Sia writes, not to "fall apart."
@shavonneee Your comment hit the nail on the head; This is exactly what I took away from the song and the video. Very powerful, and moving interpretation.
@iOSUsere -- I'm bipolar (and thankfully stabilized due to meds) but I caused a wake of destruction during my last manic episode which landed me in the hospital for 2 weeks and left a broken marriage and a broken-hearted boyfriend who didn't know I was married. When I first heard this song (without reading your analysis of it) I thought immediately that the two men I hurt must feel something like this towards me. It's weird being on the stable side and knowing how I was.
"And another one bites the dust But why can I not conquer love?"
She's afraid to fall in love, so she pushes people away. She uses "bite the dust" in reference to how people would leave her because she refuses to get close to anyone.
"And I might've got to be with one Why not fight this war without weapons?"
She's proposing that if she could actually let someone in, then they both would need to wear their hearts on their sleeves. But, the way it's phrased, it seems like she's doubtful that anyone would be completely truthful. Also, she doesn't realize that she's not completely open either, yet she expects others to be.
"And I want it and I wanted it bad But there were so many red flags Now another one bites the dust And let's be clear, I trust no one"
She really wants to let someone in, but all she sees are the bad. So another person "bites the dust". They leave her. She's so stubborn. Just like a child, she crosses her arms and simply says "I trust no one!"
"You did not break me I'm still fighting for peace"
She's saying she's not broken. It's not the other person's fault that she pushed them away. She's already came broken. She's simply fighting for her own peace.
"Well I've got thick skin and an elastic heart"
She's saying that she's strong. She doesn't let people get to her. She has an "elastic heart". This means that she can easily heal if someone hurts her.
"But your blade it might be too sharp"
The other person is also stubborn, and is cutting through her "thick skin". He/she is getting through to her. He's finally going to see her for who she is, and not for the protective visage she presents.
"I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard But I may snap and I move fast"
She's referring to her elastic heart. No matter how much someone moves her heart, she would never get stay hurt for long because she would snap back quickly.
"But you won't see me fall apart (this should be the correct lyrics... makes more sense) Cause I've got an elastic heart I've got an elastic heart Yeah, I've got an elastic heart"
She's saying that she'd never let anyone see how she feels. She wants the world to know that nothing can hurt her.
"And I will stay up through the night Let's be clear, I won't close my eyes"
She shows how afraid she is. She won't close her eyes. She lets people know that she's careful and that she will always protect herself from anything. But, they don't know that she's actually afraid. She can't sleep soundly because she's so afraid of getting hurt.
"And I know that I can survive I walked through fire to save my life And I want it, I want my life so bad And I'm doing everything I can Then another one bites the dust It's hard to lose a chosen one"
This is an example of self-preservation. She wants to protect herself, her life. She will not let anyone hurt her. She pushes another person away, but she thinks that she started to finally started that person. It's because she started trusting that person that she pushed them away.
Overall, she is trying to say that she wants people to be true and open to her. She wants people to be real. But, she doesn't realize that she's not being completely open either. She is afraid to trust and love others. She is afraid of being hurt, so she puts up a strong front. She shows people that she has "thick skin" and an "elastic heart", but in all reality, she wants to protect herself and keep herself away from any possibility that might cause her pain. She pushes people away before she can even trust them and them to trust her. She's not as strong as she thinks she is, but she wants people to know that she's invincible. Finally, she meets a "chosen one". This person is someone she started to trust and possibly adore, but when she realizes this, she pushes them away. She isn't as strong as she says. She's just afraid.
@asuaruno I like your take
@asuaruno This is one of those songs that speaks to my soul and has stuck with me since the very first time I heard it. How you've managed to put into words the thoughts and feelings that fly through my head every time I listen to it is beyond me, but it was enough for me to even make an account on this site just to be able to comment on your post. I identify with this song and your interpretation of it on a deeper level, it just was never clear enough for me to put into words before. Thank you.
From Peter Lewis, SongMeanings Contributor:
"Sia battles an army and her soldiers keep dying - an anology for her struggle with her own emotions. The song was originally recorded for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but In 2014 she released a solo version of Elastic Heart for her ablum 1000 Forms of Fear. The video for the song, Sia says is about "Two warring 'sia' self states." The song paints a picture of a struggle for peace. And another one bites the dust But why can I not conquer love? And I might've got to be with one Why not fight this war without weapons?
Sia is using an anology here, comparing a battle between armies with her own emotional battle. She keeps taking hits and getting weaker, and another one of her "soldiers" fall. Why can't she conquer her own heart?
An alternate meaning is that partners - and even friends - keep walking out on her because her emotional struggles affect them in negative ways. She has less support as these people don't exist in her life anymore.
And I want it and I wanted it bad But there were so many red flags Now another one bites the dust And let's be clear, I trust no one
She wants to be able to trust people, but always sees the red flags, the bad side of them. And she loses them because of it.
You did not break me I'm still fighting for peace
Now she's talking about an actual person. She's been damaged, but she did not let them break her and she's still fighting for peace - peace with them, peace with herself, and/or peace with the world. Maybe this line was meant for Sia's father who she has had a troubled relationship with.
Well I've got thick skin and an elastic heart But your blade it might be too sharp I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard But I may snap when I move close But you won't see me move no more Cause I've got an elastic heart I've got an elastic heart Yeah, I've got an elastic heart
The thick skin is her strong part, and the elastic heart is the weaker part of her. She'll fight her hardest - but she's still breakable.
And I will stay up through the night Let's be clear, I won't close my eyes And I know that I can survive I walked through fire to save my life And I want it, I want my life so bad And I'm doing everything I can Then another one bites the dust It's hard to lose a chosen one
It's hard to lose the support that she needs. When she sings that she's trying to survive and wants her life, she's not just talking about life and death. She's talking about her life, her livelihood, and not letting her emotions die.
Yes - it's deep. What do you think this song means?"
@dan i think u nailed it 100% cuz i feel the same
@dan awesome summary, I agree with many parts
After watching the music video for this song, I believe it is about two seperate personas of the same person, an immature, slightly psychotic childlike one and a rational and logical adult, that are fighting for different things. Part of this person, the childlike persona, wants to break free and let their imagination run wild but it is being held back by the other, the rational adult. Because the two appear to have a link, as evidenced by both being in the cage, one cannot go with out the other. Hence the fight for dominance between the two.
However, reading the lyrics makes it seem like the two personas are in fact different people an this rational and level-headed one is keeping the childlike one from straying to far and no matter what they say, the other person won't be offended or take it personally.
prettyboredvids explains it really well on youtube, here's what she...he? said:
OMG I THINK I GOT IT. I'm thinking Maddie and Shia both represent two halves of Sia. Maddie represents innocence, purity, unawareness of the cruelty of the world. Shia represents adulthood, maturity, complete awareness of the cruelty of the world. The cage represents Sia's soul. Shia screaming near the middle of the video and him crying at the end while Maddie tries to pull him through the bars represents that, no matter what, there is no going back to the freedom and innocence of being a child. Shia not being able to leave the cage represents Sia not being able to forget the responsibility and knowledge she's acquired from becoming an adult. We all grow up to learn about beautiful things and horrible things, and it may be very stressful to take in at times. And although we wish we can go back to a time when things were simple, it'll never happen. Which is both frustrating and saddening. This isn't just about Sia, it's about all of us.
@jaybles22 wow I like your viewpoint
The song has gotten a lot of attention for it's music video, which shows 28 year old actor Shia LeBeouf (Transformers) and 12-year old dancer Maddie Ziegler (Dance Moms & Sia's "Chandelier" clip). Sia told Rolling Stone the two represent the "two warring 'Sia' self states."
here is a link to the RS article since @dan was too lazy to include it<br /> <br /> rollingstone.com/music/news/sia-apologizes-for-controversial-elastic-heart-video-with-shia-labeouf-20150108
This was such an emotional, disturbing, sympathetic, powerful, and sad music video for this beautiful song. It seems like there was an implication of molestation between the man (a father) and the girl (a daughter). There's only so much damage the man can do before the girl becomes angry and begins to fight him, and eventually leaves "the cage" (the situation/problem or home). The man can leave the cage if he takes a route only he can take, and not the girl. I think that in terms of a father/daughter relationship that would be the father simply leaving the girl alone in the cage, in the wake of what had happened to put her in the cage. So he goes back for her. He wants to comfort her and reassure her he is not leaving her, but she misinterprets the touch and they begin to fight and move around the cage again. The girl is smaller and is able to leave the cage, for one because she is a child and is able to glide in and out of the problem which cages the man permanently, and only restrains her when she fights the man and/or is drawn back into the problem. The girl sees the man is trapped in the cage and feels sorry for him, and so she goes back into the cage. Then we see the man is acting like a father should. We don't exactly see the man as a paternal figure until he begins to make the girl laugh, and she begins to give him purpose and he begins to give her happiness. When the girl sees this paternal happiness/goofiness in him, she tries to lead him out of the cage. I'm guessing the cage, in this way, is supposed to represent the relationship between the two that the act of molestation created. At the beginning of the video, it's just a man and a girl fighting with no connection, in a cage, their relationship is based on physicality. The girl is just a girl and the man is just a man and that's how they see each other. And by the end we see that the girl (daughter) wants the man (father) to be happy and free from guilt over his heinous act, because if she can forget it and it's implications, then she wants him to do the same. But he can't, and he tries to pull her back into the cage, and the struggle is still ongoing. This is just the way I see it, and I could be dead wrong. Feel free to add to it, or tell me what you think the song/music video is about and implies, but please don't hate because this is just mt interpretation of it. Thanks.
@SamH270 youtube.com/watch
that is beautiful.
@SamH270 This was my interpretation of the music video, not the song, and I wrote down my interpretation of the music video before hearing various other theories in regards to the meaning (Sia's warring states, mental illness, Sia's relationship w/ her father, etc.) and I believe the song or music video can inspire any emotion or view and none of them are wrong because art is all left up interpretation. Thanks. :)
@SamH270 I had a similar thought but slightly different. In an article where she apologizes for those that were offended by her video, Sia "All I can say is Maddie and Shia are two of the only actors I felt could play these two warring ‘sia’ self states". Furthermore, the original plan for the video was to have just Shia (they even joked about having him wear the blonde bob and a leotard). <br /> <br /> I think Maddie is her as a child and Shia is her as an adult. Child-Sia is no longer happy with herself as she becomes an adult. Adult-Sia keeps trying to give reason to why she made her choices, some of them upset Child-Sia, but ultimately she forgives her. She tries to pull her out (you'll notice that, even at the very end, Maddie is still grasping Shia - she's not trying to escape, she's pulling as hard as she can to free him) but Adult-Sia is responsible for her action's and can't leave them behind, so she is trapped.
@SamH270 I definitely got a dysfunctional father/daughter relationship from the video (no matter what the official interpretation is) but I can't see any implication of molestation in it no matter how hard I try... the man looks depressed and pitiful and does not react in a violent or controlling manner even as his out-of-control daughter thrashes and chases him around the cage. He continually tries to reach out to her in a gentle way even though he is clearly scared of her. All of his poses are so submissive, and even when he looks like he's going to take an aggressive action it turns out that he is just trying to bond with her.<br /> <br /> The video represents, to me, a father and daughter torn apart by a nasty divorce. She hates him for leaving her, for breaking apart the family, for no longer caring about her and being there for her. And all he wants is to have his little girl back, even though she acts like she doesn't want him in her life anymore. Their dance is the messy process of repairing their relationship. At the end she begins to forgive him, but when she leaves the cage to go back to her mother's custody she realises her father can't go back with her. She doesn't understand why, so she keeps trying to pull him across the bars while he sinks to the ground in despair. He's going to lose his daughter all over again.
I believe this song is written from the point of view of someone who was narcissisticaly abused as a child and who has spent their adult life looking for love. There's a sense of frustration and heartbreak, but also a steeliness of a survivor. She refuses to be broken by the narc abusers she has repeatedly encountered. Her adult relationships fit the pattern of her childhood family and the abuse she went through. She's trying to break the cycle and so far failing, yet she defiantly survives. Every time it happens. All this narc abuse has taught her she can't trust anyone, because Narcs always wear masks to fool their victims. She is afraid to sleep at night as she fears her most recent ex who she split with at the time of this story she's singing about. Because narcs are dangerous when you leave them. The narc tried to break her down and she defiantly refuses to be defeated. She says she'll walk through fire to save her life. And that she wants to live despite it all. It's almost a testimony that if something should happen, she wanted to live and is not suicidal. And that she's not suicidal despite the soul destroying pain of having been narc abused that drives many to suicide. This song is incredibly powerful. Her voice is incredible. Sia is probably an empath which gives her voice emotional depth lacking in narc singers' voices that we are used to hearing. This song is a gift to humanity.
@Someonecoolonline thank you for saying this
I agree with Dan, but I wanted to add that I thought it was the most rudimentary parts of the human psyche like the personified innocence and human nature that we struggle with and go from the fragile and sweet nature of innocence to the rough and tumble gritty depravity and how we bounce from one to the other bordering on breaking all together
Im definitely hearing "But you wont see me fall apart" instead of "But you won't see me move no more"
@Skeletalz "You won't see me fall apart" is the correct lyric (rhymes with "I've got an elastic heart"). Don't know where "You won't see me move no more" came from!