The streets are just blankets and we sleep on their silky corpse
Covered up by them, why would we ever want to wake up?
Oh, no

Well, of course, of course, of course, of course
Of course we just do not know

What in hell are we here for?
We just do not know

Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul

The end is like cotton that we wear wherever we go
Covered up by this, why would we ever want to try on your clothes?

Well of course, of course, of course, of course
Of course we just do not know

Well, Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down
(Let down your guard)
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your only son

Of course we know, ah ah ah ah ah ah


Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher, edited by Keldt

Of Course We Know Lyrics as written by Jeremiah Green Isaac Brock

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Of Course We Know song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song is simple and beautiful. God, I love this band.

    SparklingLemonadeon March 17, 2015   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    Such a brilliant conclusion to the album. Our justification as humans to the destruction of our planet. That we don't know why we are here or what we are supposed to do so we do what we want.

    Ozymandias25on March 19, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love the birds singing at the very end of the song, this might sound stupid but from such a harsh yet poetic song taking on Christianity and all the bullshit it spews, it’s a faint sound of hope at the end, birds singing, love in all existence no matter what you were force-fed.

    TomThumb681on November 14, 2019   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    What do you do with this line?

    Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your only son

    Hosehound25on September 28, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    forgive me if someone has already made this point, but i was listening to invisible from the wwdbtses and noticed that theres a "of course we know" line about mid way through.

    not sure what the reference means between the two songs but you guys have at it

    mellowmosquitoon November 10, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    @Hosehound25 I think the world wasnt in dire straights 2000 years ago when Jesus was supposedly there. But it is now.. So if there was a time for Jesus it's now. Right now we have the capability of being amazing. We can stop all our problems if we work together. If we divide and give into our baser instincts we will eventually die out and we are nature's smartest product in 100s of millions of years and our intelligence is wrecking the planet. We overpopulate we are too successful. But with science and philosophy and creativity and manufacturing... With all our endeavors we may be the best thing life has actually produced. We need to reign in our destructive tendencies we need to live again as part of nature and not its slaveholder. So if there is a god and he put his son here. He should come back again. That's the feeling of the album to me.. But I reckon Isaac is an atheist like me. There is no god outside of us. Our best instincts to preserve all life and to flourish as a planet.. That's god.

    matteso80on May 03, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The first verse is about being on autopilot/day dreaming while being stuck in traffic. Also I think it's "course" instead of "corpse". If we were to wake up we'd see that we're just wasting our lives away going to work and coming home again day after day. But what the hell are we here for anyways? I guess we don't know. In the chorus he's saying that if God set all this up then he should come down and experience it too. "Lay down his soul" like we have to do to survive.

    The second verse he's encouraging you to open your eyes and see that it's a beautiful world, even the touch of air on our skin should be something we appreciate everyday. This invisible air is better than any designer clothes - we should practice mindfulness, then we wouldn't feel the need to buy so much stuff which causes us to work long hours. Then again on the chorus he's like "come on God, do it, lay down your soul, let down your guard, and even bring your children into this world."

    Finally he revisits the notion that we don't know what were here to do. Saying of course we do, we just suppress it. Taken as a whole the song is saying we can't ever get away from our true nature. We can fall asleep or get hypnotized going through the motions as consumers but it won't ever satisfy us. We need to be awake, aware, and mindful of every sensation, then we wont feel the need to work so much to try and fill that void.

    nelsondrew15on November 10, 2023   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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
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.
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.