don't want you to know too much about me, oh no.
'Cause I know you'll take advantage of the words that I say.
You're looking for a way to depress me, make me pay.

You don't want me to be too close around you 'cause I would see.
All the weak sides that you got, but which you're trying to hide.
You know that I would nail you if I could nurse my pride.

You're on the top when I'm low.
As soon as you're fading I will grow.
I don't like you. You don't like me.
We're lacking energy,
yeah, we're lacking energy.

It's a mindgame we play. Rule the roost, major cliche´.
While one of us is fit the other's going insane.
And every time we think the positions will remain.

You're on the top when I'm low.
As soon as you're fading I will grow.
I don't like you. You don't like me.
We're lacking energy,
yeah, we're lacking energy.
So you got me up against the wall
and I'm only waiting for your fall.
I'll get back on top and be carefree.
It's not the end for me, no it's not the end for me.

I know we're thinking the same and our opponent's the one to blame.
Thinking this way is not something that we both longed for.
Living this way is something we never did plan.
But I don't think we will change,
'cause we're stuck in roles as other's antipoles.


Lyrics submitted by SeanConnery

Penguins & Polarbears Lyrics as written by Fredrik Larzon Erik Ohlsson

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Penguins & Polarbears song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

37 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Last night this song played on the radio at the end of my shift. Wow! Hadn’t heard it in a long time. Good memories from the early 2000, when me and my friends had a band and used to cover it. The drummer, who was a brother from another mother, passed away in 2020.

    Listening to it after so many years gave me a whole new take on it.

    "Penguins vs Polarbears" is a corporate world jargon for keeping the organizational culture of a company between these two opposites,

    The two animals live in opposite poles but face the same environmental conditions and raise their offspring differently. Bears protect and train their cubs until they are old enough to take care of themselves. Penguins hatch their eggs but are aggressive with the chicks that trespass their space and peck them, sometimes to death.

    So you sometimes teach and reward and other times punish so that workers keep productive either by believing they can get a promotion or by fear of losing their job position.

    HOWEVER, the title of the song is "Penguins AND Polarbears" and it talks about two opposite forces that recognize they should be organizing together and fighting the real opponent which is neither one of them.

    So to me, the song talks about the eternal struggle between left and right-wing politics

    Let’s dive into the Lyrics

    “I don't want you to know too much about me, oh no. 'Cause I know you'll take advantage of the words that I say. You're looking for a way to depress me, make me pay.”

    The duality of these lyrics is something really smart, people from left and right wing can find identification in the same words.

    When talking about communism, people say that Stalin killed "melons" of people, even though this is not something recognized in the academic environment. Also, people who say that communism failed, forget to mention a certain republic who went from the wooden plow to send a man into space in thirty years and did that before the United States (Yes, I’m looking at you U.S.S.R.)

    However, you’ll never find a communist eager to talk about Pol Pot cause this was a socialism experiment that went terribly wrong, caused a mass genocide and threw the country in an eternal poverty.

    On the other wing, the right, people believe we need private initiative to keep the economy afloat and meritocracy cause people must earn a better life individually through their own effort, otherwise the economy will crash, they say it is impossible to help everyone. However it is known that we have perfect conditions to end the hunger on a global level but there’s no interest in it and the state invests millions in private initiative while capitalism keeps condemning millions to hunger and poverty. The war on Iemen started by the US. The jewels on king Elisabeth crown all stolen from other countries colonized by the british empire. Belgium empire colonized Congo, installing a state of constant terror, enslaving, torturing and killing, installing concentration camps way before Hitler (he probably learned from them). All of these facts are ammunition for both politics wings.

    “You don't want me to be too close around you 'cause I would see. All the weak sides that you got, but which you're trying to hide. You know that I would nail you if I could nurse my pride.”

    To nurse the pride would be to recognize the fails and the success of each political ideologies.

    You're on the top when I'm low. As soon as you're fading I will grow. I don't like you. You don't like me. We're lacking energy, yeah, we're lacking energy.

    Everytime left rises to power and there’s a glimpse of social advance, better salaries, health care, job opportunities, the right-wing returns more radically. Obama in the Us before Trump, Lula and Dilma in Brasil before the coup in 2016 and Bolsonaro election in 2018. When people lose their purchasing power due to an economical crisis or as it happened in the last four years in Brasil, due to being ruled by a fascist that turned economy into rubble, people feel betrayed, that’s when the opposition takes a chance to return to power. In probably in two days, Lula will, hopefully, be elected again president of Brasil. That if Bolsonaro doesn't stage a coup capitol invasion style.

    “It's a mindgame we play. Rule the roost, major cliche´. While one of us is fit the other's going insane. And every time we think the positions will remain.”

    Sometimes both sides use the same accusations, that the other is the one on the power and that we must take it down, or that their ideology is preposterous. Also, the ones in power never imagine their political wing will loose it’s position and prefer to keep the population depoliticized, opening space for the opposition to return in the next economical crisis. And that’s how they’ll keep lacking energy.

    "I know we're thinking the same and our opponent's the one to blame. Thinking this way is not something that we both longed for. Living this way is something we never did plan. But I don't think we will change, 'cause we're stuck in roles as other's antipoles."

    These two opposite forces finally understand that the real opponent is neither one of them. The real opponent is in the backstage of politics, staging the faith of the millions by financing politicians to defend their interest. The problem is not the one with the greatest figures in salary or the one with the smallest. The problem is the one able to pay these salaries and profit through the exploration of both, left and right. The real opponent is the dead rich capable of political influence. The real opponent is not Judas, but the roman empire who bought his betrayal for 30 pieces of gold.

    However, they’re stuck in these roles as other’s antipoles. The left only exists cause there’s a right and vice-versa, They can’t find a way of getting out of this.

    This is exactly how the dynamic between left and right happens in a social democratic state, an eternal struggle of succession of power, with each one undoing what the previous one did.

    By the way, "arktos" is greek for bear and "artic" derives from "Arktikos", which means "of bear" in reference to the osa menor (minor bear) constellation, in which is the polar star, which marks the north pole. "Antarctic" means "Anti artic" So yeah, Bears on North, Penguins on South.

    Lizardmanon October 27, 2022   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    We all have people like this in our lives, its such a perfect description, and such a perfect name for it too

    isl1ngt0non April 26, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is about a girl and a guy. they dated and broke up. they have been trying to get back together but they always fight. that is why they are perfect for each other. they fit their own descriptions, sort of a mirror image. when he says "Get back on top and be care free", that means he isn't jealous or lonely for the moment.

    Chipper1048on June 03, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST SONGS EVA!!!!!!!!

    Torrenteon July 20, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always thougt he was singing about his number one enemy... guess i was wrong...

    jack-05on July 23, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i really really really really love this song. its so catchy and it makes me wanna jump around. "I don't want you to know too much about me, oh no. 'Cause I know you'll take advantage of the words that I say. You're looking for a way to depress me, make me pay. You don't want me to be too close around you 'cause I would see. All the weak sides that you got, but which you're trying to hide. "

    that stays stuck in my head like all the time

    bitseybellrockson July 27, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    IGAL..... ERES IDOLO CON ESTA CANCION..... AARON TE QUIERO Y A TI TAMBIEN IGAL....REBE!!!!

    melaon August 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    DAVID... A TI TAMBIEN TE QUIERO...Y NO ME ENTRO EL MENSAJE EN LA OTRA....LOS AMO A LOS 3!!!!!!REBE!!!

    melaon August 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The best part of this song is when Nikola sings "cause we're stuck in roles as other's antipoles." because penguins live in the south pole and polarbears live in the north. Him and his (ex)girl are just not right for eachother even though he wants everything to work out in the end.

    tommyrocks182on September 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i always thought this song was about a penguin that loved a polarbear, but could never express his feelings because he would be shuned from the penguin community. kinda of a romeo and juliet affair.

    dull_punkon September 26, 2002   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
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Mountain Song
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."
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.