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”
No one means what they say
And you can tell as clear as deep-sea fish
All internal organs and glowing eyes
I’ve been good, I’ve been busy
I’ve realized my friend’s true intentions
Cut all ties
I’ve been doing ten thousand pushups a day
Plastic cube filled with pus that sits atop my supervisor’s desk
The feeling of ice on the inside of a wrist
Always tired, need a nap
I have to make myself brush my teeth
I’ve made a list of everything I’ve ever owned
When the days bring nothing new
And the sound of laughter makes you sick
And snide
You know you’ve got the jitters
Nothing’s wrong, I’m just fine
I’ve realized I just don’t like jokes
I’m thinking of moving I can’t call anyone back
You can tell every time they lean away
When you just want to talk
You couldn’t buy their interest now
Stolen cars in a heap
A naked body on the neighbor’s yard
When they let you down on cue
When you give up way before you even try
You know you’ve got
You’ve got the jitters
They glows as they near
Then disappear
Like highway signs on a starless night
And it’s so hard to tell who’s being fled
And who’s in flight
And you can tell as clear as deep-sea fish
All internal organs and glowing eyes
I’ve been good, I’ve been busy
I’ve realized my friend’s true intentions
Cut all ties
I’ve been doing ten thousand pushups a day
Plastic cube filled with pus that sits atop my supervisor’s desk
The feeling of ice on the inside of a wrist
Always tired, need a nap
I have to make myself brush my teeth
I’ve made a list of everything I’ve ever owned
When the days bring nothing new
And the sound of laughter makes you sick
And snide
You know you’ve got the jitters
Nothing’s wrong, I’m just fine
I’ve realized I just don’t like jokes
I’m thinking of moving I can’t call anyone back
You can tell every time they lean away
When you just want to talk
You couldn’t buy their interest now
Stolen cars in a heap
A naked body on the neighbor’s yard
When they let you down on cue
When you give up way before you even try
You know you’ve got
You’ve got the jitters
They glows as they near
Then disappear
Like highway signs on a starless night
And it’s so hard to tell who’s being fled
And who’s in flight
Lyrics submitted by 66exeter
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Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
The narrator of our song dislikes his friends and close acquaintances. He can see right through the lies they tell, the acts they put on every day, the agendas they try to keep secret. They’re phonies. He breaks away and isolates himself in his apartment and his job, reducing his social contacts to practically nil.
He’s bored now. He has so much free time on his hands he can do 10,000 pushups in a day just to pass the hours. Life slows down. The boredom makes him so restless he can barely sleep at night. He’s tired all the time and has little motivation. Work is tedious, almost unbearable.
Bitter and depressed, he can’t stand the amusement and frivolity of others. He’s so disgusted with people he’d like to move away, find another place where life might be better (but where?). Even if he wants to be with his friends at this point, he’s been away from them for too long to be close to them again (as also happens in the song A Life Of Possibilities). When he tries talking to them they don’t seem to listen. He can tell just by the way they move, lean back in their chairs, shake their heads that they just don’t care about anything he says. No one tells it to him outright but he’s ostracized.
Now he’s in a total rut. He’s alone and bored, completely isolated. He wants his friends back but makes no attempt to reconnect with them because he also hates his friends, hates how they don’t listen, how they care only for themselves. He sees them in passing ‘like highway signs’ which come and disappear and at this point he can’t even tell if they’re keeping their distance because he wants them to or because they want to stay away from him now.
It’s a song about, paradoxically, feeling the same restlessness and isolation when you’re with people as when you’re without them and on your own. Morrison has dubbed this feeling ‘the jitters’ and I’m sure a great many of us have sometimes had jitters of our own. :)
That’s my interpretation anyway!