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.
Now I notice the streetlamp's hum
The ghosts of graffiti they couldn't quite erase
The blank-faced stares on the subway
As the people go home
The parks lay empty like my unmade bed
The streets are silent like my lifeless telephone
And this is where I live, but
I've never felt less at home
So I'm not unsympathetic
I see why you left
There's no one to know
There's nothing to do
The city's been dead
Since you've been gone
Sometimes I stand on my roof at night
And watch, as something seems to happen somewhere else
I feel like the breeze will pick me up and carry me away
Out and over this iridescent grid
Up and away from the bar fights and neon lights
Out and away from everything that makes me what I am
So I'm not unsympathetic
I see why you left
There's no one to know
There's nothing to do
The city's been dead
Since you've been gone
Oh I never had just whatever it is you want, baby
And I really tried, I tried with all my might—it made me crazy
To try to figure out what it is I've done wrong every time
When everything I love, everything I hold dear
Heads out sometime
And all I ever say now is good-bye.
The ghosts of graffiti they couldn't quite erase
The blank-faced stares on the subway
As the people go home
The parks lay empty like my unmade bed
The streets are silent like my lifeless telephone
And this is where I live, but
I've never felt less at home
So I'm not unsympathetic
I see why you left
There's no one to know
There's nothing to do
The city's been dead
Since you've been gone
Sometimes I stand on my roof at night
And watch, as something seems to happen somewhere else
I feel like the breeze will pick me up and carry me away
Out and over this iridescent grid
Up and away from the bar fights and neon lights
Out and away from everything that makes me what I am
So I'm not unsympathetic
I see why you left
There's no one to know
There's nothing to do
The city's been dead
Since you've been gone
Oh I never had just whatever it is you want, baby
And I really tried, I tried with all my might—it made me crazy
To try to figure out what it is I've done wrong every time
When everything I love, everything I hold dear
Heads out sometime
And all I ever say now is good-bye.
Lyrics submitted by 66exeter, edited by rockaction
The City Lyrics as written by Aron Erlichman Jordon Kristopher Terrell
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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i love this song... pretty straightforward but oh so evocative. the "since you've been gone..." the song just climbs, stalls, and then dives back in again... my favourite ever break up song.
great song, i really like lines 21-32 cuz they mean something to me
great song, i really like lines 21-32 cuz they mean something to me
i love this song because i can just picture the scene in my head. someone stands on the top of the roof, its a dark night, one of those nights in july where it so hot that the temperature of the air and the temperature of your skin are the same and you can't tell where you end...and he's standing there and noticing all the little details of the city that has alienated him, and thinking about this person who left making him feel more alone...and then he feels the breeze and wishes that it would blow him away, out of this city that he lives in....away from all the memories of the person who left. the city has lost its charm. he grew up there, it was a part of him, and now he can't stand it. he is sick of saying goodbye. i can just picture the whole setting.
jeez i read into that song too much
I love the pseudo-techno beat that this song is fitted to. It's so fucking different.
This is my favorite D-plan song, the last verse is so great.
interesting that fraeulein imagines the song in warmth. I've always felt the city's pretty cold and grey, with ppl in the subway wearing big coats.... maybe its my experiences of where i live... and possibly cos i always seem to pair this track up with Spider in the Snow
do we know what city he's talking about here, cause i know the plan is from dc, but this song just makes me think of boston sooo much.
I always imagined to be sitting in a cab, watching the streetlamps go by one by one. The song also gives me the feeling of seeing random people walking down the street that you've never seen before. This song reminds me of how I moved away from New York for 5 years, and moved back, and realized that everything was different, but at the same time, not.
i love everything they do, but honestly this is the song that seriously makes me want to cry when i realize i can never see them live