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.
The first thing i remember you were walking away
You were singing something gentle in the fade
The next thing i remember i nearly pushed you off the stage
i pretended not to be afraid
I played the fool
I played the drowning man
I will play your heroine
I know the rules
You wrote them on my veins
I will play your heroine
I'm calling from the border of another nameless state
I am sitting on the steps of our mistake
I will bring you postcards of everything that's gray
I will draw your smile on my slate
I said i loved you
I said i needed you but baby i was wrong
Well that was sunday
And now it's Wednesday and i'm feeling strong
Memory's a lover trying to tell you thatshe's late
Memory's a silent second take
She will drink the poison if you put it in you cup
She will touch your eyes and never stop
You were singing something gentle in the fade
The next thing i remember i nearly pushed you off the stage
i pretended not to be afraid
I played the fool
I played the drowning man
I will play your heroine
I know the rules
You wrote them on my veins
I will play your heroine
I'm calling from the border of another nameless state
I am sitting on the steps of our mistake
I will bring you postcards of everything that's gray
I will draw your smile on my slate
I said i loved you
I said i needed you but baby i was wrong
Well that was sunday
And now it's Wednesday and i'm feeling strong
Memory's a lover trying to tell you thatshe's late
Memory's a silent second take
She will drink the poison if you put it in you cup
She will touch your eyes and never stop
Lyrics submitted by kooky_girl32ca
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Heroine - as in a female hero or the drug? Hmm...
I think it means both.... Great song though
I'm surprised there aren't more comments for this song.
I absolutely love the line: "Memory's a lover trying to tell you that she's late" There's something so poignant and yet abstract about it.
If you look at this song from a straight-forward point of view, it seems to be about a relationship that has gone wrong. She's saying that she's been fooled by him in the past and their relationship hasn't been perfect, but she's agreeing to stay with him (be his heroine, or leading lady.)
I like how "heroine" (female protagonist) can be misheard as "heroin" (drug) and some of the hints at the effects or drugs and addictions in the song (most notably "I know the rules // You wrote them on my veins.") I don't really think this song is about drugs. It seems more like the possible allusions to drugs are meant more to represent a possible addictive quality to the relationship, or possibly to compare the effects of the relationship to the effects of drug use.
Anyhoo, that's how I see it.