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”
I used to be a renegade
I used to fool around
But I couldn't take the punishment
And had to settle down
Now I'm playing it real straight
And yes, I cut my hair
You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care
'Cause I can tell what's going on
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
I like my bands in business suits
I watch them on TV
I'm workin' out 'most every day
And watchin' what I eat
They tell me that it's good for me
But I don't even care
I know that it's crazy, I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square
It's not too hard to figure out
You see it every day
And those that were the farthest out
Have gone the other way
You see them on the freeway
It don't look like a lot of fun
But don't you try to fight it
And an idea whose time has come
Don't tell me that I'm crazy, don't tell me I'm nowhere
Take it from me
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square
Tell 'em, boys
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
So hip to be square
Hip, hip
I used to fool around
But I couldn't take the punishment
And had to settle down
Now I'm playing it real straight
And yes, I cut my hair
You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care
'Cause I can tell what's going on
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
I like my bands in business suits
I watch them on TV
I'm workin' out 'most every day
And watchin' what I eat
They tell me that it's good for me
But I don't even care
I know that it's crazy, I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square
It's not too hard to figure out
You see it every day
And those that were the farthest out
Have gone the other way
You see them on the freeway
It don't look like a lot of fun
But don't you try to fight it
And an idea whose time has come
Don't tell me that I'm crazy, don't tell me I'm nowhere
Take it from me
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
It's hip to be square
So hip to be square
Tell 'em, boys
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip
Here, there, and everywhere
Hip, hip, so hip to be square
Here, there, and everywhere
So hip to be square
Hip, hip
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More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
While I agree that this is an excellent tune, Spike2kx, I would have to disagree with your assessment that the lyrics describe Patrick Bateman's "external character." Patrick Bateman has neither an internal nor an external character. He is a complete void altogether. This song was probably chosen for the scene where Bateman kills Paul Allen for comical irony (not to mention the fact that the song is talked about at great length in the book).