The Onceler

I think that the title of this song refers to the character the Once-ler in the Dr. Suess children's book "The Lorax". In this book, the Once-ler spent all of his life doing one thing (killing trees) only to ultimately end up regretting it. Therefore, the Once-ler is a character who ends up regretting the actions of his past. I believe the narrator in this song uses this character as a description of himself, more likely than not a relationship situation. In the first verse, the narrator looks back upon his previous actions and ends with an acceptance that he was wrong. I believe that the main story behind this song involves a person in a relationship that has ended or is in bad times who realized in the end that he or she is (partially) at fault. I think this is a great song especially from a band who isn't known for having the deepest lyrics or most well-thought out songs. This song is a great effort and has been on my playlist since I first heard it 6 months ago.