Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
øåöä ìäéëðñ ìúåê âðê
åà ú ñâåøä åà ñåôä
ôúçé ìé ùòøééê åà áåÃ
à ù÷ä áê à ãîä, à æøò
äâï ùìê ùîåø îëì îùîø
à ðé çùåó áøåç åîåô÷ø
äëðéñéðé åééçà ëé ëì ëê ÷ø
ôúçé ìé åà ãò à åúê, úîø
áâï ùìê à æøò à ú äæøòéÃ
áâï ùìê à öîéç ùåøùéÃ
áâï ùìê à ù÷ä à ú äôøçéÃ
áâï ùìê...
éåðä ôúç ìé à ú äâï
äâï øé÷, åà ú ìà ëà ï
éåðä ôúç ìé à ú äâï
åø÷ äöì ùìê ëà ï.
áâï ùìê à æøò à ú äæøòéÃ
áâï ùìê à öîéç ùåøùéÃ
áâï ùìê à ù÷ä à ú äôøçéÃ
áâï ùìê à ëúåá ùéøéÃ.
åà ú ñâåøä åà ñåôä
ôúçé ìé ùòøééê åà áåÃ
à ù÷ä áê à ãîä, à æøò
äâï ùìê ùîåø îëì îùîø
à ðé çùåó áøåç åîåô÷ø
äëðéñéðé åééçà ëé ëì ëê ÷ø
ôúçé ìé åà ãò à åúê, úîø
áâï ùìê à æøò à ú äæøòéÃ
áâï ùìê à öîéç ùåøùéÃ
áâï ùìê à ù÷ä à ú äôøçéÃ
áâï ùìê...
éåðä ôúç ìé à ú äâï
äâï øé÷, åà ú ìà ëà ï
éåðä ôúç ìé à ú äâï
åø÷ äöì ùìê ëà ï.
áâï ùìê à æøò à ú äæøòéÃ
áâï ùìê à öîéç ùåøùéÃ
áâï ùìê à ù÷ä à ú äôøçéÃ
áâï ùìê à ëúåá ùéøéÃ.
Lyrics submitted by Novartza
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Somewhere Only We Know
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Close your eyes
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Go on forward no remorse
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This sentence feels as if the only thing it wants to convey is their history together, namely, husband and wife. For the rest it just refers back to the first verse.

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