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.
If I listen long enough to you,
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
If I gave you time to change my mind,
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
If I listen long enough to you,
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself. OOH!
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
If I gave you time to change my mind,
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
If I listen long enough to you,
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true.
Knowing, that you lied, straight-faced,
While I cried.
Still I look to find a reason to believe.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself. OOH!
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Someone like you makes it easy to give
In everything about myself.
Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else.
Lyrics submitted by kevin
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No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead

Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/

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.

Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.

Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
The song is about a man who loves this women so much that, although he knows she is lying he can convince himself (through minimizeing and denial) that she is telling the truth. He doesn't want to be without this love in his life no matter how cruel she is to him he wants to find that reason to believe and stay with her in his happy little life of blind denial. Most likely because her cruelty is too hurtful for him to face and bare.
It was written by Tim Hardin, A genius songwriter. My theory is,it is about alcohol ..Tim Hardin's song (red balloon) is about heroin and his dealer .. The song (reason to believe) is easy to say it's about somebody who cheated, or keeps lying to him and he wants to believe her . Tim Hardin was a deeper writer than that.. If you listen to his other works you will hear what I mean .. Rod Stewart did/does A beautiful job with Tim Hardin's masterpiece .
Good stuff right here.
the lyrics are wrong. where it says 'in everything about myself' it is actually supposed to read 'and never think about myself'.
its about a girl that he loves but she cheated on him and shes tring to get him back by tel him what he wants to hear, even it that means lieing to him
Love the performance of this that he did at the Royal Albert Hall .....great song.
Possibly One Of My Favorite Songs Ever TBH. It's A Sum Up Of My Last Relationship. We Were Together Before & He Basically Cheated & Then Up & Left & Then He Wanted A 2nd Chance & Altough I Wanted To Give Him It, I Knew I Couldn't. I Just Needed A Reason To Believe.
Just an FYI, this song wasn't even Rod's originally. This is a Youngbloods cover. I guess they just don't have a page on here or something....but yeah, this is definitely not his song. But it's still a great version!
This song was written by Tim Hardin
This is a memorable song with a curious history for the evolution of British pop music and my life. We all enjoyed Top of the Pops back then weird for me to see my current fave Radio 1 DJ John Peel bashfully performing or rather miming on the show when Rod and co came on doing Maggie May what had become the A-side of the single. This was naughty of them but since Peel was an avid supporter of The Faces how could he refuse. He had been responsible for my liking of that band too among many others of course. But it is the lyrics of this song and what had originally been the A-side "Reason to Believe" that were to become curiously prophetic on a personal level notably: "Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried" A relationship serenaded by this song as a track on one of her fave cassettes and especially: " Someone like you makes it hard to live without somebody else..." etc Well so much for that.... I still love this song and it triggers mostly happy memories but we all have to move on. Sadly Rod's latter day antics seldom match up to the formative years and songs like this echo down the year with that sweet achey sadness not least for the loss of its originator Tim Hardin.