Desperately Wanting

Someplace, past the road to your house (which was never a home), (The “Where” in “where they turned out the lights” refers to either the someplace, past the road to your house, or the house itself, explaining why it was never home.

Turned out the lights relates with the “turn you on again” later. For some reason there is a switch that “They” have some control or influence over.

“Though they say you’ll never know” relates to the singer realizing some things you’ll never know later in the song. In the first case, it seems to relate to the subject of the song, and in the case it is used to refer to everyone one as a general statement, while indicating that in this, the singer too doesn’t know.

The chorus at this point is mostly sung for song structure, but also alludes to the ending, or point of the song, that at this point isn’t clear.

When they pumped out your guts, tells indicates that the person consumed something they shouldn’t, while deserving all the chills line tells us it was intentional, likely a suicide attempt by drug overdose. This line also refers to They. It would be the medical staff who pumped out someone stomach, but certainly he means that They had it done, referring to everyone excluding the subject of the song or the singer.

“You were never quite right” may mean that as a result of the incident you were never quite right again, or as a statement of fact, that the subject was never in their life quite right, either way, the singer thinks that the subject deserved the gut pumping, because consuming what was pumped out was intentional; “deserving all the chills”

When they say the worst is over, They seems to refer again to some sort of medical staff or figure of authority, to reassure themselves. The worst is over is a commonly used phrase to indicate that worst thing has happened and it can only get better from here, and that the incident won’t happen again.

Kicked it over and ran, shows that it did in fact happen again, and the They are surprised and ask “What went wrong”, everything was suppose to be better. The singer indicates that “They turn you on again” which seems out of order. It seems “They” thought everything was fine and turned the subject on, which means “They” pushed the subjects buttons, triggering another incident, or that they let the subject back into society, turning the subject loose, but things go wrong, and they ask themselves what happened.

Chorus continues to allude to point of the song

Now the story is being told from the singer’s standpoint. He explains that he understands the battle, about fighting against the “They” until they give up and allowing the subject to win. He continues by explaining the subjects past, how the subject burst into the world, and was never given a chance, and the They don’t understand how the subject went of track, but the singer knows that the subject never had it right to begin with, which is why I think the “You were never quite right” from earlier doesn’t mean the subject was never the same after the incident, but was never quite right, even before the incident.

The singer mentions that he dropped off letters for the subject, but he doesn’t know whether the subject actually got them or not. The they assured the singer the subject did receive them, however there must have been no replies, and the singer realizes he may never know what happened, but he says it in such a way that the singer seems to agree with the They when they said “you’ll never know” earlier in the song.

The next part seems to paraphrase what the letters says, shows the singers intentions and ties in the chorus. The sing says

Take back your life (from the control of the They, and the drugs) Let me inside and we can find the door (we can fix this) If you care to anymore (this indicates that the person has almost completely giving up, and correlates to the song’s chorus of desperately wanting)

The Chorus also seems to be part of the letter telling of a time they were together playing Falling a step behind may refer to a younger child chasing after the older, not quite keeping up. This to me indicates that the subject maybe the singer’s older sibling that they looked up to. Both of us never tiring (full of energy and life, in contrast to current events), desperately wanting (also in contrast to current events, and what the singer believes is the key to the subject salvation)

I think, overall, the They are well meaning people who, by helping, are actually doing more harm than good. They are keeping the person alive, and think its enough, but what they fail to realize is that the incident (suicide attempt) wasn’t the problem, but the subject’s solution to a much greater problem, which the singer sees clearly, a lack of wanting, and a loss of hope, that he vividly remembers the subject having when they were younger.