I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
You need someone to hold you
You need something that you ain't been getting.
Yeah I could be the one
To tell you what to do but it don't mean nothing.
And you're holding on forever
But that something just ain't true.
I'm just like you
And I know it's what I'd do.
Here I go.
Cuz I could stop the world cuz I love you.
I could stop the world and I don't want to.
I could stop the world and I won't.
Cuz it ain't enough.
You had another bad day,
You let me know that you just can't take it.
I've given up on you,
You live in truth and I know I can't fake it.
Cuz the stars you see,
Are on a dirty sidewalk.
And they ain't for wishing new
If they don't come true.
And I know, it's what I'd do.
Here I go.
I'm not too young for the world.
And I can't change for the world.
I don't care for the world.
(in back)I don't need to stop the world.
It don't make sense, the world
You need something that you ain't been getting.
Yeah I could be the one
To tell you what to do but it don't mean nothing.
And you're holding on forever
But that something just ain't true.
I'm just like you
And I know it's what I'd do.
Here I go.
Cuz I could stop the world cuz I love you.
I could stop the world and I don't want to.
I could stop the world and I won't.
Cuz it ain't enough.
You had another bad day,
You let me know that you just can't take it.
I've given up on you,
You live in truth and I know I can't fake it.
Cuz the stars you see,
Are on a dirty sidewalk.
And they ain't for wishing new
If they don't come true.
And I know, it's what I'd do.
Here I go.
I'm not too young for the world.
And I can't change for the world.
I don't care for the world.
(in back)I don't need to stop the world.
It don't make sense, the world
Lyrics submitted by 3ssence
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More Featured Meanings
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Another Love
Tom Odell
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
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.
I love this song, one of my favourites by the Goo's.
You feel you love someone so much you'd do anything for them, stop the world in this case and stop all of the things that are hurting them. But in the long run you know it really won't solve anything or help. The person in question just complains too much and you're fed up with trying to 'stop the world' just to please them. They just have to learn to deal with the shit that comes their way.
@sleepflower I don't think this person ever tries. The statements are narcissistic and contradicting. As if the person was hurt at some point, broken, and just gave up...unfortunately you still go along with it all because fitting in is still important in this/their world.
ahhhhhh this song is AMAZING!!! at first i was like wtf type of goo goo dolls song is this??? (as in "opposite of iris") but its still got the same heart as their recent stuff... i could stop the world cuz i love you.... sigh.
its probably about a guy that would do anything for this girl..even stop the world..but it "wouldnt be enough" maybe b/c hes too young or she doesnt think hes right for her.."Im not too young for the world and i cant change for the world"... but none the less w/e it means i LOVE it!!! stay goo peace
wait, so at first you didn't like this song when you first heard it because it wasn't like "iris"? this song is exactly what the goo goo dolls are...or were...before they went mainstream. this song was from more than 10 years ago. it's people like you that annoy me. but a goo fan is a goo fan, so i'm just going to shut up. =)
I've never commented on any songs before, but upon seeing this song had so few remarks I had to jump in. This is my favorite tune off of Superstar Car Wash. I actually feel as though Johnny is right by me singing this song, the vocals, the lyrics, everything about this song is beautiful. =]
"Cause' the stars you see on a dirty sidewalk, and they ain't polished and new."
*are on a dirty sidewalk
Ah, typos.