Attitude

This song is easily my favorite Alien Ant Farm Song and i hope it doesnt get played out like smooth criminal which i believe is the worst song on the LP. I mean its a great song but i hate all these fake teeny bopper kids who "love alien ant farm" who have never heard any of their stuff. To me this song is about a failing relationship that is no its way out and he knows it and so does she but they have tried to ignore it for too long and now its almost inevitable that its over. "all this time we heard alarms, come to find we fell apart." Great line.

All these people bashing smooth criminal amuses me.

Mostly because unless you had heard of them when they released "TRUant" you wouldn't have even found out who these guys were without the success of Smooth Criminal.

Obviously that song was good ENOUGH for most or all of you to be like "Wow, these guys are pretty damn good. Lemme look into their other stuff"

SC was a great song, the drumming in that song is phenomenal (like most of AAF's stuff) and AAF's illustrious singer nailed a song that's NOT all that easy to sing. So enough already, we get it, you like other songs by them more. No reason to bash the song that made them famous.

Based on my own personal experiences with this song, I'll try to basically interpret what I think this song means. It's obviously about a relationship, but as far as I can tell, it's about a failed relationship that was a tough break-up. I'll comment on the lyrics and basically explain each bit as I see them -

Maybe I act on confused behaviour Maybe waves crash like semi-trailer [From the singer's perspective, he doesn't know what he's doing with the relationship. He's confused, and feels like all the ups they have in the relationship seem to cause even greater comedowns - "waves crashing like semi-trailers" - the waves rise then fall like their relationship, in this case, he compares the comedowns or bad times to a car-crash. -this will be important later on.] Maybe I spend my off-time without you It seems like we need our own space [They don't spend time together, plain as day, they seem to just need time apart. -at this point, he doesn't believe he's ready to end it.]

And all the time I wasted away I don't feel good unless you stay [This is basically him lamenting all the time he put into the relationship for it to basically be potentially wasted if he calls it off. No matter how bad it was, he doesn't want to split from whoever he's singing about, because basically, he doesn't feel right without them.] And all the time I chased you away Simply to catch back up with [This one is a bit complicated, but as far as I can tell, he basically admits to ignoring his lover and letting them do their own thing so that later they can catch up and have something to actually talk about instead of staying silent.]

Your solitude is welcome Your attitude is welcome [Basically, he's welcoming whatever the outcome is - he knows it's not going to be pretty, and he welcomes the solitude, and his partner's attitude, essentially blaming himself. The reason that this is the chorus is because, well, he needs to keep reminding whoever he was in love with that he's not blaming them, whatever the outcome - his stance changes after every verse, so this is important as a point.]

All you see is red lights behind me Maybe this isn't what you wanted, baby [His partner sees the relationship stopping, and he's basically telling his partner that the relationship is probably not what they've ever wanted.] I don't blame you falling backwards No one's ever quite confused you this way [This one, in my opinion, brings out an important point of information. I think this is him basically saying to whoever he loves that he doesn't blame them for falling out of love with him, and the "No-one's ever quite confused you this way" line hints that it might just be their first relationship (though not his), and that first love can be confusing, so that might feel like the main reason they're not splitting up.]

And all this time we wasted away We don't feel good unless we're gray [He's basically saying that they can't decide on their relationship, again lamenting that it would feel like a waste of time if they didn't stay together. -and that they're both sure they'll be mutually happiest at the moment by not doing anything, putting up with a relationship they both might not be happy in.] And all the times I chased you away I simply don't feel good [He simplifies on the idea of chasing his lover away by just admitting it made him feel bad, regardless of the reason. Maybe this is even him cutting out the usual "simply to catch back up with" to correct himself. He's not using excuses anymore, he just doesn't feel good around them anymore, so he ignores them.]

All this time, we heard alarms Come to find, we fell apart [They basically had doubts about eachother the whole time, and now they realise that they were right to feel that way about eachother, as they're now falling out of love.] This whole thing has crashed down, crashed down All this time, we heard alarms [-again the word crash is here, and that's important, as it links to the idea of the wave previously mentioned, and links back to the idea of things being much more extreme at their worst times - they went, again, from really good, to really bad. The second line is repeated, probably just for emphasis, bookending the lyrics to the bridge, but "alarms" could also link back to the metaphor of cars crashing. In this case "alarms" signifying someone who'll come and essentially clean up the damage from the crash (Like emergency services would with a car crash.), people who might have been telling them the whole time things weren't going to work out.

Another thing of note is that the band speeds up and becomes frantic during the bridge, both accentuating the metaphor of their relationship being a car-crash, and implying an increased pace, maybe his thoughts are racing during this period - especially as he realises that they definately have drifted apart pretty badly at this point, and he's making the choice now whether to break up with them or not.]

You are welcome [The repetition of "You are welcome" at the end is essentially nothing more than a post break-up line where he's saying that whoever he was in love with is welcome for - in his mind - thanking him for breaking up their unhappy relationship and speaking the truth, freeing them from the unhappiness of a failed first love, even if they didn't actually physically thank him. He feels like he's letting them go and be happy at his expense. The repetition is also powerful - it's a sign of confusion and a lack of things to say - things he's had to put up with all along, plausibly signifying that despite the break-up, he doesn't feel any immediate change, which is again important, as if he didn't feel change after the break-up, then he feels nothing has changed. They fell for him foolishly and now he's splitting the relationship up as they're not happy with him, but can't split as it's their first love, and don't want to have "wasted time". But again, even after the split, nothing feels different, so maybe their relationship label was the only thing keeping them in a relationship...]

-again, this is all my interpretation, mostly based on a relationship I had not too long ago. It was their first relationship, but not mine, and even though they were visibly unhappy, I was the one who had to break it off for them - they wouldn't do it, even when given the chance, and in my case the "alarms" were friends, strangers and even a potential love interest, who all were unsure or skeptical of my relationship with who I was with, but then were really helpful after the break-up, cleaning up the mess.

This song hits hard for me because of the uncanny similarities between what I went through and all the hints the song drops as to what went on in the relationship described. It was also a great venting song for me both before and after the break-up - even going as far as to help me realise what I had to do. It was made even worse since when I sung this song on my own to vent, if my partner/ex heard, they would be clueless as to why I was singing along to it and would sing along too, solely because they like AAF...

Heavy stuff, but that's my interpretation, and I hope you agree with it.

This song is my ultimate favorite song...it has a totally awesome vibe to it..and reminds me of my first real serious relationship.

well, what does he try to say??

i just love this song. :o)

i think Live Ur Life hit the song meaning right on the spot. when i first heard this song it easily became my fav on the cd. alien ant farm is a great band

well, forgive me if im wrong, but to me this song is about a guy who tried to show his girlfriend who wears the trousers, and after she split up with him he begs to get her back., i.e."And all the time I wasted away, I don’t feel good unless you stay" and when he says "your attitude is welcome" he is saying that not only will he cope with her bad sides, he will welcome them. Well thats my view anyway. This is such a great song, it really suits Drydens voice. Its nice to see that there are A.A.F fans who can really appreciate their music and lyrics. JUst make sure you dont squash the wannabes at thier gigs guys!

i feel this song is about a relationship in which both partners have agreed that they should stop seeing eachother for a while. "Maybe I’ll spend my off time without you, It seems like we need our own space."

But now he realizes that he really misses her and is welcoming her back. "And all the time I wasted away, I don’t feel good unless you stay"

i love carissa. i would do anything for her. she is my one. i mess up alot and so does she. but she is welcomed. this is a great song. everything about her is freat. i would welcome it all. i love u carissa.