Pack up
I'm straight
Enough

Oh say, say, say
Oh say, say, say
Oh say, say, say
Oh say, say, say
Oh say, say, say

Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Maps
Wait, they don't love you like I love you

Made off
Don't stray
Well, my kind's your kind
I'll stay the same
Pack up
Don't stray

Oh say, say, say
Oh say, say, say

Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Maps
Wait, they don't love you like I love you

Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Maps
Wait, they don't love you like I love you

Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Maps
Wait, they don't love you like I love you

Wait, they don't love you like I love you
Maps
Wait, they don't love you like I love you


Lyrics submitted by ruben

Maps Lyrics as written by Nicholas Joseph Zinner Brian Chase

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Maps song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

301 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +28
    General Comment

    I think this song is in the form of dialogue. One person is talking about packing up and leaving and the other person is saying "wait." The second person is telling them how much they love them, implying that they want them to stay. I think it is called maps because there is a decision about which direction to go in life, to stay or to go away. Just my interpretation.

    doobeydoobeydudeon April 11, 2004   Link
  • +14
    My Interpretation

    The song is about the lead singer, Karen O, going on tour and the insecurities she had with her then boyfriend Angus Andrew from Liars.

    "Maps" refers to her fans in the different places around the world that they are going, and the whole "they don't love you like love you" means that them adoring her isn't like the love from her boyfriend.

    The interesting bit is that all this, the chorus, is what she wants her boyfriend to SAY TO HER as she is leaving him. She wants her boyfriend to basically beg her not to go on tour, or to come back from tour, to tell her that he loves her more than her fans ever could, more than her adoring public, more than the crowds at every gig (the "Maps", the places they are visiting).

    While on tour she missed her boyfriend terribly and this song is about he insecurity that he wasn't missing her as much as she was missing him.

    wicknighton November 20, 2008   Link
  • +7
    Song Meaning

    i heard its about her ex and he was supposed to come to that recording but he wasn't there so she knew he was done with her... Maps stands for "My Angus Please Stay".

    spilledJAMon October 24, 2011   Link
  • +7
    Song Meaning

    This is the actual meaning from the actual singer! nme.com/news/yeah-yeah-yeahs/29608

    TheAnalyston June 11, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I fell in love with one of my best friends (I'm bisexual and she's straight) and listening to this during that period in my life made it all about me loving this girl, being her shoulder to cry on and always taking care of her but she still didn't consider me more than a friend. She went off with guys that constantly did her wrong and broke her heart, and every time I picked up the pieces. I was so desperate for her love and I couldn't for the world understand why she didn't give me a chance rather than keep seeing those guys when they obviously didn't care for her like I did. I had a crush on her on and off for a couple of years, but I only told her how I felt once and I did that after she'd had sex with a guy without really wanting to. I just told her "I know you consider yourself straight and I respect that, but I wish you could realize that I'm the person I've always been, I've always been your friend when no one else has and I would never jeopardize that so please trust me when I say that none of those guys love you like I do". Anyhow, I'm over her now but this song says everything about my longing for her to find a bigger space for me in her heart. So that's what it's about to me. Peace!

    Felison June 12, 2006   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I find it clearly evident that this song is depicting the angst of being in love with a cartographer who spends countless hours absorbed in his maps, neglecting his paramour.

    craziibabii01on January 04, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    M.A.P.S is actually an acronym for "My Angus Please Stay"

    shookikon June 26, 2012   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    ppl need to shut up about who's a true fan and blah blah blah. it's music. if you like it listen to it and who gives a fuck about anything else. can't we all just enjoy it for what it is?

    jessthinkon May 10, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    :)

    Thia007on November 27, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I highly doubt this song is about being 'gay.' It really does sound like long distance love to me: "Pack up... i'm straight - i'm not"

    I'm straight can imply her frame of mind.. she's not thinking straight.. she thinks she's ok or 'straight' and then realizes that she's not because the distance is going to be burdensome.

    "Wait they don't love you like I love you" only further justifies this because she's telling her beloved that regardless of the distance nobody is going to care for him or her the way that she does.

    "Made off, don't stray well my kinds your kind we'll stay the same" is basically another example she uses to express her love, they're two of the same kind so she's asking her lover not to stray. Stray is a clever pun because in this case she's asking him not to stray emotionally, or physically (stray in terms of physical distance.. or leave).

    The rest of the song just reinstates the elements that she's been trying to put accross.

    LadyShadeson September 02, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”