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"
The pink pills are for our sanity
We are buried in the Earth because we can't beat gravity
You are still here and so made to figure
You are an important part o the computer
Born of the sea, blink
The sea is dead
Falls out of me these sockets in my head
Everyone's a captain baby, ship of fools
Drowning while they're telling you it's been alright
Dream the dream of your attrition
The nameless name of your condition
It will be needing you a little while longer
You are an important part of the computer
After this mission it will let you go
Help you to forget everything and everyone you know
In a world of captains baby, ship of fools
Don't you know they're lying when they're telling you it's been all right?
We are buried in the Earth because we can't beat gravity
You are still here and so made to figure
You are an important part o the computer
Born of the sea, blink
The sea is dead
Falls out of me these sockets in my head
Everyone's a captain baby, ship of fools
Drowning while they're telling you it's been alright
Dream the dream of your attrition
The nameless name of your condition
It will be needing you a little while longer
You are an important part of the computer
After this mission it will let you go
Help you to forget everything and everyone you know
In a world of captains baby, ship of fools
Don't you know they're lying when they're telling you it's been all right?
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
When he says "Can't feel fear, fear's the mind killer", he's loosely quoting the "Litany against fear" from the novel Dune.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litany_against_fear
It goes:
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
I could listen to this song for hours and never get bored with it. It's just that damn good!
I think this song is about false pride and individualism. Everyone thinks they're important, even though each of us is just one small part of a huge machine. I think this song is critical of people who can't admit that.
Really? I'd say it's about how little we realize the crappy stuff that's going on around us. The daily grind that keeps the economy going and how everybody's rationalizing that things aren't so terribly bad, because there's nothing else that we can do about it.
That's probably part of it, too. I came to my conclusion because Matt Good talks vanity often in his blog, and the line "Everyone's a captain baby, ship of fools" seemed to be a reference to it. Good song, anyway.
Has anyone heard the acoustic version of this song? It's one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. It's even better than the album version, and that alone was already one of my favourite Matt Good songs. Here's a link if you want to check it out. I highly recommend it.
.telus.net/rothcam/Near%20Fantastica%20(Acoustic).zip
Thank you EvanofEdmonton of the NF forums, and thank you telus for allowing the upload
This, Weapon, & House of Smoke & Mirrors are the best songs on this album. Avalanche is a masterpiece.
Usually I listen to the guitars in songs, Being a guitar player.. But this song, the drums... AMAZING.
in this song he says 'can't fear fear, fear's the mind killer' like seventeen times. i think that not a lot of people see this as the most significant part of the whole song like i do. and the fact that he's kind of whispering when he sings it is so beautiful, i could just say that line all freaking day. this song also makes me think of like, the bourne movies. 'after this mission we'll let you go, help u to forget everything and everyone you know' i dunno it makes me think of the first movie, but obviovsly he's not singing about some movies in his songs lol. wow, there's so much symbolism in this song. 'born of the sea, blink, sea is dead'. what we came from is suddenly gone, something like that. and wow, this song is so beautiful i could go on and on about it for hours but i'm not lol.
Does anyone get scared when they listen to this song?
I read a long time ago (the days of the Matthew Good Band & "Underdogs") that he drew inspiration for a number of his songs from tv. So, maybe, he was inspired by The Bourne Identity... maybe not, either way I appreciate the connection you have made :)
When he says "Can't feel fear, fear's the mind killer", he's loosely quoting the "Litany against fear" from the novel Dune. <br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litany_against_fear<br /> <br /> It goes: <br /> <br /> I must not fear.<br /> Fear is the mind-killer.<br /> Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.<br /> I will face my fear.<br /> I will permit it to pass over me and through me.<br /> And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.<br /> Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.<br /> Only I will remain.
avalanche is honestly the best of the best