Old world underground where are you now?
Subtract my age from the mileage
On my speeding heart, credit cards
Accelerate, accumulate
Looked for you downtown
Wound up in a movie with no story
Now it's late and you are nowhere to be found

Hesitation's always mine
Hesitate outside the times
With all I don't say
With all I don't do
I'm sending you
Invitations to hesitate too

Every ten year-old enemy soldier
Thinks falling bombs are shooting stars sometimes
But she doesn't make wishes on them
When she wishes, she wishes for less ways to wish for
More ways to work toward it
Ten year-old enemy soldier
Our falling bombs are her shooting stars

Hesitation's always mine
Hesitate outside the times
Oh call me or drop me a line
Say you've been with me
Say you've been with me
Say you've been with me
This whole time

Old world underground I never knew you
But I've seen your face everywhere
There was a farm before we tore
The small town down
Multiply divide


Lyrics submitted by tine17

IOU Lyrics as written by James Shaw Emily Haines

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

IOU song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

16 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    wow everyhing about this song is great. Emily Haines is amazing, and not to mention reeeeeaaaly hot haha.

    positive_tensionon February 15, 2006   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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Gentle Hour
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,
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.