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"
Well it's a close one, a real close one
And no-one gets hurt, but she's got twice the fun
But now they kiss in the rain
And did someone call out someone's name
From a white cadillac on a wide wind
To her white dress across the great divide
Into the warm moonlight
And she's been reading Bukowski for days
And she leans over, spits her name in my face
And says "Well now you know how it feels"
Well now you know how it feels
[Chorus]
And I was looking for you
Looking for you
Looking for you in the city last night
The boys in the band steal a kiss in the mystery of the night
11:59 to zero, live a blonde hair in jeans, holds her tight
Turns on the heat and starts to fight and sayin' "that's my man"
Well the myth of love must have been there
The spirit of possession was there
And the boys over at the bar
Yeah they're mixing up their medicine
The girls were on their mobile trying to get reception
Johnny's shadow's getting long but he keeps on singing
His shadow getting long but he keeps on singing
[Chorus]
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
Take off your shades and scroll down to number nine
You're living on the guest list, up against the big rack
Head back, hand highs, it's getting loud in here
Think you're going to have to shout
And she's tearing off her clothes
He's stirring all his drinks, oh yeah
Streets divide them
It's an empire of signs
Honey say she can read
And it looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
It looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
[Chorus]
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you in the city last night
And I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you in the city last night
It's alright!
It's alright!
If you say my name
It's alright!
And no-one gets hurt, but she's got twice the fun
But now they kiss in the rain
And did someone call out someone's name
From a white cadillac on a wide wind
To her white dress across the great divide
Into the warm moonlight
And she's been reading Bukowski for days
And she leans over, spits her name in my face
And says "Well now you know how it feels"
Well now you know how it feels
[Chorus]
And I was looking for you
Looking for you
Looking for you in the city last night
The boys in the band steal a kiss in the mystery of the night
11:59 to zero, live a blonde hair in jeans, holds her tight
Turns on the heat and starts to fight and sayin' "that's my man"
Well the myth of love must have been there
The spirit of possession was there
And the boys over at the bar
Yeah they're mixing up their medicine
The girls were on their mobile trying to get reception
Johnny's shadow's getting long but he keeps on singing
His shadow getting long but he keeps on singing
[Chorus]
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
Take off your shades and scroll down to number nine
You're living on the guest list, up against the big rack
Head back, hand highs, it's getting loud in here
Think you're going to have to shout
And she's tearing off her clothes
He's stirring all his drinks, oh yeah
Streets divide them
It's an empire of signs
Honey say she can read
And it looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
It looks like trouble
And it tastes like chocolate if you want it
[Chorus]
And people so strange
People so strange
People just keep talking in the city last night
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you
And I was looking for you in the city last night
And I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you
Yeah I was looking for you in the city last night
It's alright!
It's alright!
If you say my name
It's alright!
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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."
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I think the song's also an obvious reference to Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' - of which the opening line is: 'Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine...' Interesting as Johnny Borrell was quoted as saying "If Dylan's making the chips then I'm drinking the champagne". People thought he was up himself but that statement was taken out of context however as Borrell was comparing his and Dylan's first albums, not their overall career. I personally think this song is more of a respectful nod to the Dylan classic, using a similar beat poetry style and rhythm but putting it in a more modern 'London' context. And I love it!