It Can't Come Quickly Enough

This song is clearly spiritual and philosophical. The first 4 lines denote the superficial feeling that the subject feels, that everything is just fine and that there is a certain order in the world. The next 4 lines however depict the true state of things:

'If you stand and reach your arms out wide Close your eyes and try to fly It's an underground illusion Tricking you from side to side'

Standing up and reaching your arms out wide and trying to fly is a metaphor for breaking the mould and being free, and pursuing your dreams. Thus the happiness depicted in the first 4 lines is actually superficial and a mere illusion. The next 4 lines add to this theory, a kind of self-mocking verse in which he regrets his previous arrogance. He also admits to cheating which may be literal cheating on his previous partner(s) or figurative in which he admits to taking shortcuts in life instead of taking the real path to his dreams/goals.

The chorus then depicts the major theme of the song, which can be summed up in one phrase, 'regret and disappointment'. It is self-explanatory, he had lost sight of his original dream/goal and when the opportunity to have it came, he didn't seize the chance and only realized this in hindsight.

Finally, the next 2 verses are beautifully written. 'Skyscrapers rise between us keeping me from finding you' in which skyscrapers is representing all of modern society and the way most people are superficial zombies who blindly follow social norms and don't have the spark of an enlightened soul - most people grind during the week, have meaningless interactions and go out every weekend. They do not have the passion and the belief that there is greater meaning to life. This kind of bustling society makes it hard for the subject to find his soulmate/true love. This explains the following lines: the concrete architecture represents modern society and culture, and he refers to the minority who are awakened and have soul when he says 'us' and the 'tide' represents the majority, who really are asleep in their own lives and on autopilot. The 'concrete architecture disappearing' means that the only thing keeping the majority from tearing the minority of great thinkers and awakened individuals apart (literally or figuratively) is the democratic process, law and order created from modern society.

it reminds me when I lived in London and had to take the tube in the morning... i love the song, but it makes me sad as well (passed you by and left u so defeated), as it seems to be about finding the perfect moment in life and when u find it, u dont even realise... I hope I will!

The chorus pretty much sums up what it means. You've waited your whole life for this 'special moment' and when it finally did happen, you don't take the oppurtunity and let the moment pass you by. Then you end up regretting it.

i think the song is a very spiritual song. its about finding something bigger than yourself that moment where you find that theres sumthin greater than u really out there. i think the being so defeated part is being left in awe or wonder like that one moment that just blows you away. i think 'We knew all the answers and we Shouted them like anthems Anxious and suspicious that God Knew how much we cheated ' means that we think we know what lifes all about, what makes the world go round and were convinced were right so we 'tell it like it is' to everyone else but theres that creeping suspicion that were really not so sure as to what were talkin about and that God sees that we go around thinkin we know it all wen were really all so ignorant. "There's no indication of what We were meant to be Sucking up to strangers throwing Wishes to the sea" i think that means that we really dont noe why we exist. we dont know why we were put here and what were supposed to do. and "sucking up to strangers throwing wishes to the sea" is like prayer. its questioning whether there really is a god or sumthin greater than us [god being the 'stranger'] and that we 'throw wishes' [pray] to what seems like no one.

i dont noe this is jus my point of view. i never really analysed the verses but they are really pretty. i never actually listened to this song and thought it was really sad but its not a happy song either i always just found it really moving.

I'd really like to know what this song is about. It must be something to do with looking back at youth and realising what you've lost, but I can't get any more than that.

I don't know why, but the song reminds me of riding the subway/underground and skipping the turnstiles. One of my favorites on the album..."We knew all the answers and we shouted them like anthems"! Damn, that's good stuff!

I don't know why, but the song reminds me of riding the subway/underground and skipping the turnstiles. One of my favorites on the album..."We knew all the answers and we shouted them like anthems"! Damn, that's good stuff!

its about you turning down an offer of a life time and trying to find that person again in all the madness

i think it's about riding the subway and even though you've fucked up really badly, you feel alive, and everything makes sense. all that matters is the person you love, and you want to find them.

I agree with Star* and anthem_shouter. To me, it's most definitely about that "moment" that you've been waiting for for an entire lifetime, whether it be one concerning love, family, etc. (most likely love, in my opinion. Who doesn't love love? XD) You've missed that one moment because you didn't realize it was /the/ moment, and it came so quickly that you didn't realize it had passed. You were still waiting for it, until you realized "hey, that was it...it's over" and well...it leaves you feeling defeated as hell.