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.
I looked at the answers you wrote on your hand
When they were asking you about the man
That you’d like to meet and drop everything to run to
I don’t mean to brag and I don’t mean to boast
But I would like to think I’ve got most
of the qualities on your list, so I thought I’d introduce myself to you
Your pouting blue eyes they make contact with mine
And they keep looking through me until they’re behind me
And staring at the face of a man that you know that I know that you know could only bring bad news
You hate to be rude but you really must go
Leaving me to wonder if I know
The words that I say that give me away
As being unworthy of you every time
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
Forget what they tell you, the evenings are yours
The supplicating men become whores
And we’re lined up like chances, and all that you need do is take one
But your look says it clearly, you think me a toy
If you were in the market for a boy
You would find yourself a man and a mattress and make one
But I would have to suppose that that’s the way life goes
When the gardener decides to fall in love with the rose
I’ll protect you from insects but I won’t presume to inhale you
For whatever the reason you’re out of my league
Pursuing only leads to fatigue
So I will take my leave and my heart from my sleeve
And I’ll see you whenever I see you again
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
To take me with you when you go
And tell me things I shouldn’t know
And be the girl I thought I’d finally found a thousand times before
To keep on trying for
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
When they were asking you about the man
That you’d like to meet and drop everything to run to
I don’t mean to brag and I don’t mean to boast
But I would like to think I’ve got most
of the qualities on your list, so I thought I’d introduce myself to you
Your pouting blue eyes they make contact with mine
And they keep looking through me until they’re behind me
And staring at the face of a man that you know that I know that you know could only bring bad news
You hate to be rude but you really must go
Leaving me to wonder if I know
The words that I say that give me away
As being unworthy of you every time
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
Forget what they tell you, the evenings are yours
The supplicating men become whores
And we’re lined up like chances, and all that you need do is take one
But your look says it clearly, you think me a toy
If you were in the market for a boy
You would find yourself a man and a mattress and make one
But I would have to suppose that that’s the way life goes
When the gardener decides to fall in love with the rose
I’ll protect you from insects but I won’t presume to inhale you
For whatever the reason you’re out of my league
Pursuing only leads to fatigue
So I will take my leave and my heart from my sleeve
And I’ll see you whenever I see you again
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
To take me with you when you go
And tell me things I shouldn’t know
And be the girl I thought I’d finally found a thousand times before
To keep on trying for
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with
And I’m the one you want to wake up to
I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
Lyrics submitted by myfavoriteno3
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For those interested, actetate was used 'til about the late eighties for printing photographs of sorts. This song is definetely more about "me" than this silly girl who can't see what she's missing with this gardner who won't "presume to inhale [her]." Rather than completely forsaking whatever sense of pride he still has after seeing those "pouting blue eyes," he keeps himself out of the danger of becoming just another boy for this girl to belittle with the help of a mattress. But still, deep down he just wants her to be the one he's been looking for. He knows she's not, after all, he'd thought he'd found that a thousand times before, nothing special. He just keeps on trying because it keeps him going despite the hopeless fatigue of pursuing this non-existent something special. The acetate is just one last stab at being remembered by someone you know you'll forget.
Acetate is also used in the making of records... he could mean that he'd give himself to her through music and back off everywhere else so that she can be happy with other guys.
And if he’s the one that you want to go to bed with And I’m the one you want to wake up to I can put myself on acetate and make it easier for you
^this song was for a wake-up mix, for sure.
over 6 months later and i have a different take i guess--or at least i'm confused. it's just one line really that throws me off:
"But I would have to suppose that that’s the way life goes When the gardener decides to fall in love with the rose I’ll protect you from insects but I won’t presume to inhale you."
The whole thing sounds sorta incestual. Is the gardener not the father of the rose?
I keep trying to think about the relationship of the gardener to the rose--is the gardener the creator of the rose? Or just merely the protector? Both are inherently paternal roles. The rest of the lyrics are seemingly straight-forward--he's into a girl that isn't into him. So how does this fit in?
over 6 months later and i have a different take i guess--or at least i'm confused. it's just one line really that throws me off:
"But I would have to suppose that that’s the way life goes When the gardener decides to fall in love with the rose I’ll protect you from insects but I won’t presume to inhale you."
The whole thing sounds sorta incestual. Is the gardener not the father of the rose?
I keep trying to think about the relationship of the gardener to the rose--is the gardener the creator of the rose? Or just merely the protector? Both are inherently paternal roles. The rest of the lyrics are seemingly straight-forward--he's into a girl that isn't into him. So how does this line fit in?