I don't remember
Did something in my past, create a hole.
Don't use your gender.
To drive a stake right through my soul.

I live to function,
On my own is all I know.
No friends to mention,
No destruction, nowhere to go

Shallow, shallow,
Give it to me, give into me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow,
No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue ignore the splinter

This city drains me,
Maybe it's the smell of gasoline.
The millions pain me,
It's easier to talk to my PC.

I live to function,
On my own is all I know.
No friends to mention,
No destruction, nowhere to go

Shallow, shallow,
Give into me, give into me
Seasons caught in a triangle,
Shallow, shallow,
No good to me, not if you bleed,
Bite your tongue end on a splinter

Shallow, shallow,
Give into me, give into me
Seasons caught in a triangle
Shallow, shallow,
No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue end on a splinter


Lyrics submitted by christsizeshoes

Shallow Lyrics as written by Gavin Richard Harrison Colin Edwin Balch

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Shallow song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +5
    General CommentNytstalk, generalizing an album like deadwing is worthless.

    Anyways, this song is in the perpective of a person who, like many, had a bad experience with male-to-female interactions in their childhood (Did something in my past create a hole?) which left them desiring sexual pleasure in the place of brotherly interactions with other males. In modern society, its much simpler and easier to communicate with females via the PC (It's easier to talk to my PC). This particular person, though, is, along with being only particularly attracted to females, extremely shallow. He wants to have relations with women only if he is impregnating them (No good to me, not if you bleed). Also, this person is so good at manipulating women that he is practically surgical (Scissors cutting out your anger). This comes at a price, however, and this person doesn't have any real male friends, likely because he considers them a distraction to his relationships with women. (No friends to mention,
    No distraction, nowhere to go). I can't be positive that this is the correct interpretation, because you never can with PT, but it fits the lyrics extremely well.
    relic12on March 22, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI think the meaning is similar to the "Evey home is wired". It is about people who spend too much surfing on the internet, chatting in chatrooms more than meeting real friends.

    "Don't use your gender " - this must speak of the chatrooms, where you really can't be sure what's the gender of the person you're speaking too, and where you cannot "use" the attributes of genders.

    "The millions pain me
    It's easier to talk to my PC" - one more example. Guy doesn't like people, probably he is too scared of real life, so he just chats via internet.
    Mirroron April 17, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General CommentAfter painfully trying to decode to Deadwing story, I've learned that this song is pretty simply laid out, compared to the ambiguity of something like 'Glass Arm Shattering". And though I really try not to be one of those people who believes they identify with a song more than others, I think I've nailed this one. Someone tell me if I'm way off. This song, to me, sounds like the words of a girl I know. Socially damaged, trying to rationalize why not to enter into a relationship. This character seems to grown to hate the general public, and is trying to pass of pessemism as realism, by telling themselves they're better off alone. If all they allow themself to want is shallow then they can't be hurt by someone. I could go on in length, but to me, it just sounds like at this point in the story the character is rejecting the concept of a relationship with the other. Whether this be told from the male, or female's perspective.
    jarofsapon July 20, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General CommentSocial phobia. That's the main theme of 'Deadwing' album.
    Nytstalkon February 20, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General CommentNytstalk, generalizing an album like deadwing is worthless.

    Anyways, this song is in the perpective of a person who, like many, had a bad experience with male-to-female interactions in their childhood (Did something in my past create a hole?) which left them desiring sexual pleasure in the place of brotherly interactions with other males. In modern society, its much simpler and easier to communicate with females via the PC (It's easier to talk to my PC). This particular person, though, is, along with being only particularly attracted to females, extremely shallow. He wants to have relations with women only if he is impregnating them (No good to me, not if you bleed). Also, this person is so good at manipulating women that he is practically surgical (Scissors cutting out your anger). This comes at a price, however, and this person doesn't have any real male friends, likely because he considers them a distraction to his relationships with women. (No friends to mention,
    No distraction, nowhere to go). I can't be positive that this is the correct interpretation, because you never can with PT, but it fits the lyrics extremely well.
    relic12on March 22, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My InterpretationI think that this song is about a guy who is suddenly forced to live on his own for some reason.So he is alone in a big city with no real friends just his PC and the internet to communicate with.This fact makes him wander about his past make him pessimist and anti-social.But generally I think that Porcupine Tree are referring to a lot of lonely people all over the world who are lacking of social skils and they are afraid of the world around them so they live in a fake cyber world.BADASS song by the way Steven Wilson HATED IT i LOVED IT
    nikscrimon August 05, 2011   Link
  • +1
    Lyric CorrectionHello,
    please, could you help me to identify distorted words in bridge part? In my opinion, it is reversed sound.

    Here you can listen it (first normal, then reversed):

    youtube.com/…
    dayslypperon October 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI disagree. I think the line "Don't use your gender to drive a stake right through my soul"
    Means that he is depressed that his girlfriend/wife left him, and he withdrew into cyberspace.
    "Scissors cutting out your anger"
    Means he's cutting, and this
    "This city drains me
    Or maybe it's the smell of gasoline
    The millions pain me
    It's easier to talk to my PC"
    Just re-inforces what I thought in the first place.
    Albert_fo_shizzleon October 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI think this song is about the character in the film Deadwing, who is "socially damaged in some way" (I think that was SW's words). Or possibly about the creep on the train with the laptop.
    GroovyJudeon December 26, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIf Mirror is right, this song is about me.
    FlashCEon October 04, 2006   Link

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