In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I know what you tell yourself,
You tell yourself
Look in the mirror,
Look in the mirror what does it show?
I hear you counting
I know you're adding up the score
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself,
You tell yourself
Ever since Eden we're built
For pleasing everyone knows
And ever since Adam cracked his ribs
And let us go
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself,
You tell yourself
Who taught you how to lie so well
And to believe in each and every word you say
Who told you that nothing about you is alright
It's just no use, it's just no good
You'll never be O.K.
Well I know, I know that wrong's been done to you
"It's such a tough world," that's what you say
Well I know, I know it's easier said than done
But that's enough girl,
Give it away give it, give it all away
Tell yourself that you're not pretty,
Look at you, you're beautiful
Tell yourself that no one sees Plain Jane Invisible to me, just tell yourself
Tell yourself you'll never be like
The anorexic beauties in the magazines
Just a bargain basement Barbie doll,
No belle do jour, no femme fatale
Just tell yourself
Tell yourself there's nothing worse
Than the pain inside and the way it hurts
But tell yourself it's nothing new
Cause everybody feels it too,
They feel it too
And there's just no getting 'round the fact
That you're thirteen right now
You tell yourself
Look in the mirror,
Look in the mirror what does it show?
I hear you counting
I know you're adding up the score
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself,
You tell yourself
Ever since Eden we're built
For pleasing everyone knows
And ever since Adam cracked his ribs
And let us go
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself,
You tell yourself
Who taught you how to lie so well
And to believe in each and every word you say
Who told you that nothing about you is alright
It's just no use, it's just no good
You'll never be O.K.
Well I know, I know that wrong's been done to you
"It's such a tough world," that's what you say
Well I know, I know it's easier said than done
But that's enough girl,
Give it away give it, give it all away
Tell yourself that you're not pretty,
Look at you, you're beautiful
Tell yourself that no one sees Plain Jane Invisible to me, just tell yourself
Tell yourself you'll never be like
The anorexic beauties in the magazines
Just a bargain basement Barbie doll,
No belle do jour, no femme fatale
Just tell yourself
Tell yourself there's nothing worse
Than the pain inside and the way it hurts
But tell yourself it's nothing new
Cause everybody feels it too,
They feel it too
And there's just no getting 'round the fact
That you're thirteen right now
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
First Part
To me it’s an adolescent girl blossoming in the midst of societies obsession with beauty, and what it means in general to be a woman.
“Look in the mirror” “I hear you counting, I know your adding up the score up the score” The narrator being once at that age can relate. Score= calories or it can be her own worth.
Second Part.
“Ever since Eden” Adam blamed Eve for his decision to consume of the “forbidden fruit” an event that later was to be known as “the fall of man”
“Built for pleasing” Since this time she’s been making up for this “indiscretion”.
Definitions Pretty = pleasing by delicacy or grace
“Belle dujour” in 1967 where a married woman is bored with being marriage, so she begins to have dreams of being raped, spanked, and humiliated. She then eagerly seeks to become a prostitute. I rented the film and there are morew than some inappropriate relationships that are hinted to when the main character was young. The film goes back and forth between reality and subconscience.