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.
Well, you started off
You were flying in the air,
Drunk without a care,
On the love of somebody out there
And your heart did pound
Every time you’d hear the sound
Of your true love queened and crowned
And the flowers were smelling like heaven
There were walks in the park,
There were kisses in the dark,
And proverbial sparks
That always precede failure
And your heart did fly
And your soul was telling lies
And you never asked why,
This couldn’t all last
Forever
And there were
Granted wishes and heartbreaking bitches
And a world too inanimate to grab you by your britches and say
That you don’t ever want to be in love
Again.
There were days in the sand.
We just kissed and held hands,
Dreamed utopic foreign lands
Where we’d live together
Forever
And time was a blur,
Punctuated with a stir,
It was always cause of her,
And always was never enough
You started thinking about
All the times you’ve spent without,
It begets a seed of doubt,
In the clockwork peach in your soul
And your memories bleed
And your pulse is gaining speed.
All these thoughts are a disease
And poetry’s one of the flesh
And there were
Granted wishes and heartbreaking bitches
And a world too inanimate to grab you by your britches and say
That you don’t ever want to be in love
Again.
Now the world seems strange.
All your thoughts are rearranged
And you’re feeling quite estranged --
Oh, I hate remembering vacation.
Now you’re distorting pictures
And dislodging fixtures,
And creating mixtures of truth
And reality
And your heart’s palpitating
As your world’s disintegrating,
You begin to start hating
The things that make life
Life.
But every time you dream of better,
All you end up getting is worse
And the ability to truly see the changes in your life could be the ultimate encompassing curse
But intrinsically humanity cannot end on such tragedy
So here it is: the silvery verse that I must sing
That there are prom night dresses
And fairytale princesses
And a world too inanimate to openly confess all its sins…
Love’s the...
You were flying in the air,
Drunk without a care,
On the love of somebody out there
And your heart did pound
Every time you’d hear the sound
Of your true love queened and crowned
And the flowers were smelling like heaven
There were walks in the park,
There were kisses in the dark,
And proverbial sparks
That always precede failure
And your heart did fly
And your soul was telling lies
And you never asked why,
This couldn’t all last
Forever
And there were
Granted wishes and heartbreaking bitches
And a world too inanimate to grab you by your britches and say
That you don’t ever want to be in love
Again.
There were days in the sand.
We just kissed and held hands,
Dreamed utopic foreign lands
Where we’d live together
Forever
And time was a blur,
Punctuated with a stir,
It was always cause of her,
And always was never enough
You started thinking about
All the times you’ve spent without,
It begets a seed of doubt,
In the clockwork peach in your soul
And your memories bleed
And your pulse is gaining speed.
All these thoughts are a disease
And poetry’s one of the flesh
And there were
Granted wishes and heartbreaking bitches
And a world too inanimate to grab you by your britches and say
That you don’t ever want to be in love
Again.
Now the world seems strange.
All your thoughts are rearranged
And you’re feeling quite estranged --
Oh, I hate remembering vacation.
Now you’re distorting pictures
And dislodging fixtures,
And creating mixtures of truth
And reality
And your heart’s palpitating
As your world’s disintegrating,
You begin to start hating
The things that make life
Life.
But every time you dream of better,
All you end up getting is worse
And the ability to truly see the changes in your life could be the ultimate encompassing curse
But intrinsically humanity cannot end on such tragedy
So here it is: the silvery verse that I must sing
That there are prom night dresses
And fairytale princesses
And a world too inanimate to openly confess all its sins…
Love’s the...
Lyrics submitted by catnamedzane
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No Surprises
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Page
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I like their songwriting.
This song is just called Chbb