False Alarm

Favorite song by KT Tunstall.. Lovely, really.

The abortion theory works, but I think this really fits part of my life as well (no, i've never gotten an abortion and don't plan on it >_> ). Like.. I'll explain.

" I'm trying to put this thing to bed I drugged it in it's sleep There isn't many memories I'm comfortable to keep "

Here I am, trying to call off a situation in which I'm in love with a friend of mine but who I know wouldn't have me over everything else. Drugging it in it's sleep could mean trying to forget it when I'm unconcious, but it'll only come back to haunt me when I wake up. And even when I'm not awake, I have dreams taunting me with things I know aren't possible right now.

"This ball keeps rolling on It's heading for the street Keep expecting you to send for me Tte invitation never comes"

The ball heading into the street represents a path to destruction.. I know seeing him fall for everybody except for me can't be healthy, but I can't stop caring about him either way. I long for the day he'll just want to see 'me', over a variety of other choices.. but he hasn't deemed me close enough for that yet, or he may just remain uninterested..

"Each time I turn around There's nothing there at all So tell me why I feel like I'm up against a wall"

I've felt like maybe, if I looked behind me, he'd actually be there waiting someday. But again, he hasn't, and it makes me feel restrained, like there's nothing I can do to break out of how I feel, that perhaps all my efforts are futile.

"But maybe it's a false alarm And every answer sounds the same Just colours bleeding into one that hasn't got a name Maybe I can't see Maybe it's just me"

And there are times when it almost seems like I -am- the only thing that matters in his mind, but then I realize it's only temporary. "Every answer sounds the same", whatever we talk about will always end with him running off to somebody else.. The colors part, that's the one that confuses me greatly.. o_o; I suppose I'll get back to it later..

And maybe I'm the one imagining it all, over the past year that we've seemed to gain a better friendship and understanding of one another, some days it's almost like we've just met. And that may be. Maybe it's just me..?

"put this thing to bed" - maternal imagery. "drugged it in its sleep" - suggestions of abortion, particularly from the reference to sleep, contrasting with the word "drugged" to make the process seem more humane and peaceful. "Expecting you to send for me" points at an ended relationship. Other baby/pregnancy lines, "it hasnt got a name", the vain hope that it is a "false alarm", and "comfortable to keep it". perhaps the man wants to keep it, lady doesnt, hence the confusion in the lyrics and the fact that they dont seem to be together any more.

beautiful song.

"Another curtains coming up The audience is still I'm struggling to cater for The space I'm meant to fill"

I'm a drama student, and this makes sense in my case. Struggling to cater for the space I'm meant to fill? I'm having trouble trying to be a good friend to the person I don't truly want to be 'just friends' with, but that's the only way he'll bother seeing it.

"And distance doesn't care No distance doesn't care"

It doesn't matter how far or how close we are at one point, it still seems like we stay at a distance I don't want..

... (repeated lines)

"Remember what you said. Are you comfortable to keep it? Keep it?"

The first time I heard this, I heard it as simply 'keep', not 'keep it'. That would fit more, making me question if it was comfortable to keep him like this.. If you add in the 'it' part, you could argue I might be asking if it would be okay to keep the emotions I store.. even if they'll never be given anything happy. :/ Rather complicated, but I hope my analysis helped.

shiko, your interpretation is really beautiful. i think K.T. is a great writer in that the analogies are beautiful and simple. You you don't have to think much to interpret the songs, so nothing gets lost in the interpretation. i think you've nailed this one.

also! music and it's presentation are really important. i really love the way the song just sounds "tired". it sounds like she's thought this thing over and over so much she's just tired. lovely song.

I really liked all the interpretations of this song. This is a great site. I'm new to it - but love hearing what everyone thinks. KT is gifted lyrically and if you're into lyrics - check out Amy Rigby - she's fun!!

To me, this song is about depression. You "drug it" and try to get it to go away. and you don't want to remember a lot of things because it makes you depressed. Like the line "Each time I turn around There's nothing there at all So tell me why I feel like I'm up against a wall"

Usually depression happens for no reason. Nothing's going on, but you still feel trapped.

i read somewhere that she wrote this song about the ending of an important friendship. she kept waiting for her friend to call and get in touch again, but nothing...

isabella could be right on. I also see it as the end of any kind of relationship, and she constantly wants to believe things will get better again, but alas, it's a "false alarm". And 'putting it to bed' and 'drugging it in it's sleep' is just an allusion to wanting to forget about it.