Editors – Munich

"Munich" as written by Thomas Michael Smith, Christopher Dominic Urbanowicz, Russell Leetch and Edward Owen Lay....
I'm so glad I've found this
I'm so glad I did
I'm so glad I've found this
I'm so glad I did

People are fragile things, you should know by now
Be careful what you put them through

People are fragile things, you should know by now
You'll speak when you're spoken to

It breaks when you don't force it
It breaks when you don't try
It breaks if you don't force it
It breaks if you don't try

People are fragile things, you should know by now
Be careful what you put them through

People are fragile things, you should know by now
You'll speak when you're spoken to

With one hand you calm me
With one hand I'm still
With one hand you calm me
With one hand I'm still

People are fragile things, you should know by now
Be careful what you put them through

People are fragile things, you should know by now
You'll speak when you're spoken to

You'll speak when you're spoken to
You'll speak when you're spoken to
He'll speak when he's spoken to
She'll speak when she's spoken to


Lyrics submitted by obsessed, edited by tomtoe

"Munich" as written by Edward Owen Lay Christopher Dominic Urbanowicz

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Munich song meanings
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47 Comments

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  • +5
    General CommentFeelings and inadequecies make people the easiest things to break when handled wrongly by certain people.
    gilbagon August 10, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI believe the song is trying to sum up some things that have happened in Munich over the last century (rise of Hitler, the Munich Massacre during the Olympics). Munich has been an example of human fear and weakness.. well, just think about it.
    Swiveon December 09, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General CommentMaybe about a relationship breaking up? He says how she's careless and treats people badly, but he was still glad it happened. He thinks about how they fail when you don't try. She breaks up with him and (maybe someone else) sits there with him and calms him down while he's upset and angry. Or something...
    Leif_Eriksonon July 26, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Commentdoes anyone else think this song could relate to domestic abuse or rape within a relationship? there's the whole 'speak when you're spoken to' thing, 'one hand you calm me, one hand i'm still'... and the part where he says 'it breaks if you don't force it' could well be about forcing someone into sex as a means of ignoring the problems in the relationship.
    transparenteyeballon January 23, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI think that this song is talking about breaking up. "It breaks when you don't force it." That normally doesn't make sense but if you don't force, or work, a relationship, then the relationship falls away.
    I don't know if it's about Munich. Munich isn't the city with a troubled past in Germany--that's Berlin.
    As for the athletes, I also think of the human body. You have to force it to work.
    But I also think it's about control and relationships, especially hierarchies. Parents and children, very Confuscious-style and strict.
    And if you're a shocking person, then you damage fragile relationships.
    akleinsmithon May 31, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentAt first, I wasn’t sure what this song was about. I enjoyed everyone’s take on it because it helped shape what my interpretation of it is. Yes, it is absolutely about the murders in Munich. If athletes are in the video, I have little doubt that is what they were focusing on. It is also very much about relationships and the two tie together. Munich is the extreme example of how bad things can go when fragile people, which all of us are, are broken. It is the example of the horrible results of relationships gone bad and it is hard to imagine a worse relationship than that one. I feel this song is exploring the boundaries of relationships between groups of people and individuals. So, while we have situations like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which impacts some people more than others, at an individual level we all have relationships. I think this is somewhat of a reminder/warning to people to be cognizant of the impact you have on people and people’s fragile state and how you can have a positive impact by assuming a nurturing role in someone’s life, “with one hand you calm me” and how you can have a negative impact “you’ll speak when you’re spoken to”. To me, the “you’ll speak when you’re spoken to” line is about emotionally abusive relationships and this line which closes out the song is kind of a cautionary command to us all to do what we can to make an effort “force it” to have healthy relationships with people. Because “it breaks if you don’t force it, it breaks if you don’t try.” I think the song is a frightening reminder of how delicate the human psyche is and that most atrocities that happen can be linked to bad/unhealthy relationships between groups and individuals.
    Pookydooon January 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Commented said that the song is not at all about munich. they haven't even been there the time they wrote it. they just made it and were looking for a title and "munich sounds funny". that's why.
    madrigalon December 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment"People are fragile things, you should know by now
    Be careful what you put them through"

    How can you say that this song is not about munich and their culture in general. this line sums up perfectly the rise of the fascists!
    EL BASTARDDOon December 21, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentGreat song!
    Sirius1on January 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Commentwhen i first heard this song i thought it was about relationships etc. after reading the suggestion that it is about Munich's past, this seems to make more sense, even if the song was not originally written about it. the line "it breaks when you don't force it" makes me think of how the Nazi party gained power in Germany legally (i.e., it wasn't forced). also, the lines "with one hand you calm me, with one hand i'm still" reminds me of news footage of Hitler giving speeches and saluting, silencing the crowd.
    ladyboygrrlon January 07, 2006   Link

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