This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
[Black Eyed Peas]
Johnny wanna be a big star
Get on stage and play the guitar
Make a little money buy a fancy car
A big old house and a alligator
Just to match with them alligator shoes
He’s a rich man so he’s no longer singing the blues
He’s singin songs about material things...
And platinum rings and watches that go bling,
But
Diamonds don’t bling in the dark
He a star now, but he aint singin it from the heart
Sooner or later hes just gonna fall apart
Cause his fans can’t relate to his new found art
He aint doin what he did from the start
And that’s putting in some feeling and thought
He decided to live his life shallow
Cash in his love for material
And it's gone
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
[Black Eyed Peas]
You see yourself in the mirror
And ya ...
Feel safe cause it looks familiar
But ya ...
Afraid up to open up your soul
Cause ya ...
dont really know, dont really know
Who is ...
The person thats deep within
Cause you content with just being the name brand man
And ya
Thought to see that it’s trivial,
Insignificant you addicted to material
I seen your kind before
You’re the type that thinks souls is sold in the store
Packaged up with incense sticks with a vegetarian meal to you that’s righteous
Your fiction like books,
Need to go out to life and look
Cause uh...
What happens when they take your material, and you already sold your soul
and its....
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
[Black Eyed Peas]
You say that time is money and money is time
So you got your mommy, and money and your money on your mind
But what about that crime you did to get paid
And what about that bid you can’t take it to your grave
[Jack Johnson]
What about those shoes you’re in today,
They will be no good,
On the bridges you've walked along the way
[Black Eyed Peas]
All that money that you got
Gonna be gone
Yah..
That gear that you rock
Gonna be gone
That house up on the hill
Gonna be gone
The gold purse on your grill
Gonna be gone
The ice on your wrist
Gonna be gone
That nice little miss
Gonna be gone
That whip that you roll
Gonna be gone
What’s worst is your soul already gone
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
Johnny wanna be a big star
Get on stage and play the guitar
Make a little money buy a fancy car
A big old house and a alligator
Just to match with them alligator shoes
He’s a rich man so he’s no longer singing the blues
He’s singin songs about material things...
And platinum rings and watches that go bling,
But
Diamonds don’t bling in the dark
He a star now, but he aint singin it from the heart
Sooner or later hes just gonna fall apart
Cause his fans can’t relate to his new found art
He aint doin what he did from the start
And that’s putting in some feeling and thought
He decided to live his life shallow
Cash in his love for material
And it's gone
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
[Black Eyed Peas]
You see yourself in the mirror
And ya ...
Feel safe cause it looks familiar
But ya ...
Afraid up to open up your soul
Cause ya ...
dont really know, dont really know
Who is ...
The person thats deep within
Cause you content with just being the name brand man
And ya
Thought to see that it’s trivial,
Insignificant you addicted to material
I seen your kind before
You’re the type that thinks souls is sold in the store
Packaged up with incense sticks with a vegetarian meal to you that’s righteous
Your fiction like books,
Need to go out to life and look
Cause uh...
What happens when they take your material, and you already sold your soul
and its....
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
[Black Eyed Peas]
You say that time is money and money is time
So you got your mommy, and money and your money on your mind
But what about that crime you did to get paid
And what about that bid you can’t take it to your grave
[Jack Johnson]
What about those shoes you’re in today,
They will be no good,
On the bridges you've walked along the way
[Black Eyed Peas]
All that money that you got
Gonna be gone
Yah..
That gear that you rock
Gonna be gone
That house up on the hill
Gonna be gone
The gold purse on your grill
Gonna be gone
The ice on your wrist
Gonna be gone
That nice little miss
Gonna be gone
That whip that you roll
Gonna be gone
What’s worst is your soul already gone
[chorus | Jack Johnson]
Gone, going, gone
Everything
Gone
Give a damn
Gone, be the birds when they don't wanna sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone.
Lyrics submitted by danielle_englisch
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Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
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Why is everyone complaining? The lyrics are right there have you guys read them? I mean really I'm generally not a fan of BEP and I have no problem accusing them of having some shitty worthless songs, but I think they did a great job on this song because they actually didn't ruin the message at all. I don't really like it better than the original but it appeals to a whole different spectrum of people and the meaning stays completely intact so what's so bad about that? And yeah I can see how you could say it's somewhat hypocritical for them to sing about it but that doesn't effect how good the song is. And either way at least it's not like whenever Timbaland's in a song and all he's capable of talking about is bitches and fuckin'. I guess I'm just saying imagine you didn't know it was the black eyed peas, would you still hate it then?
in light of some of the comments posted here... isn't it ironic the song is about an artist selling out?
Jack Johnson and Black Eyed Peas...wtf?
i love love love this song....its funky yet calming...and its self explanatory...people in hollywood become shallow after they get all these materialistic things...and after a while all these things just fade and go away...in the end..johnny is left with nothing...
Fuck off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jack is the most non-corporate singer/guy on the planet. he puts all of his song on his website for god sake!
WTF!!!!!!!!!!
The orginal is FANTASTIC! But what are Jack doing?! Black eyed peas?!! I heard the song two days ago and has been angry since! I hate black eyed peas! Jack shouldn't have done this! I think Jack's fans are agree with me. And black eyed peas fans would be happy... But as a real Jack Johnson fan, I would say I'm really disepointed! =(
Ok firstly for those of you who think a band sucks.. should remember that everything they like is hated by someone... in this case i recon it was a good experiment with bep n jack.. sounded good.. catchy.. not a bad combination.. but it is in the end only a matter of opinion...
This is such a great song. I think the BeP remix adds alot to it.
I feel like theres a connection between the lyrics here and the bible verse Matthew 6:25. Its like if you stockpile or store up things then you're not getting ahead, all those things are material and will be gone. But oh the whole, every living thing will be taken care of, and you should focus on building up your soul instead.
Jack...why?...atleast the message is decent I guess, but come on Jack, the BEP are the most corporate pop band in the world. They are a tool of global media mind molding. Why you would do a song with them is beyond me.
jack likes adding flare and different things to his songs.. and it could include using rap/funk/etc. hes a simple guy, and only cares about making good music.