On The Other Side

My interpretation of this song is that its about feeling alienated from your friends; even though you have your social circle, you dont feel emotionally attached to anyone. I also think that the "I remember when you came" etc describes the start of a new friendship, and how interesting the new person seems, only for the protagonist to become tierd of the new friend, bringing it back to the first line, "Im tired of everyone i know.".

Personally, I love it.

Juicebox:

"I will train my eyes to see" Obviously, he's judgemental, so...forcing himself to be open minded

"And my mind is as blind as the birds on a tree" Now that I look at it again, this just seems like a struggle to rhyme, but I think it could be taken one of two ways:

1> Birds are extremely specific creatures, so his "mind being blind" could again be him being close-minded and overly specified, like a bird.

2> Unless one bird is a predator of another, different types of birds will sit on any given tree in harmony and their songs kind of mix together until it's a loud chatter. Again, with the closed/open mindedness thing, once he "trains his eyes to see," he won't notice people's specificities and they'll mesh with the beauty of everything....insert more flowery, cheesy sentences here...

I think in this song Julian feels alienated and is trying to convince himself he's different from everyone else and doesn't belong, and that he's completly alone and no one cares about him. He talks about how he hates everyone so he drinks excessively, and that they in turn hate him too ("Nobodys waiting for me, on the other side") He repeats that line the whole song. At the end he gives in and says "I know you're waiting for me, on the other side", which just shows he knew all along he is really like everyone else and there is someone waiting for him.

Clearly, this song is referring to alcoholism / excessive drinking. Julian is expressing his anger and frustration with the difficulties of living in our modern-day society. He is sick and "tired" of having to deal with the everyday drama, complications, and difficulties of human interaction and, as a solution, turns to the bottle ("so i'll drink some more"). The song expresses the realization that when one drinks, he can escape his discontent with the world to the point where he "loves them all." Inevitably, however, it will come down to the point where he will "hate them even more." The phrase, "on the other side," is clearly referring to being drunk, or "on the other side" of the harsh reality of his existence. This "other side" is portrayed as a solution to dealing with life's problems, yet the song seems to suggest that drinking only provides a temporary solution (if it even is a solution at all) to such issues. I absolutely love this album and I think this song successfully displays the anxt and frustration of having to always pretend to please everyone. The song, in a sense, is almost the expression of Julian's experience with drinking--it provides us with the extremely polarized thoughts of an intoxicated person ("I love them all" to "I hate them all"; "Nobody's waiting for me" to "I know you're waiting for me"). Overall, the lyrics suggest a lack of resolution; yes, alcohol can be an escape, but it can also lead to further confusions, frustrations, and anger... ...brilliant song...

Simple melody, simple lyrics, simply amazing. If you know enough about Jules, you know the meaning of the song is pretty clear.

All right, he's tired of everyone. They bore him; he's just not satisfied with them.

At first, the other side isn't very clear, but we can infer that later.

Next verse is his little cycle/routine. He hates them all when he's sober. He loves them all in a drunk state. He then drinks himself into a depressed-drunk state & hates them more than he would when he's sober.

Now, the other side? It's like the recovery side. The side he knows he should be on, but doesn't bother to go. The reason why he doesn't isn't because he doesn't want to; recovering from alcoholism isn't easy, so why go through the efforts if there's nobody even waiting for him "on the other side"?

It's totally Juliet! She was their manager at the time. Maybe it's just more obvious now because it's 2011 & they've been married for 6 years, but y'know..

Now that Julian's introduced her to the song, his attitude takes a turn up. Now, Jules is actually wanting to change & be better for her.

That's why he says he knows she's waiting for him. She makes him want to get to the other side.

i actually like this song

God that makes your eyes bleed man!! Why do that? it must take ages to write too..

ANYway, I'm pretty sure this is about Julian's drinking habit. He didnt really like all the hype and media attention he got in the first place. and then there was the stress and pressure from his record label to make a really good second album in a very short amount of time, which took it out of him. And then he ended up getting a lot of flak from the critics and some 'fans' (on the streets and on TV) which he apparently took to heart. He didnt really have very good relations with the media and certain magazines (I hate them all). During this time he drank a lot (I'll drink some more)and developed drinking habit. I think this fits with most of the song: "nobody's waiting for me on the other side" - no one can save him if he carries on like this.

What I dont get though is when he starts talking to someone "I remember when you came.." and then, "I know you're waiting for me, on the other side". Who is this? Juliet maybe?

I think this song is about Jim Morrison. Jules has stated before he was heavily influenced by him. Makes sense when you consider a lot of the lyrics.

"The other side", was a metaphor Jim used a lot.

Also "I hate them all, i hate them all. I hate myself, for hating them. So I'll drink some more. I love them all. I'll drink even more. I'll hate them even more than I did before."

Is that Jim or what ?

"I remember when you came. You told me how to sing. Now it seems so far away. You told me how to say."

And that seems like a touching little tribute to Jim. Jules' does sing a lot like him. Alternatingly mournful and ballistic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRu-y_yRONo

oh, and im completely in love with this song :]

one of their best songs, i dont understand why they don't perform it. Julian's voice is amazing in here