Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Citywide rodeo, you set on the stage, where all the clowns will go when they feel their age. I know that you think you're not good for anything. The world makes you feel so small. Get on your wooden horse. THis is a ride, not a fight. No need to save face, say goodnight Grace, "Goodnight, Grace." There's dust on the stadium seats, there's dust in your hair. You wonder how fast you'll go when you hit the air. And oh, isn't it strange how things can change you? And oh, isnt it plain that some things unname you, so dont ask anybody else. Citywide rodeo, step into your car. Look up at the indigo, and pick out your star.
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Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think this song is about how we all fight against the perceptions people have of us- rather pointlessly, really. But there's "no need to save face" because "this is a ride, not a fight." The line "you wonder how fast you'll go when you hit the air" (getting bucked off a bull's back) is a metaphor for realizing the "dust in the stadium seats" means all your enemies and spectators were imagined. We are our worst enemies, after all. You should "step into your car" and leave your self-criticisms and feelings of insufficiency behind. "Look up at the indigo and pick out your star"- realize who you are and go after it.
I haven't made sence of the whole thing but the "say goodnight Grace" might be a reference to the old show with George Burns and Gracei Allen where at the end Gracie would say something rediculous and George would end the show with "Say goodnight Gracie." In my fam with one of us got to a point where we didn't make sence someone would say to us "say goodnight Gracie" and that was our que to throw it in the towl, which sort of seems like this song is saying. The speaker is telling someone that they're "fighting" something that can't be fought and they don't need to "save face" but should throw in the towl- submit to the way it is so you can enjoy it. I don't know.
oh god i don't know what it means but i love it. "look up at the indigo and pick our your star"-beautiful. umm meanings meanings... maybe it's about believing in yourself? stab in the dark.
I think hab has the right idea about this song. I think its about life and how sometimes when you hit a rough spot you cant just give up. For me it gives off a theme like life is for the long run and you shouldnt get frizzled about small conflicts that happen along the way. I think it also incorporates the theme you win some you lose some. If you really read the second verse I think it helps explain my reason
I think you guys have the right idea... especially with the "no need to save face" line. It's like you can't always be right, so whatever happens you deal with it and move on. I love it!
I think that above anything, this song follows the process of growing up and staying in the same place at the same time, and/or possibly the symbolism of a day passing. It starts out as a lulliby in the first verse, for all intensive purposes, without much symbolism. It's about a kid just "sitting on the stage" just dreaming of being an entertainer, representing the morning. Then it goes into the chorus which this time has little to no symbolism, but yet shows how being on a large stage can make you feel small, especially as a child. Then it goes into the middle of the day where this person is now older, and performing, perhaps even very well, but still no one seems to notice or take interest. Heading back into the chorus, it shows how being in a big empty stadium with no one in it (metaphorical or literal) can also make you feel insignificant. This time, the line "This is a ride, not a fight" stands out saying perhaps something like "Stop fighting to try and get yourself to the top, just be yourself." That takes us to the bridge, where the person in this story realizes that him or her trying to be the best whatever has changed him or her. It's like he or she is saying that they didn't get the name they wanted, but instead got labeled for wanting that name, if that makes sense. Also at the same time, they feel like trying so hard has taken away their original name, or what they were naturally good at, and no one remembers what they were good at, so it's lost in the sands of time. Finally comes the last verse, which of course, represents death. In the end, the person looks to the night sky for whatever purpose, and quietly submits to death by being driven off in the car.
This is just my theory. It really is a beautiful song.
I think its about about aging and dying.
Some elders feel ‘useless’ because they are no longer able to contribute either to the home or society. Say goodbye to the gracefulness and agility of youth, look up at the dark blue sky and pick out which star you’ll be in heaven... just a thought.
Beautiful song.
"This is a ride, not a fight."
Ever since I've heard this line, I've always considered it to be something of a comment on life. Life is a "ride"--an experience that we all have and we're all on our individual paths. However, a lot of people like to compare themselves to others to determine the value of their own lives on different levels. How much money does person X earn compared to me, how many friends does person Y have compared to me, does person Z have an attractive significant other (or simply has one) compared to me.
The line, to me, says that we should forget all of that and just savor the ride we have rather than battle with others for the "ideal life".