The Whole World and You

Ummm...there are a few mistakes. Correct lyrics:

There's lots of pretty people here Sharing sotries and passing letters and There's lots of questions answered and metaphysical astronomical songs Words printed on all on papers that Seem too mystical it's so magical People that dance and compute that No one's better than you

There's kings in distant cities Who rule their persons and make them happy and We won't forget about all the servisory congratultory Even the animals know that Somethings brewing and they're all cooing 'Cause in the end I'd like to say Know one's better than you

I hope you're happy now I've revealed the truth I've even written this whole song about you And not about me And not about me...

Please don't just laugh and clap right now This is serious I'm not delirious I've waited very patiently Just to let you know who should run this show 'cause we all know these are the facts Nothing to retract nothing too abstract Concluding in this song I'll say Noone's better then you No one's better then you No one's better then you

I think its amazing that they make this cheery upbeat happy song with serious lyrics. Genius.

i love love love this song so much. especially how in the end everyone is laughing and clapping and he says "please dont just laugh and clap right now. this is serious. im not delerious."

amazing artists, tally hall.

You are looking at the lyrics and not what they mean. The message of the song is what's so funny here. I think(used loosely as I may be torn up here) that this is sarcasm and a mocking at his (former?) girlfriend. Trying to say, "Okay, I give up." in the most embarrassing way possible. It probably worked too...

I'm guessing it becomes more clear when the repeated refrain is prefixed with "Given a choice between you and no one, "

i think it's so great... this song is in a crayola commercial and it's about narcissism!

Amazing song. Amazing band.

It seems pretty clear to me that this song is a satire of religion, and particularly worship. "No one's better than you" is a sort of droll, sarcastic summation of what religious worship songs are all ultimately saying.

"There's lots of pretty people here Sharing sotries and passing letters and"

Everyone dressed up nicely for church, socializing.

"There's lots of questions answered and Metaphysical astronomical Songs were printed all on papers that Seem too mystical it's so magical"

The pastor answers metaphysical and astronomical questions about the faith. They give out pamphlets with the worship songs printed on them.

"People that dance and copied that No one's better then you"

Essentially saying that all these worship services are just a bunch of people mindlessly repeating the same idea: No one is better than you (God)

Not sure about the kings in distant cities verse. It seems to fit the tone of the whole thing but I don't think it's a straight allegory like the other two verses. Any ideas?

"I hope you're happy now I've revealed the truth I've even written this whole song about you"

Asking for God's favor for spreading the good news and writing this worship song.

"And not about me And not about me..."

The somber repetition of this line suggests that worship songs are maybe more about the singer's own satisfaction than legitimately praising a higher power.

"Please don't just laugh and clap right now This is serious I'm not delirious I've waited very patiently Just to let you know who should run this show"

He seems to be singing from the pastor's perspective here. Asking the congregation to take these claims of "who should run the show" seriously.

"'cause we all know these are the facts Nothing to retract nothing too abstract"

Critique of religious ignorance and refusal to listen to any ideas that aren't written in their book. There's "nothing to retract": These ideas can't evolve, be changed or removed. "Nothing too abstract": Religion is very simple and unnuanced; an absolute good vs an unambiguous evil. Do good and you'll be rewarded, do bad and you'll be punished. Nothing too abstract.

"Concluding in this song I'll say No one's better then you No one's better then you No one's better then you"

Self-explanatory.

Just discovered Tally Hall through Rob Cantor and I'm LOVING them. I was like "huh, this guy's shia labeouf thing is great, I wonder what else he's done?" Instantly fell in love with Old Bike and Perfect, then I discovered he was in a band and promptly downloaded Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum and it's just been great. Does anyone know if they're officially broken up or if they're just not doing anything right now? I'd love to hear more

I'm near certain that everyone in this comments section is a little off about what the intended meaning of the song is. The song is literally about us, the listener, and how we live out our own lives. The lyrics don't reveal everything here, the music video itself certainly plays a large part into the meaning of the song.

There is lots of imagery in the video to support this point - all of the characters are puppets (except for the man in the room that controls them all secretly), showing that none of the "rulers" are powerful, but instead just figureheads and on the same plane as everyone else.

The start of the song appreciates the brilliance of what people as individuals can do - they're the ones that answer these questions, pass letters, share "sotries" and dance.

The man in the room is seen to actually make the gun to kill off the puppet that reveals the truth to everyone else, revealing that he is always and will always be the one in control, keeping them in a sealed box and stopping them from ruling themselves and leaving.

The puppet that reveals the truth says it's "not about him" in reference to how he shouldn't be involved in their personal lives at all - he writes it about them because he cares for them and wants them to retain their liberty.

At times, he isn't taken seriously by his supporters or his opposition, telling both to stop "clapping and laughing" and that he "isn't delirious". He's trying his best to sort of say "I'm not trying to score political points, this is actually the best way to do things and they won't tell you that."

TL;DR: The song is ideologically based in the ruling of oneself without interference from government - which is said to be the "true way" of living life - that people living afar don't know the best way for you to live, and that they're all puppets. The politician that reveals this to everyone is assassinated for bringing it up since he would be reducing the power and size of the government over peoples lives, giving the government a smaller role overall.

It's funny how he sings "sotries" instead of "stories." Charming little song.