Nothing Rhymed

Ok, I have been staring at the Lyrics of this song and this it my interpretation of it's meaning:

Verse 1 If I do a good deed like a child, do we congratulate ourselves and seek a pat on the head kind of in a selfish way. If I make a mistake then you get punished far worse than you deserve to keep you in servitude (possibly to authority) This could be a reference to being treated as children and not having free will.

Verse 2 This is a juxtaposition, that opposites are true, I have the right to be wrong if I choose. And that I am allowed to gamble if I like even if I lose then I enjoyed it. It’s my right.

Verse 3 While I am eating, drinking and relaxing, will we notice what’s going on in the world or will we just ignore it because it’s not happening to us.

Verse 4 These are all well known phrases that start with Nothing used to explain or excuse things that happen, there is a repetition of the word for emphasis. There isn’t and exact rhyming word with the word nothing, but by using all these phrases that start with the word nothing, it starts to create a rhyme and makes sense.

In conclusion, there is no rhyme or reason to this world. We are told what to do and think, we are all selfish and live in our own little world and the only thing we use to make sense of it all or to excuse ourselves is the word Nothing, which in itself doesn’t rhyme with anything but we keep using it to explain things and it keeps being repeated by people.So a double meaning Nothing Rhymed as in Nothing made sense and Nothing Rhymed as in it was the word Nothing that rhymed.

I think it's saying that nothing makes sense in the world. If you give up your seat you think you are doing a good deed, and if you make a mistake in the course of duty you are punished severely for it. We become desensitised watching people starve to death while we are eating and drinking normally. I think it means that it all happens while we watch the world and there's nothing we really can do or we aren't really doing enough. Kind of like, life carries on and doesn't make sense while we live in our own little world.

I already talked about the first verse, which is so sweetly twisted, but how about this one.

"This feeling inside me can never deny me the right to be wrong if I choose, and this pleasure I get from say winning a bet is to lose."

Speaking of twisting words around -- this is a very nice one indeed.

The right to be wrong -- in the end, it's just a play with two words that are opposites, nothing much there, but this pleasure, when sung, also sounds like displeasure.

So, is it : This pleasure I get from winning a bet is to lose? or Displeasure I get from winning a bet is to lose?

Both opposites exist in the same phrase.

Awesome.

As far as meaning goes, I would say, the song is about mixed feelings -- especially when you're eating your pie and you can see people die on TV.. very mixed feelings indeed -- no rhyme or reason to it.

Peter

I'm surprised no one has commented on this song yet, as to me it stands out so strongly as a lyric. Gilbert really seems to be a master of melancholy lyrics without being dour, and this is a great example. He conveys dissatisfaction and angst so well in this song....it's a classic.

I have absolutely no idea what these lyrics mean - can anyone enlighten me please.

Whatver I do, whatever my age is - I need my moms affirmation. This is my scope.

I love that first phrase -- as much of the rest of the lyrics, it twists meaning. For example, I saw someone write "If I do a good deed like a child" -- while that first phrase is not about a "good deed at all". The first person is not giving away his own seat "to a elderly lady or man", he gives away the one he's "been saving".

Sounds bloody selfish to me :)

The song is simply saying that 'Nothing makes sense', you can perform an act or kindness and get a reward, or you can perform an act of duty, maybe as a soldier and yet be punished for it. You can have more then enough to eat while watching others starve to death.

Life is full of contradictions and unfairness. We give ourselves the right to be wrong. We justify fulfilling our pleasures regardless of the consequences.

Some of the best lyrics ever written in my opinion are: When I'm drinking my Bonaparte Shandy Eating more than enough apple pies Will I glance at my screen and see real human beings starve to death Right in front of my eyes

Just sang the words to myself and I could not finish the lyrics. This song gets me by the throat. This is top music, the lyrics are poetry. The words fit to the music and the other way around, it tells me more than what the words say. This is not about rational thoughts, this is about what we are.

The explanations do make sense, though, thanks to everybody who gave their thoughts.

I't's not only the words imho that add meaning to this particular gem of a song. I't's also the the music, that has a very nostalgic and somewhat pensive an vulnreable feel. The first part is a reminiscence of chidhood, when we learned from.. for instance a person we hold very dear, like our mother. The message is that we are formed but in that process feel protected and loved.. whem we comply. Later on, in the following verses we discover that what we heave learned doesn'r rhyme with our experiences. It's all topsy turvy. And.. we're lost, our anchor, our hold on the world is gone. It's our powerlesness that has us baffled and imbolised at the same time. so we wonder.. where did it go wrong? Why is that shelterd feeling when we and the world were in accord, because we did (eagerly) as we were told, gone forever? That nostalgic feel.. the muscic, Golberts outfit.. that rhymed!