It's getting late
I think my time is running out
No one special
Nothing lasting with inside

How should I stay calm
When panic lies just ahead?
Everyone can see my youth
Hanging by a thread

No subtle men
Came to my town
No subtle men
Begging for my hand

I'm one of few who's left
When everyone has gone
The train is leaving
And it's too late to get on

So much for running
When no one stays to wait
For another broken promise
To slip my mind by mistake

Who would take my word
On anything these days?
I felt so many times
Saying I'm gonna change

No subtle men
Came to my town
No subtle men

No lifelong friend
Lives in my town
No subtle men
Begging for my hand


Lyrics submitted by delial, edited by supasonic

No Subtle Men Lyrics as written by Anna Ternheim

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

No Subtle Men song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

4 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song makes me feel very sad, I think its about reviewing your live at a certain age. not regretting, but having peace with how your life has been, though you would have wanted it to be different.

    Schildpaddoon September 14, 2007   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    Yes.

    This song to me is about waiting your whole life to find that perfect person to spend your life with. You see your friends grow up, get married and have children...but you're left behind.

    And now she feels as if time is slipping away for her to have that chance.

    "No subtle men...came to my town...begging for my hand."

    CatCatCatCaton November 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's supposed to be "I've failed so many times, saying I'm gonna change."

    areniuson November 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think "Nothing lasting within sight" is a more proper ending of the first verse.

    This song speaks to me as well. More and more the older I get and as I don't seem to alter the behaviours that are setting the field for me.

    supasonicon April 02, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.