Swimming beneath the continents
Swirling through the sky
Is everything I don't know yet
Still won't when I die

For I am just a little thing
Astounded by everything
The wet grass beneath my feet
The tall towers of concrete

If I was God no one would doubt it
You wouldn't need church to get the mystery
That we once knew
Is something we'd forget

I believe
I'm a totally modern boy (Turn out the lights)
I believe in something
Don't wanna be
Some evil giant's toy (When it's late at night)
I believe in something

My friend had his death foretold
When he was twenty-six years old
I say the right things, they're no help
His body slowly eats itself

If I was God no one would doubt it
No one would suspect
That there was nothing that I couldn't do

I believe in these tiny little pills (Turn out the lights)
I believe in something
Mystic words on the back of dollar bills (When it's late at night)
I believe in something

I'm swimming beneath the continents
Swirling through the air
Can't see the bones beneath my skin
But I knew that they're there

I believe that my little heart's diseased (Turn out the lights)
I believe in something
I like to think there are people just like me (When it's late at night)
I believe in something

I believe what they taught me in grade school (Turn out the lights)
History is made my handsome fools (When it's late at night)
I believe everything on television
Twelve step programs are the new religion
Gideon bibles made with rolling paper
The just prevail sooner or later
I believe I will live forever
I believe it all
I'll swear to whatever
I believe in something


Lyrics submitted by Joe543345

I Believe In Something song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    The second bridge is incomplete; it should read "...that there was nothing I couldn't do WITH MY GREATER INTELLECT".

    Also, the correct line reading is "Gideon Bibles make good rolling paper" (meaning the pages of the bibles can be easily rolled into homemade cigarettes, both legal and not).

    RogerRyanon February 02, 2011   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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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”
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
No Surprises
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.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.