Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
even though we're all quiet and we are all quite dead, this is not the sound of us atrophying. this is the sound of our revenge.
Lyrics submitted by vulgar
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Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
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@Kahiara Actually I think the husband passed away,
"She sang for you last night
She heard you were calling"
Many people say they have felt, heard, or seen their loved ones after they have passed.
"Don't be scared now
Close your eyes
She holds guard tonight
Go on forward no remorse
Life will take it's course"
This is said to the late husband by a third part (never named), who encourages him to pass on. Because life will eventually continue. The phrase "holds guard" refers to the ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… ) which is a Christian ceremony held after someone dies. Now it is usually held right after the funeral, but in most celtiic countries the wake is held before the funeral.
"She danced with you last night so you will remember
All you have shared, a lifetime."
This sentence feels as if the only thing it wants to convey is their history together, namely, husband and wife. For the rest it just refers back to the first verse.

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Shudder to Think
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Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.

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