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”
Take a leaf of paper and draw your mind
Your bourbon brown that can burn my eyes
I lost your presence underneath the bridge
Lock the door, let's talk it out
Against the wall, hands on my mouth
Could this be it, is it really over now?
You wore a pink T-shirt and khaki pants
You played your songs and you danced your dance
I unwrapped your presents underneath your feet
Nine to eleven you're getting weak
The tile is cold, I can barely speak
And I think she's gone, but I'll be sure for safety's keeping
If you say no, then no it will be
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced with colly strings
Just play it cool, yeah, and try to avoid being seen
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced for nothing
Well, yeah, I saw inside the mirror your smoking gun
[Incomprehensible], the subscribing one by one
And I fell so fast in Sufat's bedroom
You said, you saw it coming but you didn't see nothing
Your eyes are on the living room, your eyes are on the closet
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything
A pity invitation to an awkward house
For pseudo-boy that would rather wear a blouse
I sincerely saw your skin for the very first time
My curly hair and a voting booth
Confessingly, this is the first time I've loved you
And God I mean, God I mean it, I hope that I mean it
'Cause like dying young, idols got the best of me
Well, don't stop calling, you're the reason I love losing sleep
And the building collapse, we'll shop one, we'll shop one for something
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced for something
Besides, don't release me until it's over
Besides, you can't believe without fear
Besides, you can't believe without fear
Your bourbon brown that can burn my eyes
I lost your presence underneath the bridge
Lock the door, let's talk it out
Against the wall, hands on my mouth
Could this be it, is it really over now?
You wore a pink T-shirt and khaki pants
You played your songs and you danced your dance
I unwrapped your presents underneath your feet
Nine to eleven you're getting weak
The tile is cold, I can barely speak
And I think she's gone, but I'll be sure for safety's keeping
If you say no, then no it will be
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced with colly strings
Just play it cool, yeah, and try to avoid being seen
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced for nothing
Well, yeah, I saw inside the mirror your smoking gun
[Incomprehensible], the subscribing one by one
And I fell so fast in Sufat's bedroom
You said, you saw it coming but you didn't see nothing
Your eyes are on the living room, your eyes are on the closet
Don't worry about, don't worry about anything
A pity invitation to an awkward house
For pseudo-boy that would rather wear a blouse
I sincerely saw your skin for the very first time
My curly hair and a voting booth
Confessingly, this is the first time I've loved you
And God I mean, God I mean it, I hope that I mean it
'Cause like dying young, idols got the best of me
Well, don't stop calling, you're the reason I love losing sleep
And the building collapse, we'll shop one, we'll shop one for something
I'll stick it at our skin, pierced for something
Besides, don't release me until it's over
Besides, you can't believe without fear
Besides, you can't believe without fear
Lyrics submitted by aeternum vale, edited by Rota
Colly Strings Lyrics as written by Andy Hull
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
Radiohead
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Also, just found this in a new absolutepunk interview:
ANDY: "Colly Strings" is a song I wrote on the first record I wrote for my fiancee. Each phrase of four lines switches back and fourth from my perspective and hers. The song tells the story of the hard things we had to get through to finally find each other. "Besides you can't believe without bleeding" references the idea that before you can experience real joyfulness, you have to experience pain. It's the only way you can appreciate the good. And to clear confusion on the lyric people can't understand... it is "And I fell flat in Seth Ott's bedroom"."
absolutepunk.net/showthread.php
So it's obvious the pink shirt and khakis are describing what Andy's wearing. Those of you who thought that was a gay reference, nice.
wow that's so clever! thanks!