We expected something, something better than before
We expected something more

Do you really think you can just put it in a safe
Behind a painting, lock it up and leave?
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe
Behind a painting, lock it up and leave?
Walk away now and you're gonna start a war

Whatever went away, I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again
Walk away now and you're gonna start a war

We expected something, something better than before
We expected something more

You were always weird but I never had to hold you
By the edges, like I do now
You were always weird but I never had to hold you
By the edges, like I do now
Walk away now and you're gonna start a war

Whatever went away, I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again
Whatever went away, I'll get it over now
I'll get money, I'll get funny again
Walk away now and you're gonna start a war
Walk away now and you're gonna start a war


Lyrics submitted by lampada, edited by atlmonkey, all-is-sun

Start a War Lyrics as written by Matthew D. Berninger Aaron Dessner

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Start a War song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

36 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Actually I think this song is about a guy who is losing his girlfriend, he knows that she will leave at any giving minute and he is scared. Those are words of desperation, basically threatening her. He doesn't want it to end.

    They expected that their relationship would get better with time, at least better than before, but it didn't. But he still wants to make it work. "Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave?" always sounded like "Do you really think you can just put our relationship in the past, get over it and just carry on with your life?". He threatens start a war if she leaves and that's because he's scared of losing her.

    "Whatever went away I'll get it over again, I'll get money I'll get funny again". When you are young you never feel like you can really lose something. You always think that everything will be alright sometime. This is like denial, you don't accept that something can definitely go wrong, no fix.

    "You were always weird but I never had to hold you by the edges, like I do now". She always had that free spirit, some people like to have their own spaces in their relationships, but now it feels like she's really trying to leave. Now he needs to constantly hold her, because he knows that she'll go away sometime.

    Well, if she does, he's gonna start a war.

    lucasemgon June 02, 2014   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
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
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
Dreamwalker
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.
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.