You try to keep your composure
I'm only having a laugh
The latest attempt at closure
Failed after 25 drafts

But I can still retain this
I can still collect
You're cashing in on misery
And calling in all your debts

Stop trying to keep your composure
I'm only having a laugh
The latest attempt at closure
Failed after 25 drafts

But I still can still retain this
I can still retain this
I can still retain this

Stop trying to keep your composure
Stop trying to keep your composure
Stop trying to keep your composure
Stop trying to keep your composure

And it comes as no surprise you never let go...


Lyrics submitted by christsizeshoes

Commemorative 9/11 T-shirt song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    mike vennart said it isn't even about 9/11.

    "I was sold a t-shirt by the singer of the Cardiacs. On the label it read 'For ages 9-11', and when he sold it to me he said "oh, here's one of our commemorative 9/11 teeshirts," so I got thinking about what sort of person would wear a 9/11 teeshirt. Someone who's not really looking to the future."

    thecharmoffensiveon July 01, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    It's not a matter of mocking the victims of 9/11, it's more a matter of being able to continue living your lives after the tragedy. Yes, it's a tragedy, but your life should move on. That's not to say you won't think about the fact your loved ones are gone, but you should be able to accept it.

    Nucleozoid, your comment is just ignorant.

    dark1217on October 18, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That missing part is "calling in all your debts". Great work on this. Do me a solid and do Savant next. =)

    pmasseyon August 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I dig this song. The entire Frames album is so rad I can't stand it.

    The meaning of this is fairly obvious I think.

    soundless_spaceon September 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this is about our inability to let go of certain events, specifically OR as an example, 9/11, and our ambition to exploit and cling to such things long since their effect has waned. We only remember them because society does, and not because of any personal emotion. I think this also might relate to the resultant war in Iraq - the government "cashing in on a misery", exploiting a sad situation to its own ends.

    Nice song though. The heavy part near the end always really hits me :) .

    Arkyopterixon November 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Songs written from the perspective of "someone who would wear a commemorative 9/11 tshirt"- that's from Vennart.

    The way I see it, it's from the perspective of someone who is sick of all the hypocricy and breast- beating about 9/11- someone who can't see the irony in the situation. "Stop trying to keep your composure/I'm only having a laugh"

    The speaker realises the ridiculousness of the current situation, and is generally disillusioned with society's take on the issue. In the end, all he can retain is the irony and humour in the situation, and "it comes as no surprise" that "you never let go"

    Ugmoticon May 09, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I can definitely relate to this song. I've seen "9-11" t shirts for sale on the boardwalk in S. Jersey quite a few times. And the first time I saw it, I had to laugh at how ridiculous a notion it was. Of course, someone like Nucleozoid was in earshot and decided to make a big deal about my reaction. It's a horrible event, there's no doubt about that in any sane person's mind.. but when people use it to their advantage, ie selling those shirts or using it as a political springboard (Rudolph Guiliani, I am looking at you), that's "cashing in on misery" as far as I'm concearned. All this song does is point that out.

    SrMisteriosoxon October 31, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    I agree with everything Mike Vennart says, and I'm an American myself.

    9/11 is the past, we took note of security issues, now we should look upon the future.

    Lately, advertising in the US has been selling coins for $29.99 that contain metal from the ground zero site.

    I know it's a bit odd to say this, but if a new tragedy were to occur, the commemorative 9/11 t-shirts and coins with metal from ground zero would drop and we would focus and cash in on the new tragedy.

    Nobody cares. They'll profit from anything. "Cashing in on misery."

    It's disappointing.

    Ethanoddon March 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Just something to note; the song does in fact fluctuate between 9/8 and 11/8 near the end =)

    Giveuptheghoston July 11, 2011   Link
  • -3
    General Comment

    'll never let go, nor should any intelligent person in the west. The lyricist is a fool to think we should - as it will happen again when it is forgotten.
    I live less than 30 miles from the site of the attack and have friends that died in this horrible fucking tragedy. If I were to see anyone laughing at anything that has to do with the events of 9-11, believe me, I won't "keep my composure" - I will immediately cave your fucking face in.
    Too bad an excellent band like Oceansize (Effloresce rocks) had to produce such an idiotic and insulting song.

    Nucleozoidon August 27, 2008   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
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.