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."
ママの言う事聞いたり
後でいい子にしてよかった
あとねクッション今日見たり
オマケついてたりして弾んだ
回り言うほどいない
「あれは最高だね良かった」
私ファッション興味ない
お洒落きっとせず春うらら
あれはもうしない 気分害さない
だから気にしない
One day 偶然
イェイイェイイェイ イェイイェイ
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
まだね流行よくみない
忘れ去られて参った
あとねずっとそうしたい
おしゃれ一所懸命春うらら
人はそうしない 自分下げれない
だから嘘しない
One day 偶然
イェイイェイイェイ イェイイェイ
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
ただただただただ趣味の時代
ただただただただ趣味の時代
年離れてても いつもの通り
11離れてても
叫ぶ気持ちは抑えてこうか
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
ウソじゃないけどホラこのとおり
動き出した catch on the world
今はないけど すぎたとおり
歌い出した ロックンロールスター
後でいい子にしてよかった
あとねクッション今日見たり
オマケついてたりして弾んだ
回り言うほどいない
「あれは最高だね良かった」
私ファッション興味ない
お洒落きっとせず春うらら
あれはもうしない 気分害さない
だから気にしない
One day 偶然
イェイイェイイェイ イェイイェイ
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
まだね流行よくみない
忘れ去られて参った
あとねずっとそうしたい
おしゃれ一所懸命春うらら
人はそうしない 自分下げれない
だから嘘しない
One day 偶然
イェイイェイイェイ イェイイェイ
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
ただただただただ趣味の時代
ただただただただ趣味の時代
年離れてても いつもの通り
11離れてても
叫ぶ気持ちは抑えてこうか
夢じゃないけど 皆のとおり
騒ぎ出した catch on everywhere
今じゃないけど 歌のとおり
まねしだした ミュージカルスター
ウソじゃないけどホラこのとおり
動き出した catch on the world
今はないけど すぎたとおり
歌い出した ロックンロールスター
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Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
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The Last Dance
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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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This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.
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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Avenged Sevenfold
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Uncle Murda
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