Don't You Want to Share the Guilt?

The album lyrics are slightly different to these ones posted here:

BBQ food is good You invite me out to eat it I should go, but I'm feeling kind of nervous and not quite myself So I'm running late on purpose And I know this won't help how things have become between us But if I go you'll give me hell And that I don't know how to fix it is making me unwell, well

I arrive at your house, but you've just got up And you are wearing a towel and your eyes look dark I help to dry your body and I see your cut So I give you a plaster and we cover it up I say "Have you been crying?" and you say "Shut up" So we sit in the garden and touch the grass with our hands

The sun is going down now and it's been ok You tell me all these things you did while I was away And this worries me somewhat But you say you're fine

Listen, can you hear it? Does it speak? Will I feel it? Will it hurt? Am I near it? I don't know

I don't know how more people haven't got mental health problems Thinking is one of the most stressful things I've ever come across And not being able to articulate what I want to say drives me crazy I think I should read some more books, learn some new words My sister used to read the dictionary, I'm going to start with that I'd like to travel, I want to see India and the pyramids A whale and that race with all the bicycles in France I'm not sure about rivers, they scare me But I love swimming, I'm good at it And when I swim I count the laps and this helps me relax When I was younger I saw a house burn down And I walked past it for the next six years Derelict, black, chalky and dangerous I wondered if squatters lived there I'm still not sure, but I know there were never any parties because it was a shithole After a while the council got round to tidying up the town They decided it was an eyesore so they tore it down Behind the house was a wall with a few bits of crappy graffiti and the word "Cunt" written in giant letters And now I walk past that

I like going to the park and I like walking through it I like taking my dogs there and friends And I like being alone I like being able to shout, but I wish I could be quiet When I'm quiet people think I'm sad And usually I am Sometimes when I'm at a busy train station Somewhere big with the noisy trains like King's Cross I feel like putting down my bags and shouting things out because I've got something to say

Don't you want to share the guilt? Don't think, just try and sleep

I love this song. I completely understand it apart from "Listen Can you hear it? Does it speak? Will I feel it? Will it hurt? Am I near it? I dont know" Is she talking about love? Sorry if it's a stupid question..

I think it's about elephants in the room. Things no-one really wants to talk about, like in the 2nd verse with the cut, it might be a reference to self-harm or something. And the bit at the end with all the talking about random stuff, and then the bit about Kings Cross is basically saying that all of us have so much to say, and we never say it, because we don't think we should, and we all feel slightly guilty about it because we just wish we could express ourselves.

"maybe theres some broken relationship there and i dunno whether it's like a partner or a parent figure or someone whos quite important and theres like some kind of broken relationship and so it feels kind of sad but then the end turns into this monologue which is a bit of a rant and a ramble and steers away from the subject and it doesnt really make any sense but its almost kind of trying to find yourself and like what you liek and trying to figure out who you are and where you stand in the world"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwMFU2SNR0A

I think this has got to be one of her best songs, there's so much in it. In my opinion the other person in the song could potentially be anyone who she is close to (perhaps a boyfriend but not necessarily). She knows that something is wrong with this 'friend', which is why she is hesitant to go over ("I'm feeling kinda nervous"),and also that she won't be able to give them the support that they need (to the point that she feels sick "unwell" with worry) despite her having a responsibility of care ("I should go"), that comes with any close friendship.

When she gets there she sees that her friend is in a bad state: he/she doesn't care about their appearance ("wearing a towl"), has been having trouble sleeping ("eyes look dark") and is cut (self-harming). As a result, inviting her over, makes me think that the friend, acknowledging himself/herself that he/she has reached a real low, wants her (kate nash) to be different to everyone else and be the one person who can say the right thing.

But she asks him/her a question she already knows the answer to ("I say 'have you been crying?'), and confirms herself as one of those friends that (through no real fault of her own) will only be able to spout empty words. Her friend "still worries" her, but she is completely detached from him/her and the person knows this as they go through the motions of saying their "fine" and giving accounts of activities undertaken (probably lies).

The next verse 'Listen', is more complicated, but I think it's her thinking it's her pondering the questions, linked to suicidal thoughts, that the friend might be asking themself. At the end of the day she doesn't know ("I don't know").

But she can question how her friend got to this stage ("thinking is one of the most stressful things I've ever come across") and her inability to say the right thing to her friend is evidence for "not been able to articulate" whta she wants to say.

She goes on to talk about her own experiences- what helps her find peace ("I count the laps")- and the rhythm of the words is almost therapeutic. But as it gets quicker, the heavy use of "I" ("I think I should", "I'm going to", "I'd like to", '"I love", "I walked", "I'm still not sure") is noticable, and I think she demonstrates how isolated each one of us is. Cut off in our own little worlds and inherently self-absorbed... no matter how hard we try not to be. It's hard to relate to things you don't understand, if we're not the centre of our own universe then our experiences still are, and they restrict us. She's isolated in her pain too("When I'm quiet people think I'm sad"), and all those people at train stations are individuals that feel too.

This might seem a bit deep, but I think this quote by Albert Einstein is relevant: '"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

For me, 'Don't you want to share the guilt?' is not just about the guilt of not being able to be there for a person you care about, it's about man's inability to ever truely empathise.

i love this song so much.

i think the first bit is about relationship problems, but the problem can't really be worked out - it's unclear what exactly the problem is. and also, of insecure feelings within a person. hhhmm.

oo and i think the line is a little different: "i don't know how more people haven't got mental health problems, thinking is one of the most stressful things i've ever come across"

annnd, 'this worries me somewhat' instead of 'so much'

This song is lovely, I think it's about complicated relationships between people because of insecurities and underlying issues. I think the second half of the song is there to demonstrate the simplicity of life which contrasts with the issues in the first half.

i think the first half is about relationships & emotions. the second is purely what she has on her mind, how simple life is but it reflects on the first half as its the more confussing side of life