The Meeting Place

This song is about Alex's guilt (at least that's what I think...well actually I'm pretty sure I'm right about that cuz it's kinda obvious). Anyways, in one of the TLSP's live performances, Alex looks extremely sad while he sings this songs and at the end of it he sings his ex girlfriend's name, "Johannaaa". So apparently he dated some girl named Johanna Bennett for two years (2005-2007). Everyone was extremely surprised that he would mention her because he has never talked about her before and many people are wondering why he is singing about her now after all these years (especially since he is already currently in a relationship)... is it cuz he misses her? Nope. It's cuz he's guilty and I believe that he has written a song about her before.

2007 is when the album Favourite Worst Nightmare (by the Arctic Monkeys) was released. One of the songs called "Do me a Favour" is about a relationship that Alex screwed up (he cheated on her out of his desire for someone else because "curiosity becomes a heavy load, too heavy to hold, will force you to be cold" And in this case it did cause him to be a "cold" jerk. In the song he also says "do me a favour and break my nose" because he's guilty and he deserves pain, he deserves the pain he put the girl through. But now that he has fallen for someone else he needs to "break apart the ties that bind" and end the relationship. At the end he says "perhaps fuck off might be too kind" cuz she probably told him to "fuck off" and he thinks that's too kind cuz he deserves so much worse.) That was an analyzation of whole other song but I think these two songs are directly related because I'm pretty sure Johanna was Alex's first girlfriend and they broke up in 2007 which is when the song was released (connecting the dots?)

Meeting Place is also obviously about Johanna cuz Alex revealed that to us at one of the TLSP concerts soooo the thing is that the poor guy is still guilty and "she clings to his consciousness" because he did something really wrong and it probably haunts him at night which his why "he struggles to sleep at night". She says "I'm sorry I met you" because he hurt her. He says "I'm sorry I met you darling" so that he never would've hurt her and it never would've happened. He also says "Im sorry I've left you" because he is sorry that he DID hurt her. Yet he "stranded himself there" because everything that happened was his fault.

I think the song is a continuation of "Do me a Favour" to show that he is still guilty after all those years but now he's thinking that he wouldn't feel this horrible feeling of guilt and Johanna wouldn't have to have memories of pain if they had just never met because they are both in happy places now but every once in awhile 'he's worried she's waiting in his dreams to drag him back to the meeting place" where he is dragged back into depression and is overtaken by guilt.

brilliant!!!

Great song, sounds like it's taken straight off a James Bond soundtrack. Think all the comments have it about right. Personally, I think this is an illicit relationship (...further she strays). She is already in a relationship and the two of them are having a bit on the side at their meeting place. They both know there's no future in their relationship. He now is sorry he met her, 'cos he's in deeper than he intended and she's messing with his head. She's sorry she met him because she realises what she's done to him, doesn't want to hurt him, but knows there's no future in their relationship. Women eh! That's how I interpret it... probably all wrong though.

I've been listening to the entire album and I really think that the songs are all related to one relationship and kind of chronologically displays the events as the two people gradually realize that they were not meant to be together. It climaxes in this song which is I think the breakup portion, and this ties in to the next song The time has come again which deals with the guy trying to move on and accept the decision he's made to leave her behind. Listen to the album as a whole and you'll understand what I mean

In my opinion, this song is about a girl who is in love with a guy but he doesn't like her that much but don't wanna hurt her feelings "I'm sorry I met you, darling". Maybe they had had a short relationship, with different expectations. The meeting place could be somewhere that reminds them both about how they were before and how they're feeling now about each other. She is hurt and try to avoid there, but she just can't. And he avoids there because doesn't want to see the girl he had left.

Not 100 percent sure what this song is about, but I'm listening to it right now while reading the words and I think it's about a man and a woman who had this "meeting place" and for those "four weeks they trolled around" something blossomed there, but it was stronger for him than it was for her. She had no problem dashing out of the "meeting place," while he still longed for her ("She clings to his consciousness"). So the poor guy is left hurt and heartbroken (he's worried she's waiting in his dreams to drag him back to the meeting place").

That's why he says "his love had left him there, where the voice still echoes." And even though he longed for her, he's sorry he met her because now all he has is time passing since they were together ...But all he has was the words of "I'm sorry I met you." He can't tell her that 'cos she's gone

Yeah, that's my theory there. Probably not even close, but I don't mind because this song is great. Read the lyrics without the music and it reads like poetry. And the throwback sound with the horns and strings is beautiful. I love it.

I really do love this song and the comment above seems quite accurate but i think there's is probably some subliminal metaphor somewhere as there often is is alex turners lyrics.

Does anyone else also think that alex turners contribution to this song (the second half of the verses) is much better than the first?

great song!

I think it's exactly like your theory bueller :)

I even think I like the last shadow puppets better than the arctic monkeys,, :|

and I think their music is totally different from eachother.

I'm partial to the words at the beginning of the song...It's so abstract, yet I can still understand what he means (or at least I think I do!). "He's worried she's waiting in his dreams to drag him back to the meeting place..." I love love love that part! He's not exactly worried, but he just wants to put that nostalgia behind because if he keeps thinking about this woman, it makes him feel heartbroken. If that's what he means, then I friggin' get it. Been there, done that! Then there's the woman, who "tried so hard to steer away from the meeting place, but her heart had led her there." And yeah, her heart led her there, but she still probably screwed this guy over because he had stronger feelings.

I'm not sure about the subliminal metaphor with the way Alex wrote this song. Sometimes I think he tries to be cryptic and poetic about little details and events (kind of like "The Bakery" and "Too Much Too Ask") and this song could be that too. Probably could be about some girl he had a fling with, and he somehow felt rejected by her.

But I've been wanting to know how Alex and Miles wrote these songs. Did they split the writing in every single song, or was it just like, "I write one song, you write the other"?

Whatever the thing, this song is still awesome. But I already said that, so sorry this was long!