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”
I thought I saw you in the Battleship
But it was only a look alike
She was nothing but a vision trick
Under the warning light
She was close
Close enough to be your ghost
But my chances turned to toast
When I asked her if I could call her your name
I thought I saw you in the Rusty Hook
Huddled up in wicker chair
I wandered up for a closer look
And kissed whoever was sitting there
She was close
And she held me very tightly
'Til I asked awfully politely
"Please, can I call you her name?"
And I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I thought I saw you in the Parrot's Beak
Messin' with the smoke alarm
It was too loud for me to hear her speak
And she had a broken arm
It was close
So close that the walls were wet
And she wrote it out in Letraset
"No, you can't call me her name"
Tell me, where's your hiding place?
I'm worried I'll forget your face
And I've asked everyone
I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along
I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I saw your sister in the Cornerstone
On the phone to the middle man
When I saw that she was on her own
I thought she might understand
That she was close
Well, you couldn't get much closer
She said, "I'm really not supposed to, but yes
You can call me anything you want"
But it was only a look alike
She was nothing but a vision trick
Under the warning light
She was close
Close enough to be your ghost
But my chances turned to toast
When I asked her if I could call her your name
I thought I saw you in the Rusty Hook
Huddled up in wicker chair
I wandered up for a closer look
And kissed whoever was sitting there
She was close
And she held me very tightly
'Til I asked awfully politely
"Please, can I call you her name?"
And I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I thought I saw you in the Parrot's Beak
Messin' with the smoke alarm
It was too loud for me to hear her speak
And she had a broken arm
It was close
So close that the walls were wet
And she wrote it out in Letraset
"No, you can't call me her name"
Tell me, where's your hiding place?
I'm worried I'll forget your face
And I've asked everyone
I'm beginning to think I imagined you all along
I elongated my lift home
Yeah, I let him go the long way 'round
I smelt your scent on the seatbelt
And kept my shortcuts to myself
I saw your sister in the Cornerstone
On the phone to the middle man
When I saw that she was on her own
I thought she might understand
That she was close
Well, you couldn't get much closer
She said, "I'm really not supposed to, but yes
You can call me anything you want"
Lyrics submitted by life_aint_chess
Cornerstone Lyrics as written by Alex Turner
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think it's about a guy who has lost a girl, and is going out again trying to find a new girl who reminds him as close as possible to his ex;he still isn't totally over his ex. The "Battle Ship", "Rusty Hook", "Parrots Beak", and the "Cornerstone" are bars that he has been going to in search of a new love. At each one he finds a girl with mutual interest but he blows it everytime trying to make this girl a clone to his ex. I believe that it was a taxi taking him home from a bar in the 5th verse and let the driver take the long way home so he could have some extra time to inhale his ex's scent which he came across in the car. The last part about the sister, if you take it seriously, would be the cloest he could ever get to being with his ex again without actually being with her. I too think that there's something with the pirate references. Pirates are always on quests and journeys in hunt of theri long lost treasure.
"Can I call you her name" seems to work as "can I call you my lover" sorry if that's stating the obvious.<br /> <br /> "Messing with a smoke alarm" I think this means she was in a crowded dance club, waving arms in the air. (I've also heard this dance move referred to as "screwing in a light bulb".)<br /> <br /> "So close that the walls were wet" this reminds me of crowded dance clubs where it can get so hot & humid that condensed sweat drips from the ceiling & everyone/everything becomes saturated. <br /> <br /> "She wrote it in letraset" I think this is a poetic reference that can be literally translated as "sign language". IE she flipped him off with one or two fingers.<br /> Cheers Indiebopper for the wiki reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letraset<br /> <br /> My best guess as to why her scent was on the seatbelt: he and the original girl were in a relationship. They were in a cab riding back to his place. The relationship ended during the cabride, and she got out, leaving him to be consumed by his thoughts, and willingly haunted by her scent. ...Possibly the last time he saw her.<br /> <br /> After many unsuccessful attempts to replace his heart's lost love, in desperation he withdraws from the quest and seeks comfort by attempting to recreate that love with a prostitute. She is initially uncomfortable with what he wants because it's unprofessional to be affectionate, in the same way that a prostitute "is really not supposed to" kiss clients on the lips (as we all know from watching the Julia Roberts movie 'Pretty Woman'). But this hooker must like him, or feel sorry for him, because she agrees to make love / act like his lover.<br /> <br /> Thanks to Hampton90 & others who suggested the pirate-ish names of the pubs are a reference to adventurous quest for lost treasure, while the Cornerstone where he ends up refers more to a fallback / retreat to a lower path. I love that!<br /> <br /> BTW GREAT Band! ...But I hope their next album is a bit more optimistic about love & romance. Their previous offerings had charming touches of romantic innocence and themes of cheeky idealism in a less-than-ideal world, but with Humbug romantic ideals take a much bleaker perspective, as with this song. Cheer up lads it's not all bad! :)