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Things Fall Apart Lyrics

came into the darkness from out of the blue
I don't know much but I know what to do
froze in my mind I believed it so long
alright I'll admit I was wrong

stay out of my nightmares stay out of my dreams
you're not even welcome in my memories
when things are alright and I want what I got
it' only momentarily thought

fade out

if no one thinks of no one
then no one believes in no one
and no one fucks with no one
when no one's afraid of no one

we've all seen enough now it's time to decide
the meekness of love or the power of pride
it doesn't matter if you're good or smart
goddamn it things fall apart

let's go for a walk yeah let's go for a drive
don't know how to say thanks for being alive
let's go for a lifetime let's go for a fling
don't know how to say anything
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Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

"came into the darkness from out of the blue" nice take on the Neil Young lyric "out of the blue and into the black"

Awesome song and awesome band - Nice catch Jason!

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

"stay out of my nightmares stay out of my dreams you're not even welcome in my memories when things are alright and I want what I got it' only momentarily thought"

In this part I think he's talking about death...How he doesn't want to even think about memories of others deaths, let alone his own. And how everything is always going great and the thoughts resurface, even if just for a moment.

"we've all seen enough now it's time to decide the meekness of love or the power of pride it doesn't matter if you're good or smart goddamn it things fall apart"

Saying we actually have a choice in life, we can choose to love, or we can selfishly choose our own pride. Everyone dies anyway, so why choose pride?

"Let's go for a walk yeah let's go for a drive don't know how to say thanks for being alive let's go for a lifetime let's go for a fling don't know how to say anything"

I love the line "don't know how to say thanks for being alive". One of my favorite lines in any song.

interestingly, this made me think how sometimes it really does sort of seem that these are the only two options: love or pride.

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

Lyrics like these make me doubt that Doug's lyrics aren't supposed to mean much, as he's claimed in the past. This song is heartbreaking.

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

I interpret this song as a song about a break up

came into the darkness from out of the blue The breakup was unexpected (out of the blue) and pushed him into depression (darkness)

I don't know much but I know what to do froze in my mind I believed it so long alright I'll admit I was wrong He tought he knew what he has to do, to get over her but he can't

stay out of my nightmares stay out of my dreams you're not even welcome in my memories He tries to forget her

when things are alright and I want what I got it' only momentarily thought His life is otherwise good and he is content with what he has so he is happy for a short time, but then he remembers her again

fade out He wishes that she would fade out of his mind.

if no one thinks of no one then no one believes in no one and no one fucks with no one when no one's afraid of no one He is explaining that if you don't think about the person and care for them and believe that they are a good person, then you don't feel jealousy and anger. Fucking here probably means that she cheated on him and now he is angry, so she could be scared.

we've all seen enough now it's time to decide the meekness of love or the power of pride You have to decide if you will feel grateful for the good times together when the love was strong, or you will feel angry because your pride was hurt at breakup.

it doesn't matter if you're good or smart goddamn it things fall apart It doesn't matter if you are a good and smart person, relationships fall apart.

let's go for a walk yeah let's go for a drive don't know how to say thanks for being alive He sees that he can go around the world and see what it has to offer, but he does not know how to appreciate it.

let's go for a lifetime let's go for a fling don't know how to say anything He does not know how to make relationship last for a lifetime.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

it doesn't matter if you're good or smart goddamn it things fall apart

this is so true i know so many people with vast amounts of potential who are GOOD and who are SMART who went to college and who do everything right yet they go nowhere because as he says, goddamnit.. things fall apart

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

faaaaaade out.......goddamn it things fall apart

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

I'm sorry but I don't think there is anyway this song has anything to do with apocalypse, unless it were a "personal" and "emotional" apocalypse. I think you are reading into it too much. It's much more likely a song about lost love, miss connections and heartbreak.

Seems to be a personal apocalypse, given the oft-quoted line borrowed from Yeats' "The Second Coming". Agreed with thatoneguy82101 that it's hard not to see meaning in this song, notwithstanding Doug's comment.

Personally, it makes me think of a break-up. Getting over someone, and particularly when the relationship turns obsessive, "you're not even welcome in my memories".

I fail to understand "meekness of love or the power of pride".

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

"came into the darkness from out of the blue I don't know much but I know what to do froze in my mind I believed it so long alright I'll admit I was wrong"

I think this could be about being in a great mood, but some thought consuming him has caused him to step into the dark; anxiety/depression.

"stay out of my nightmares stay out of my dreams you're not even welcome in my memories when things are alright and I want what I got it's only momentarily thought"

I believe that he's wanting to get better over whatever thought he has had that has bothered him. He's telling it to stay away from him and that he's alright with his life currently, but that happiness is a momentary thought.

"if no one thinks of no one then no one believes in no one and no one fucks with no one when no one's afraid of no one"

I'm not sure what to make of this, it seems scattered, maybe it's not. It starts off with me thinking that he believes that everyone is worried only about themselves and has no care to pay attention to others. But then he's turning it into a positive by saying that "at least there's no one to be afraid of."

"we've all seen enough now it's time to decide the meekness of love or the power of pride it doesn't matter if you're good or smart goddamn it things fall apart"

At this part I feel that he's saying that we're adults now, it's time to choose love or pride, but in the end it doesn't matter because things will fall apart.

"let's go for a walk yeah let's go for a drive don't know how to say thanks for being alive let's go for a lifetime let's go for a fling don't know how to say anything"

This is my favorite stanza. The line "don't know how to say thanks for being alive" hits home hard. How do you thank someone for being alive? Who do you thank? The end is confusion in his self.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

Realization of no self is very destabilizing for the mindset that makes up the previously assumed identity, but it gets easier. Satisfaction is fleeting. Being Free and at Peace is eternally available. IT is what ONE actually IS.

Cover art for Things Fall Apart lyrics by Built to Spill

It's "Let's go for a lifetime let's go for a fling."

 
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