This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
So you think I'm alone?
But being alone's the only way to be
When you step outside
You spend life fighting for your sanity
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
If you want to be free (if you want to be free)
Below the ground's the only place to be
'Cause in this life ('cause in this life)
You spend time running from depravity
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
Bring wings to the weak and bring grace to the strong
May all evil stumble as it flies in the world
All the tribes comes and the mighty will crumble
We must brave this night and have faith in love
I'm trying to find my peace (we're trying to find our peace)
I was made to believe
There's something wrong with me (there's nothing wrong with me)
And it hurts my heart (it really hurts my heart)
Lord have mercy, ain't it plain to see?
That this is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
Kellindo
(Ooh-ooh)
Na-na-na
Na-na-na
Na-na-na, oh, na-na-na (there's nothing wrong with me)
Ohh
(Na-na-na-na-na-na)
(Do you know what you're fighting for?)
Do you know it's a cold, cold war? (Na-na-na-na-na-na)
Do you? Do you? (Do you know what you're fighting for?)
Do you? (This is a cold)
(Na-na-na-na-na-na) ahh
(Do you know what you're fighting for?) Ahh
(This is a cold, na-na-na-na-na-na)
(Do you know what you're fighting for?) Oh
It's a cold, cold war (bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye)
You better know what you're fighting for
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
But being alone's the only way to be
When you step outside
You spend life fighting for your sanity
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
If you want to be free (if you want to be free)
Below the ground's the only place to be
'Cause in this life ('cause in this life)
You spend time running from depravity
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
Bring wings to the weak and bring grace to the strong
May all evil stumble as it flies in the world
All the tribes comes and the mighty will crumble
We must brave this night and have faith in love
I'm trying to find my peace (we're trying to find our peace)
I was made to believe
There's something wrong with me (there's nothing wrong with me)
And it hurts my heart (it really hurts my heart)
Lord have mercy, ain't it plain to see?
That this is a cold war
Do you know what you're fighting for?
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
This is a cold
This is a cold war
You better know what you're fighting for
Kellindo
(Ooh-ooh)
Na-na-na
Na-na-na
Na-na-na, oh, na-na-na (there's nothing wrong with me)
Ohh
(Na-na-na-na-na-na)
(Do you know what you're fighting for?)
Do you know it's a cold, cold war? (Na-na-na-na-na-na)
Do you? Do you? (Do you know what you're fighting for?)
Do you? (This is a cold)
(Na-na-na-na-na-na) ahh
(Do you know what you're fighting for?) Ahh
(This is a cold, na-na-na-na-na-na)
(Do you know what you're fighting for?) Oh
It's a cold, cold war (bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye)
You better know what you're fighting for
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, don't you cry when I say goodbye
Lyrics submitted by dejavula, edited by zatcheryt, smallwonderrobot, LivingInAStateOfDreaming
Cold War Lyrics as written by Janelle Monae Robinson Charles L Joseph
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Hayalperest
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Holiday
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
as ShoshiRosie said- it is definitely about being a minority. monae says in an interview: "Heavily inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis, which used an urban dystopia to berate capitalism, she too has invented a not-too-distant future in order to comment on the confines within she is expected to perform and present herself as a black female artist. “As an African-American woman, as an immigrant, wherever I am, I’m always the minority,” she explains. “So I came up with the concept of the android as the ‘other’ in society. I’ve been studying the theory of technological singularity, which predicts that as advances in technology become faster, there will come a point when robots will be able to map out the brainpower of humans and recreate our emotions. I’m posing the question — how are we going to live with the ‘other’? Are we going to treat them inhumanely, teach our children to fear them?”"