At Or With Me

This song always makes me so happy. I think it's about being happy with who you are. No matter who's shoes you're wearing, "taking a walk in someone's shoes", we should just be content and happy and we shouldn't let other people's opinions change ours.

I love this song. I see it to be all about honesty, and being yourself. finding people who like you for you, who laugh with you, not at you. Not everyone is going to like you, but a lot will.

Not sure of the exact meaning, but this song is very catchy! I love it.... it is so upbeat!

I think the song is about trying to figure out whether people in your life are enjoying your prescence or your presents, to be punny.

"ah baby those are such great shoes" makes me laugh for some reason.

The music video for this is the best :D

This is such a fun catchy tune! I’m no expert, but here is my take on the lyrics. I think this is another one of those songs where jack is saying that the most important thing for a lot of people is to fit in with the majority of society.

Are they laughing at or with me Ah baby those are such great shoes And I think that I’m so happy now And I think this is a better you Are they laughing at or with me Why can’t we just say what we mean

I think he is trying to say that the question: “Are they laughing at or with me?” is the only question some people bother to ask themselves. People in the world, especially in America, end up conforming into something they are not because they think that life is only about fitting in and finding pleasure in material things(which is kind of force fed to us through television and main-stream music). And I feel like jack is talking from one of the fore-mentioned people’s point of view in this song. It is as if he is asking himself “are they laughing at or with me?” and quickly tries to compliment a pair of shoes that the "cool" people think are "cool" to make him appear to be “cool” because he thinks that is what is going to give him happiness. At the end of the chorus he asks the question “Why can’t we just say what we mean?” And that is such a great question. Why can’t we just be accepted for saying or being what WE actually believe in rather than trying to be like everyone else? What if I don’t think those shoes are great?... Anyways, That is just my take, kind of unsure about the bridge I would like to hear what someone thinks about it.

I think that the song is about lying to people, and telling them what they want to hear. It's similar to what Jackmumfews said, about people thinking that fitting in is more important, but it's about being liked. You tell people what they want to hear because everybody has such a thin skin anymore. I share Jack's view of the situation - I'm not going to lie to you, I'm going to say just what I mean. If those shoes are ugly, I'm going to tell you that they're ugly shoes. Apparently, that means that I'm a jerk according to most people.

This is also one of the few songs where Jack is talking poorly about a girl: Oh baby.. = to girl ...great shoes = lie I'm so happy now = lie I think this is a better you = LIE

The second verse is more about society in general, and it starts with the same kind of subverted message, Don't put your money where your mouth is... = sarcasm, 'putting money where your mouth is' is the opposite of trash talking. He's saying that everybody says what they'll do, but they never go off and really go for it. ...we don't want to see you choke = 'Choke' as in mess up, drop the ball, fail, whatever. People are so afraid of people laughing AT them, that they won't risk new experiences anymore because they're afraid they might look silly/stupid in front of someone. Just like the shoes, is it really such a big deal?

Nobody's joking / no dance shoes = nobody wants to have fun these days. Most people lack the confidence to dance in public (grinding doesn't count, it's what people do because they can't really dance), so they don't dance anymore. Nobody's broken high scores = same as the 'money where your mouth is'. Nobody wants to try to push themselves to new heights, because they're afraid of failure.

As nice and fun as this song is, it's sort of Jack's way of being a drill-sergeant to the world. Saying "hey everyone - stop worrying about what we think about you, you're not that important. Just live your life and be happy."