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"
You told us that
We were too young
Now that night's closing in
And in the half light
We run
Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We're free
Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you
We run through the streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We're in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell
Ocean in a shell
Our heads are just houses
Without enough windows
They say you hear human voices
But they only echo
They only echo
They only echo
Only echo
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
We were too young
Now that night's closing in
And in the half light
We run
Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We're free
Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you
We run through the streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We're in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell
Ocean in a shell
Our heads are just houses
Without enough windows
They say you hear human voices
But they only echo
They only echo
They only echo
Only echo
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
Lyrics submitted by Rockstom, edited by Ryuhza, BIRDDUDE830, sonata0
Half Light I Lyrics as written by Regine Chassagne Jeremy Gara
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Their parents tried to shelter them in the light, but inevitably the night will come. As they start to think for themselves they enter the “half light” which changes how they feel about everything. I think this captures the excitement of starting to really think for yourself. You start to question your parent’s beliefs and find beauty where it wasn’t before.
However, the whole song is very ominous. They’ve entered the half light, but that means that the night is coming with disillusionment and loneliness.
This is one of the best songs on The Suburbs. I actually like it more than Half Light II, which is also great. Lyrically there's a lot to sink your teeth into, especially this part:<br /> <br /> Our heads are just houses,<br /> Without enough windows,<br /> You say you hear human voices,<br /> but they're only echoes.<br /> <br /> Lots of ways to interpret it, but I take it to mean being alone with your thoughts and emotions, not being able to reveal your inner self to others(i.e. keeping the window to your mind closed and concealing your inner reality). The "houses" that "hide the ocean in a shell" can be understood as both literally the houses of the suburbs that look so peaceful on the outer shell/surface but hide so much behind their external facades(i.e. family turmoil,etc.) as well as figuratively speaking with the houses as our heads analogy. This illustrates the idea that what's going on in someone's head is also walled off and away from public view, again hiding an ocean of thoughts and emotions in a shell(or an "Ocean of Noise" if you will, for Neon Bible fans). The echo is seemingly the echo of your own voice in your head, a product of feeling isolated or alone with your thoughts. Those aren't other humans you're hearing, it's just your own voice repeating on you. Interestingly, "Empty Room" precedes this song on the album by only two tracks and features the lines "said your name in an empty room", which one could also imagine producing an echo. So there's an apparent theme on the album between being alone with the echoes of your thoughts, which you've either concealed from others or have been unable to share with others. <br /> <br /> The "half light" appears to represent a transition to becoming more free and open under the cover of partial darkness. The "half light" is enough to illuminate and shed light, but there's enough darkness present to feel more comfortable about opening up to someone else. Greater awareness and freedom result, and now they no longer feel imprisoned by living inside their heads/houses. "We are not insane". Instead, they are free("on the streets") and the world begins to look different to them. They are beginning to see things in a new light -- even if it is only a half light.