(Hey, hey, hey)

I don't like walking around this old and empty house
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear
The stairs creak as you sleep
It's keeping me awake
It's the house telling you to close your eyes
And some days I can't even dress myself
It's killing me to see you this way

'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

(Hey, hey, hey)

There's an old voice in my head
That's holding me back
Well, tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will be over and buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young
And full of life and full of love
Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right
Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear

'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

(Hey)
Don't listen to a word I say
(Hey)
The screams all sound the same
(Hey)

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore (hey, hey)

You're gone, gone, gone away
I watched you disappear
All that's left is a ghost of you
Now we're torn, torn, torn apart
There's nothing we can do
Just let me go, we'll meet again soon

Now wait, wait, wait for me, please hang around
I'll see you when I fall asleep

(Hey)
Don't listen to a word I say
(Hey)
The screams all sound the same
(Hey)

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Don't listen to a word I say
(Hey)
The screams all sound the same
(Hey)

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore


Lyrics submitted by awkbird, edited by Lacksang, fluorine, JMSmusic, yousaf, TacoLover, AllieDeeter, Eldking, s870621345, owenpa, Amasterd20, kenziebear, trucywright, JaWood, HersheySurgeon, JerichoB

Little Talks Lyrics as written by Ragnar Thorhallsson Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Little Talks song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

277 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +83
    General Comment

    This song is defenatly going back and fourth between a man and a woman. The woman is feeling lost without the one she loves, but she doesn't know that the one she loves still remembers her and cares about her. Before he left, he used to make the world better for her, and their little talks are what she remembers about him and how he used to make her feel whole. In reality, the man does care about her and wants to comfort her as much as he can.

    kitty1306on July 19, 2013   Link
  • +45
    General Comment

    I got the eerie feeling that the husband passed away but continued watching her as a ghost.

    The empty house she is referring to is the fact that he is not there. Notice, he is the one constantly responding to her, implying he can hear her, but she can't hear him.

    The just overall calmness implies to me that they are not arguing with each other.

    The girl is trying to forget him and move on, but keeps having thoughts of him throughout the day, until finally she cracks and they realize they are better off without each other, or will see each other later.

    not to mention i think the lyrics are written incorrectly.

    "you've gone gone gone away

    i watched you dissapear.

    all thats left is a ghost of you

    now we're torn torn torn apart,

    theres nothing we can do.

    just let me go, and [we'll] meet again soon."

    fr0st2kon October 05, 2011   Link
  • +23
    General Comment

    To me this song, just the way it sounds, is way too beautiful to be about a failing marriage or just sleeping. I think it's about an old couple that have been so in love for so many years. They both know that the other isn't in the same place mentally as they once were so they just cling to each other for comfort.

    When people get older they don't always know why they feel the way the do or why they say the things they say, but the constant in this couple is the love they have for each other. The music from the start has a kind of old-timey feel almost like they are remembering their past and trying to comfort each other in their confusing present.

    The husband tries to comfort his wife, as it is just the two of them in the house. You can picture them in laying in bed while the wife talks to her husband how she is scared of falling asleep.

    "I don't like walking around this old and empty house (Wife) So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear (Husband) The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake (Wife) It's the house telling you to close your eyes (Husband)"

    I think they are both aware of how old they are getting and the wife is showing that sometimes she doesn't want to sleep for fear of not waking up. The husband likely feels the same way, but he holds his wife's hand and tries to comfort her anyway.

    The chorus shows the overlying message that with their old age they can't always trust where their minds are at. But their love (the ship) will lead them to an eternity of being together.

    "Don't listen to a word I say The screams all sound the same 'Cause though the truth may vary This ship will carry Our bodies safe to shore"

    In the next verse it is the wife who is again letting the thought of old age scare her. The husband is trying to tell her to remember the good times so that he can be around the woman he loves again.

    "There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back (Wife) Tell her that I miss our little talks (Husband) Soon it will all be over, buried with our past (Wife) We used to play outside when we were young, and full of live and full of love (Husband)"

    The husband doesn't want things to change, he just wants to be with the woman he loves without her worrying about things that they can't control. She talks about how it will soon be over (death) and she can't get over the fact that they have both aged so quickly. The chorus again establishes that no matter what the two are together through love.

    The last verse is sung together. The husband and wife admit that both have changed and neither are what they were when they were young. They kind of accept death here, and say that either way they will "meet again soon" and be able to enjoy each other more without the looming fear of death.

    "You're gone gone gone away I watch you disappear All that's left is a ghost of you Now we're torn torn torn apart, there's nothing we can do Just let me go, we'll meet again soon"

    Here I picture what would happen if someone asked for death and were about to get their wish. You would get scared. You think you're ready for it but no one can ever be ready to die really. There is so much uncertainty, no matter what religion you hold. There is a quick switch from "let me go" to "wait wait wait". They want to spend an eternity together without having to suffer through old age but they aren't sure if that's what will happen. How could you leave the person you love behind physically to be with them in a better life spiritually? It would be a hard thing to do.

    "Now wait wait wait for me Please hang around I'll see you when I fall asleep"

    "I'll see you when I fall asleep" here pertains to passing on. They both want the other to wait and they want to make sure they find each other.

    This is one of the most genuinely beautiful, real, and sad songs I've ever listened to. I know this is just my interpretation of it but it makes a lot of sense to me. If you've ever been in love you know how much it means. It sounds stupid but "the love of your life" is really your life. That person that you don't want to spend a day without seeing and hugging and just being around.

    In this story, the two old people are at the end of their ropes and they know it. They are so so in love and now they have to deal with the frustration of old age and the uncertainty that death will bring with them. They hope they both end up together in the end "This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore". The "Little Talks" they have in some of their final days, the first two verses where the husband tries to comfort the wife, is kind of a closure for the both of them. We have these little talks everyday with the people we love, but they are more lighthearted because feel our tomorrow is a given.

    This song makes me smile and cry at the same time. Well done Of Monsters and Men. That is what good music should do.

    DBH1171on October 31, 2011   Link
  • +23
    General Comment

    "It's about a couple and the husband passed away and it's from the conversation between the two of them. We don't know if she's going crazy or if someone's actually there."

    interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-of-monsters-and-men/#_

    snubbyon June 19, 2012   Link
  • +13
    My Interpretation

    I think that this song is most certainly about a woman who has lost her partner and she is struggling to come to terms with his death.

    "Some days I can't even dress myself" is her expressing how she is struggling to cope with life without him, in my mind she is contemplating suicide.

    "Though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore" "the truth may vary" Possibly, questioning how the woman meets her end (suicide/natural causes) "this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore" In greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. Some say that those who could not pay the fee, or who were left unburied, had to wander the shores.

    "There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back" she has something that is stopping her from committing suicide. "Soon it will all be over, and buried with our past" She keeps thinking about going through with it.

    "There's nothing we can do. Just let me go, we'll meet again soon. Now wait, wait, wait for me. Please hang around. I'll see you when I fall asleep" She feels as though she has no other option than to end her pain. She wants him to wait for her on the other side, when she sleeps (dies) they will be together again.

    I think the upbeat tune is from the male perspective-yes, I'm gone-but you can go on without me. She simply doesn't want to.

    lauraloo87on March 02, 2013   Link
  • +9
    My Interpretation

    I disagree with the two previous ideas completely. It's not about a failing marriage, or about sleep. It's about a couple, but one of them is either going crazy or feels like she's going crazy.

    "There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back I tell her that I miss our little talks" (The "other" side of her)

    "Go go go away I wish you'd disappear"

    "Don't listen to a word I say The screams all sound the same"

    "Some days I can't even trust myself It's killing me to see you this way"

    She can't trust her own mind, her partner is worried and the last verse solidifies this idea for me:

    "'Cause though the truth may vary This ship will carry Our bodies safe to shore"

    even if she can't tell what's true, what is real and what isn't, their love/relationship will keep them safe and everything will be fine in the end. Just my opinion. [:

    merrycamon June 09, 2011   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    In my opinion, this song is about a man and a woman. The man has died and is responding to the woman’s woes of sadness.

    “I don't like walking around this old and empty house” — The woman speaks of how she feels when she is at home without the man. She feels empty and sad. She indicates it is old because she may feel haunted.

    “So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear” — The man responds by trying to help her through her loss (although the woman cannot hear him)

    (woman) "The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake
    (man) It's the house telling you to close your eyes” — this may be a sense of a haunting lonely feeling the woman experiences since the man died.

    (woman) "Some days I can't even trust myself” — Sometimes she feels like she wants to die (commit suicide)

    (man) "It's killing me to see you this way” — The man is watching over her and hates that she is so depressed. The man wants her to move on.

    “Because though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore” — Everyone has their own beliefs as to where we go when we die, therefore the truth of death varies amongst everyone, but we will all experience the same journey and end up somewhere safely

    “There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back” — The woman stops herself from living her life because she is scared, full of remorse, and feels guilty for trying to enjoy her life without the man.

    “Soon it will all be over, buried with our past” — She feels that there is no point in moving forward with her life because we will die anyway and our memories will be gone with us.

    (Woman) “Some days I feel like I am wrong and I am right (Man) Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear” — she seconds guesses herself often because her mind is so scattered with memories and feelings

    “Your gone, gone, gone away, I wish you'd disappear. All that's left is a ghost of you” - The woman is so depressed that she wishes the memories of the man would disappear because it is killing her inside that she cannot physically be with him anymore. He is a ghost and nothing more.

    “Now we're torn, torn, torn apart, there's nothing we can do, Just let me go, we’ll meet again soon” — The man tries to convince the woman that there is nothing that can change that he is dead and he wants her to move on and live her life. He states that they will meet again when she dies too.

    “Now wait, wait, wait for me please hang around. I’ll see you when I fall asleep” — The woman hopes that the man will wait for her on the other side.

    This is my own interpretation of the song. My brother died 7 months ago at 25 years and this song has touched me (Even if it is not the right meaning)

    nhorkoffon April 09, 2012   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    I have to agree with the husband dying interpretation. But that's from my own personal experience...I am recently widowed. This song really hit home the first time I heard it - it's definitely how I feel most days and nights. It's hard being in our old home without him. I see him when I'm sleeping. I hear him telling me that he 'hates seeing me this way'. Some moments I want the memories to go away...and then instantly regret thinking that and never want them to, even if that means always being in pain - always feeling like I"m going crazy. But I do agree - there seems to be many ways to interpret it. It's just a sad and beautiful song. Love it.

    seyeson June 17, 2012   Link
  • +6
    My Interpretation

    Its a song about an old couple. The women is probably suffering from alzheimer's or a similar disease that has mental side effects. "Some days a can't even dress/trust myself" answer, "its killing me to see you this way" the chorus is refering to either the truth about what this life actually means or the truth in a diseased mind, either one the ship (life) will carry there bodies (not minds) safe together until its over (shore). they begin to sing together when it goes "your gone gone gone away" and then the next five lines because the husband is watching his wife become a ghost of who she was and the wife can hardly recongnize her husband. "Just let me go we'll meet again soon" you dont have to fight to hold on anymore, but "wait wait wait" because there are short periods when she can remember.

    the little voice thats holding her back could even be her old self, holder her back from dying because the husband says "tell her that i miss our little talks" and she then says "soon it will all be over buried with our past" this could be a stretch but the song is titled "little talks"

    I think if you read and listent o the whole thing again with these ideas they will seem pretty obvious. Or I could be 100% wrong...

    pennameon December 13, 2011   Link
  • +6
    Song Meaning

    This is from the group themselves:

    THE REAL "LITTLE TALKS": Okay. "Little Talks" is... How we usually make our lyrics is, Raggi and I, sometimes we come up with stories or situations. That one is about a relationship. Sometimes we haven't wanted to give too much away. We like people to read their own things in the lyrics. I guess I could share it. It's about a couple and the husband passed away and it's from the conversation between the two of them. We don't know if she's going crazy or if someone's actually there. We've kind of been inspired by people that lived in my house. This old couple that lived there for 30 years. The woman passed away, so it was kind of different.

    interviewmagazine.com/music/discovery-of-monsters-and-men/_

    plantfoodon June 21, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.