There was you, there was me
We never could agree
If I was up,
You were down;
You were there,
I was here
A Grand Puppeteer stuck it all
Together.

If I was cat,
You were the dog;
If I was tied up,
You were a hog;
If I was flat,
You were a ball;
If I was charged,
Then you were cashed;
If I was toast,
You were the match;
If I was loud,
Then you were shhh.

We added it up
To zero.
Zero.

Flying neutrinos
Fly through my skin
My hair
My feet
What a pair of disagreeable
Agreeables.

Your hands
My hips
Your grip
What a fit of exhausting
Inexhaustibles

Fusion makes the world go around
Confusion with the making of all that sound
We lay here
We quiet the voice

It says,
"Love binds the world"
"Love binds the world"
"Love binds the world."

Forever and ever and ever
Forever and ever
Forever and ever
And ever and ever and ever and ever
Forever and ever

We added it up.
We added it up to zero.
Zero.

Flying neutrinos
Fly through my skin
My hair
My feet
What a pair of disagreeable
Agreeables.

Your hands
My hips
Your grip
What a fit of exhausting
Inexhaustibles

Exhausting
Inexhaustibles
Exhausting
Inexhaustibles.


Lyrics submitted by stentorian, edited by iteration2

We Added It Up Lyrics as written by

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

We Added It Up song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I think this song has to do with all of the contradictions and paradoxes we encounter in life and in nature, yet somehow everything works out. I'm thinking "A Grand Puppeteer" could refer to an intelligent designer. "We added it up to zero" refers to adding two opposite numbers together, which always equals zero, which might suggest two contradicting situations/events canceling each other out and working out.

    And in case anybody is interested, neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles that fly through space and can pass through matter.

    andjokon March 27, 1988   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction

    "we added it up to ZERO"

    "Flying NEUTRINOS fly through my hair, my feet, what a pair of exhausting inexhaustables"

    noraanudon May 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I have a strong feeling that "forever and ever" could be a play on words of "forever endeavor". During her live session of this it sounds almost as if she means both.

    daygrayon October 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think this song has to do with all of the contradictions and paradoxes we encounter in life and in nature, yet somehow everything works out. I'm thinking "A Grand Puppeteer" could refer to an intelligent designer. "We added it up to zero" refers to adding two opposite numbers together, which always equals zero, which might suggest two contradicting situations/events canceling each other out and working out.

    And in case anybody is interested, neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles that fly through space and can pass through matter.

    andjokon March 27, 1988   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think it's about the realization that she and a loved one, while both good and loving people, are simply incompatible. Instead of complementing each other, their tendencies nullify one another. Despite both being agreeable, they are disagreeable together. They add up to zero.

    However, this is not an easy conclusion to come to, for they genuinely love one another, and to face the reality of their ultimately untenable relationship, they must quiet the inner voice which tells them of the importance of love.

    I think the "exhausting inexhaustibles" refers to the toll that their list of incompatibilities has taken on what would otherwise have been an inexhaustible supply of love they had for one another.

    iteration2on February 02, 2014   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
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
No Surprises
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.