The Front Bottoms – Flashlight

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Please fall asleep so I can take pictures of you and hang them in my room
so when I wake up feel like yeah everything's alright
You are still here, you are still happy, you are still smiling and laughing
you are still the only thing and everything I need in my life
And it goes in in out through the mouth - breathing exercises
I will never figure out til I am running in circles
or (I am) walking in circles or (I am) crawling in circles or lying on the ground
And I can hear your dog whistle from my bedroom
Yeah yeah
And I can see a flashlight cutting up the trees behind my house
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
She's says a lot of the kids we graduated with are now homeless
which puts them in mad shady situations with mad shady people
if not everyday then on an every other day basis
And she's probably with a few of them right now
and they are probably just drinking and talking about
how she misses getting fucked up and hanging around
And he says "Hey you're good at that" and she says "Thanks, it's kind of all I got,"
and then she looks away and says "It's also all I need."
And I can smell plastic burning I can smell chemicals breaking down.
I got your last three e-mails the ones where you said, "I was sorting some things out"
And he will be able to hear her dog whistle from his bedroom
Yeah yeah
And I can see a flashlight cutting up the trees behind my house
Yeah yeah
And I will read the flashing like a morse code explanation
that will mean nothing but take all night to figure out, out, out...
(Please fall asleep so I can take pictures of you and hang them in my room
so when I wake up feel like yeah everything's alright)
when I am sad, I am sad - but when I'm happy, oh god I'm happy
there's just no place in-between for us to meet
(You are still here, you are still happy, you are still smiling and laughing
you are still the only thing and everything I need in my life)
when I am sad, I am sad - but when I'm happy, oh god I am happy
there's just no place in-between for us to meet
(Please fall asleep so I can take pictures of you and hang them in my room
so when I wake up feel like yeah everything is alright)
when I am sad, oh god I'm sad - but when I'm happy, I am happy
there's just no place in-between for us to meet
(You are still here, you are still happy, you are still smiling and laughing
you are still the only thing and everything I need in my life)
when I am sad, oh god I am sad - but when I'm happy, I am happy
and there's just no place in-between for us to meet


Lyrics submitted by joshmurphee, edited by AbuDun

Flashlight song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • +4
    My InterpretationI see this as a song about a girl who died. The lyrics "please fall asleep so i can take pictures of you and hang them in my room, so when i wake up it'll be like yea everythings alright, you are still here you are still happy, you are still smiling and laughing, you are still the only thing and everything i need in my life" gives me the hint that he wants to see her pictures and feel like she is still with him, and even though she is gone, she's all he needs in his life.
    "and i can hear your dog whistle from my bedroom" suggests maybe she owned a dog and he kept it, and can hear the dog crying for her.
    "she says alot of the kids we graduated with are now homeless, which puts them in mad shady situations with mad shady people,if not everyday then on an every other day basis, and shes probably with a few of them right now and they are probably just drinking and talking about, how she misses gettin fucked up and hangin around" I interpreted this part as she's in heaven with these kids they graduated with who were put in shady situations. And she is reminiscing with them and how she misses life down on earth and "Getting fucked up and hanging around"
    "and i can smell plastic burning i can smell chemicals breaking down" Maybe she was in a car accident and he can smell the car burning at the scene.
    "i am sad i am sad but when i am happy oh god im happy, theres just no place in between for us to be" Whenever he gets over the overwhelming sadness that shes gone, he is happy that he has memories of her. The second part says that there is nowhere in between earth and heaven for them to be.
    evanesson June 21, 2012   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +4
    General CommentI take it to be about an ex-girlfriend moving on while he still has feelings for her. He wants to wake up to pictures of her, so he can pretend that they are still together and in a happy relationship.

    Dog whistles are whistles that emit frequencies only audible to dogs. Often, they are used to train dogs. Basically, this line is saying that she still has this unique hold on him, even though he's alone and she's off somewhere else. In addition, he's overanalyzing things (attempting to read flashes of light as morse code messages).

    This mindset leads him to interpret an email she sent in which she says "I was sorting some things out" as her meeting someone new. He imagines (note: "she's probably with a few of them right now" this isn't actually happening) she is developing feelings for a new man ("smell plastic burning, smell chemicals breaking down" chemistry is building between her and the new man) who will be the new person to be under her control ("he will be able to hear her dog whistle").

    I get the feeling that he was the one that broke up with her. When Brian is picturing his ex with the new guy, she seems pretty down herself. Perhaps this is why there is "no place in between for them to meet." When they are together and Brian is happy, he doesn't want her. But when he is sad, he feels he needs her.

    I think this is their best song. Very dancy, with somber yet (at times) humorous lyrics.
    Reasonlesson October 25, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThis song makes me feel deeply. I think it is about someone having a hold on you. Being in love with someone who has moved on.

    At the end where he says" when I am sad, oh god I am sad - but when I'm happy, I am happy and there's just no place in-between for us to meet"-
    I think that this is the mentality of most people. That there are two extremes and often this is troubling and also conveys this somber- passive aggressive attitude.
    katylady89on March 07, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis song is very powerful and meaningful. It interprets the common feelings that one experiences after a breakup.
    People usually over think this certain situation by believing their ex is surpassing them when they may actually not be.
    These lyrics depict it so well by expressing the desire for them to still be there ("Please fall asleep so I can take pictures of you and hang them in my room
    so when I wake up feel like yeah everything's alright") while also explaining that they are broken up for things that they cannot control ("when I am sad, I am sad- but when I'm happy, oh god I am happy there's just no place in-between for us to meet")
    The lyrics are visual and relatable; they are unlike most breakup songs from using comparisons to portraying the honest feelings while having a great sound in the background.
    Seriously, this song is incredible, words cannot do it justice.
    livingroomon December 27, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General CommentHe is in duality about wanting to continue the relationship. When he wants to contact her again he is too depressed to do anything about it and when he is happy visa-versa. He wants to call her back but he keeps avoiding this. The homeless is her bad choices in guys and why he doesn't want to follow through on pursuing her. But everything is imagination and over-thinking. It's ASSuming that she is drinking with the losers from school whom are at home with their parents and unemployed and not doing anything productive. A way to convince himself not to contact her and start the relationship over. He must come up with excuses not to see her again. Like a flashlight blinking and he thinks it's a code he needs to decipher when it is not anything special at all. When he knows that he is being pathetic to her and should try to see if things can work out between them (or not) but at least try to see.... Not look for an ideal and accept her warts and all and if it works out so bet and if not so bit. But he is pathetic and will probably stay this way...
    Donny1on May 09, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General CommentHe is in duality about wanting to continue the relationship. When he wants to contact her again, he is too depressed to do anything about it and when he is happy visa-versa. He wants to call her back but he keeps avoiding this. The homeless is her bad choices in guys and why he doesn't want to follow through on pursuing her. But it is imagination and over-thinking. It's ASSuming that she is drinking with the losers from school whom are at home with their parents and unemployed and not doing anything productive. A way to convince himself not to contact her and start the relationship over. He must come up with excuses not to see her again. Like a flashlight blinking and he thinks it's a code he needs to decipher when it is not anything special at all. When he knows that he is being pathetic to her and should try to see if things can work out between them (or not) but at least try to see.... Not look for an ideal and accept her warts and all and if it works out so be it and if not so be it. But he is telling himself that he is pathetic and will probably stay this way... The moral is take action and let the chips fall where they will; don't be like him and blow the moment...
    Donny1on May 09, 2016   Link
  • 0
    Song MeaningThis is about pretentious middle class white kids pretending they aren't playing pop punk and trying too hard
    baby117619on May 24, 2018   Link
  • 0
    General CommentGuys, she's smoking crack or meth. She is clearly addicted

    "And I can smell plastic burning I can smell chemicals breaking down" That's what it smells like when its burned
    A pipe looks similar to dog whistle and can also make a high pitched noise when consuming

    "I can see a flashlight cutting up the trees behind my house" Probably in her yard searching for a smoke spot

    "And I will read the flashing like a morse code explanation
    that will mean nothing but take all night to figure out, out, out"
    Morse code of the lighter going on and off. Him staying up all night to figure out why she is using

    "or (I am) walking in circles or (I am) crawling in circles or lying on the ground"
    He might of tried it with her, had a bad high freaking out

    breathing exercises--> smoking

    Like come on, am I the only one who sees that?
    Marshon December 25, 2018   Link
  • -1
    General CommentThis is a pretty lousy song. The lyrics aren't subtle and there's just too many words for the music, its crammed in too tightly without enough meaning past "I miss you, I'm sad, I'm horny". The vocalist wants to be emotional but there's no soul in his voice, as if he doesn't want to fight and already admitted defeat. Its a song about nostalgia and a longing for things past. Its an overdone concept, and doesn't bring any witty metaphors, just abrasively blunt ones. I hate this song because it is the definition of weak, and when there's a fight to be had it advocates surrender. The only lesson I can take from this song is "don't turn into this loser." This is the first song I've ever heard from this band, however it is quite possibly one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life.
    klonnyon June 09, 2017   Link

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