Everybody Talks

Great song! I am surprised no one has commented yet... been out for a while now. I think this song is about a boy and a girl and their love (or lack there of) for each other.

'it started with a whisper' 'and that is when I kissed her' 'and then she made my lips hurt'

I think the boy finds out through some people that this girl likes him ("it started with a whisper"). He then proceeds to go after her ("and that is when I kissed her"). I think she ends up leading him on making him think she likes him when she doesnt and when he finds out or when she is done with him he is devastated and everyone is talking about it.

What I got from this song is actually different from what others interpreted. It's about a guy who falls for a girl who really knows to sweet talk and purposefully misleads him. At the slightest hint ("started with a whisper"), he starts to believe she actually really likes him so he gives in ("that's when I kissed her"). "Everybody talks" but that doesn't necessarily mean they mean it or it's the truth. I love how this song is actually kind of sad but it's upbeat!

This song actually seems really straightforward.

"Hey baby what you gotta say? All you're giving me is fiction" -----> Girl leads guy on.

"I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time I found out that everybody talks" -----> The poor dude is used to that happening to him. -----> So they start doing their thing, and he kisses her, and they're making out (so much his lips hurt, apparently), but...

"I could hear the chit chat 'Take me to your love shack'" -----> 'Take me to your love shack' is in quotes because it strikes me as part of a conversation. The speaker in the song is quoting the people who are chit-chatting about him and his girl, making fun of them.

"Mama's always gotta backtrack when everybody talks" -----> Back-tracking is a figure of speech for trying to get out of something you've already said or promised. The girl in the song backs up and calls it off because people are talking. Which explains:

"Never thought I'd see the day when everybody's words got in the way" -----> It seems ordinary for the two people in the relationship to have their words get in the way, but the rest of the world? That's ridiculous, and the speaker is experiencing a good deal of incredulity.

-----> So ultimately, it seems that she's just giving him lip-service -- "friction," which you can take to mean physical friction (she's ONLY giving him a physical relationship at the moment for fear of what they're all saying) or emotional friction (she's arguing or protesting their relationship in general, for the same reason). It doesn't matter; either way, he's only getting friction.

The repetition of "everybody talks" has a double meaning, therefore. 1) Everybody OUTSIDE the relationship talks about the relationship, because people like drama. Whether he's speaking to her seriously or to himself marveling at the irony, he's acknowledging that everybody talks. So what's the big deal? And 2) Everybody he's encountered in a relationship manner talks but he wants more than talk - anyone can backtrack. "Everybody talks" is a perfect title, repeating in a resounding criticism of immaturity towards dating.

I feel kinda bad for the dude.

I think its how you'll be close friends with someone (or you might actually even like the person too) in a close circle of friends or perhaps a work place. And everyone starts to speculate as they can see this friendship or chemistry building away. And then it kinda makes you closer as you are both in the spot light and being targeted with everyones attention and interest with whats going on between you.

It's about me, hating my life.

I think that this song has a straight forward message of a love story. This is because of the lines, "it started with a whisper and that was when I kissed her" and " take me to your love shack".

Even though the love story interpretation of this song is somewhat obvious and straight forward, I think that an underlying theory could be based off of the title and most of the lyrics, "everybody talks". This is because as teenagers, kids face a lot of secrets, rumors, and bad gossip. Neon Trees could be referring to all of the troubles that teens face, hence, "everybody talks".

My interpretation is that he likes this girl and is after her. She seems to like him too. But when things start to go beyond kissing she backtracks. I believe in this case the use of "Mama" means the girl he is kissing not someone's actual mother. Her excuse is that everybody talks and that's why she doesn't want to go further. "I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time" means he has heard this one before. Its not clear to me whether he believes her or not. Is she saying, "Everybody talks" to get out of going further? Or is he saying "everybody talks" meaning he agrees with her but who cares? Who is saying "everybody talks"? Depending on who is saying that would help me figure out more of the song.

It's like a satire, really.

It tells a story which happens a lot, about s girl and a boy liking each other, but the rumors keep getting in the way. People keep talking and saying nasty things, could be about the boy (that she souldn't date him) or about her (giving her a lame reputation as if she's sleeping around, which she obviously is not) or about them in general (when there's a new couple the society arounds it always acts ridiculously, even though the persons in the spotlights want to take things slow or whatever).

I like this song because it reminds me of all of us, actually, of society in general, and of how people behave and what kind of behaviour is deemed right and what kind is deemed wrong. I don't like how people keep chatting behind someone else's back, and I definitly don't like it when some shitty words get in the way of what we want to achieve - love, in this case.

I feel like the song mocks all of us and it makes me smile because it reminds me to do what I would love to do.

I know this is probably not what this song really means, but what I got out of the chorus was that a guy and a girl are together, and everyone is always talking about them, and the girl is upset by this. The guy quietly reassures her that everything is okay and it doesn't matter ("it started with a whisper"), she starts to protest, but he kisses her to stop her ("and that was when I kissed her"), then she gives in and kisses him back ("and then she made my lips hurt"...idk, it makes sense to me!). Other people see it, and, like what I said before, talk ("I could hear the chit chat"). The next two lines ("Take me to your love shack, mamas always got a backtrack"), I'm not really sure. Maybe they're getting real into this or something?! And then all summed up by the line "Everybody talks babe". That's just what I got out of it the first time I heard this song. Either way, great song!

I think it's more of a juvenile reaction and actions towards someone's relationship. Like in highschool, you get with a guy/girl, and "started with a whisper." After a milage-may-very time, the boyfriend and girlfriend kiss, and the guy "hears the chitchat." "Going to the love shack" (imo) means 'doing the dirty' and so that's the point when rumors and rants /explode/. He reassures the girl, saying that everybody talks about everything and speak their minds.

Again, just what I think. :)