Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
It's been a long time comin'
They wonder why I act like this, ya heard me
That's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
I'm getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
Why don't you criticize me for actin' like I act if I ain't never had a thang
My daddy got locked up when I was 12, my whole life changed
My momma hustled hard and then had to get the bills paid
While you's probably ridin' around the city in yo Escalade
But now that I got money I went and bought me 2 mansions
Jus' to stunt on them niggas who told me I never had it
I walked out the door the other day
And my momma told me you got a lot to learn
She told me jus' because we got all this money to burn
Don't think it can't be your turn
To go feed you to the streets, so I stay packin' some heat
24 hours 7 days of the week 'cause they creep
24 hours 7 days of the week, I'm a beast
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
I'm 18 years old and I done seen more drama than a lil' bit
I don't advise you to talk about it unless you lived it
My pedal to the metal while I'm thinkin' 'bout all of my dogs
I lost in the streets, tryna ball like me
And this is for my niggas who used to roll gold D
Poppin' the trunk on them swanggers, hoppin' out in tall tees
So, all my niggas that's ballin' and feel like me
From the struggle, the gutter, to makin' a lotta G
Keep my head up remember who got me right where I'm at today
Long as I got money I give a damn what a hater say
One thang I know for sho' I'm a get paper till it ain't no more
Plus I got a crazy flow, yeah
I know somebody said a hard head make a soft ass
That's why I keep a block on the seat while I'm ridin' in my Jag
51/50 you don't know nothing 'bout it
Homeboy, I don't judge, still ain't learning
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
I'm makin' money, nigga you can't tell me shit
I'm gon' keep on stuntin'm 'stead of shinin' on these haters
I'm countin' money, doin' my thang I be hustlin'
From Monday to Sunday, doin' what I want I be gettin' it in
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They wonder why I act like this, ya heard me
That's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
I'm getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
Why don't you criticize me for actin' like I act if I ain't never had a thang
My daddy got locked up when I was 12, my whole life changed
My momma hustled hard and then had to get the bills paid
While you's probably ridin' around the city in yo Escalade
But now that I got money I went and bought me 2 mansions
Jus' to stunt on them niggas who told me I never had it
I walked out the door the other day
And my momma told me you got a lot to learn
She told me jus' because we got all this money to burn
Don't think it can't be your turn
To go feed you to the streets, so I stay packin' some heat
24 hours 7 days of the week 'cause they creep
24 hours 7 days of the week, I'm a beast
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets, can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
I'm 18 years old and I done seen more drama than a lil' bit
I don't advise you to talk about it unless you lived it
My pedal to the metal while I'm thinkin' 'bout all of my dogs
I lost in the streets, tryna ball like me
And this is for my niggas who used to roll gold D
Poppin' the trunk on them swanggers, hoppin' out in tall tees
So, all my niggas that's ballin' and feel like me
From the struggle, the gutter, to makin' a lotta G
Keep my head up remember who got me right where I'm at today
Long as I got money I give a damn what a hater say
One thang I know for sho' I'm a get paper till it ain't no more
Plus I got a crazy flow, yeah
I know somebody said a hard head make a soft ass
That's why I keep a block on the seat while I'm ridin' in my Jag
51/50 you don't know nothing 'bout it
Homeboy, I don't judge, still ain't learning
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
I'm makin' money, nigga you can't tell me shit
I'm gon' keep on stuntin'm 'stead of shinin' on these haters
I'm countin' money, doin' my thang I be hustlin'
From Monday to Sunday, doin' what I want I be gettin' it in
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
They see I still I got much to learn
But I know I still I got money to burn
I'm in the streets can't take it out of me
Getting money, getting money that's all I know
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Getting Money Lyrics as written by Corey Denard Michael Crooms
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
System
Mel And Kim
Mel And Kim
Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.
Alma Matters
Morrissey
Morrissey
The man has pseudo-friends who constantly criticize his actions. They moralize him, "teach" him and advise him to make a significant change in his life, because the way he is and what he does is not what they say it should be. They may find his life lame or immoral. They hold themselves up as role models. The man replies that he will make his own choices and decisions and he does not agree to unconditionally make himself under the influence of questionable quality advice. He justifies this by saying that there is always someone for whom he will be important, no matter what he does and no matter what he is. Although it is not said directly, I read it as meaning that he will always be important to himself in every way and he will always have his own support.
"Everyone is different and maybe that's a good thing, but you exceeded that mark 1000 times" - I remember very well how sad the words I once heard (from my peers and it was in negative context) at school made me feel.
Hypnotized
River Tiber
River Tiber
This standout psychedelic track was produced in its entirety by River Tiber, being released to all major digital streaming platforms on December 29, 2020.