Stars

the lines:

"there are people on the street they're coming up to me they're telling me that they like what I do now"

is a reference to his fame nowadays. He seems to reference to it quite a lot, like in At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be), he says:

"And they said, "Hey Nate, yeah, it’s been a while, Are you gonna sing?" And I began to smile and I said, "You should’ve seen me a couple of years ago, I was laughing and drinking and smoking and singing.""

And in Some Nights, he sings:

"Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights I wish they'd just fall off"

Which references to how sometimes he wishes he could do amazing things with his fame and sometimes he wants to forget it all and go back to being 'normal'.

The lyrics in their songs are so raw, and that's one reason why I really appreciate them.

This is my FAVORITE song off of this album, so I often listen to it. I've kind of formed an opinion of what it's about and thought I'd just share it. So here it goes:

This growing old is getting old I often find myself here thinking About the birds, the boats, and past loves That flew away or started sinking (He's sick of having to grow up and take on responsibilities and in turn lose things from when he was younger)

And it's crazy here without you I used to think this all was ours We stay up late debate On how we find our way You say, "It's all up in the stars" (Maybe he's refering to someone in Arizona that he knew before Fun. that meant a great deal to him and gave him advice)

Well, Some nights I rule the world With bar lights and pretty girls (Sometimes he likes his fame, he rules the stage when singing "Barlights" or "All the Pretty Girls")

But most nights I stay straight And think about my mom, Oh God I miss her so much (He mostly misses his family that he left behind in Arizona and wonders whether it was worth it)

And there are people on the street They're coming up to me And they're telling me That they like what I do now (With Fun.'s growing fame, there would be random people recognizing him and they congratulate him)

And so I tried my best when I took the fall And get back right up and get in your arms If you're out here why do I miss you so much?

I feel like I had it all Back before I lost it all (He had his family before he moved to New York, and now that he's left Arizona, he feels he has "lost them")

Now I just wait for you to talk to me But you won't even look at me, baby (He waits for his family to talk to him. He doesn't want to be the first to speak)

And I've been saying that you You're always holding onto stars I think they're better from afar Cause no one is going to save us (He feels like celebreties are just people and he doesn't understand the obsession with the "stars' of Hollywood and why his fame is changing his life so much)

Oh, and me Well I am fading in the dark (He would like to be normal) So don't you ever kiss me Don't you wish on me Why can't you see That no one's going to save us? Come on, girl (He doesn't want the pressure of being a "star" and people counting on him.)

I absolutely love this song, and I'm sure there are many valid interpretations of the lyrics but here's my take on what they mean.

I think a lot of the song is about growing up too fast and having regrets about the past. Nate misses the relationships he had before he was famous and I think he sometimes questions whether everything he's done was worth losing some of those relationships. Like many of us, he feels that he will be criticized and possibly lose people no matter what he chooses to do. When he sings, "there are people in the street, they're coming up to me, they're telling me that they like what I do now," I get the feeling that he enjoys his music and his fans, but at the same time he doesn't understand why people didn't appreciate him before he was famous.

Anyway, I also think a lot of the song is about a girl that he was really close to. I think they were close when they were younger, and they were really hopeful and she was a strong believer in fate. In my opinion, "the stars" refers to fate in a lot of the song- "we'd stay up late, debate on how we'd find our way. You'd say it's all up in the stars." However, they sort of grew apart for a while and he went through a lot and matured in ways that she did not. So now, even though he misses her and wants their friendship back, it's not the same because they look at life differently and believe in different things. She's still really hopeful and tries to convince him that fate will save him, but he doesn't want to hear it- over the years he's become a lot more cynical and he doesn't want to lie to himself. That's why he tells her, "don't you ever kiss me, don't you ever wish on me. Why can't you see that no one's gonna save us?"

I think of the person he's talking about as a girl because he says "oh girl" a couple of times, but aside from that I think he could also be talking about his past self. He misses the younger, more innocent version of himself, but he knows he can never go back to that because of what he's learned and realized about himself and about his life.

I hope you enjoyed my analysis! Please let me know if you have any additions to this because I am really interested in this song and the various interpretations of it :)

Somehow it keeps adding ridiculous lyrics that I didn't write out, which obviously apply to another song. Until it gets fixed, here are the lyrics:

Growing old is getting old I often find myself here thinking About the birds, the boats, and past loves that flew away or started sinking And it's crazy here without you I used to think this all was ours We'd stay up late, debate on how we'd find our way Say it's all up in the stars

Some nights I rule the world With bar lights and pretty girls But most nights I stay straight and think about my mom Oh god, I miss her so much

And there are people on the street They're coming up to me They're telling me that they like what I do now And so I tried my best when I took the fall To get right back up, back in your arms If you're out here why do I miss you so much

I feel like I had it all Back before I lost it all Now I just wait for you to talk to me But you won't even look at me, baby

And I'd be saying that you You're always holding on to stars I think they're better from afar Cause no one is gonna save us

Oh, and me Well, I have faded in the dark So don't you ever kiss me Don't you wish on me Why can't you see that no one's gonna save us? Oh, come on girl

I just need a helping hand I close my eyes and think about tomorrow It never came true It came true It never came true

Oh, and you You're always holding on to stars You're always holding on to stars Cause no one is gonna save us

Oh, and you You're always holding on to stars I think they're better from afar Because no one is gonna save us

Oh, and me I have faded in the dark So don't you ever kiss me Don't you wish on me Why can't you see that no one's gonna save us? No one's gonna save us No one's gonna save me now

No, no, no No, no, no No one's gonna save us Who we are, who we are Who you are, who you are You're always holding on to stars You're always holding on to stars You're always holding on to stars You're always holding on to stars

The bar lights line is an obvious reference to their song "Bar Lights"

Part of this song seems very obviously about a girl, however, when I first heard it I thought of Sam and the format. Like he remembers talking about what it would be like to "make it" with Sam and now he's experiencing it with other people. Probably not what the song is about but it crossed my mind.

First of all: I rarely do what I'm about to do: My usual behavior pattern is as follows: I really dig a song, get a lot of meaning out of it, then come here to see what others have to say, and add my own two bits.

But I have to say something about this song because it seems like someone has to.

Does anyone else notice how phenomenally artless and fey this song is?

First, let's look at the music of the song. I know this is a board for commenting on the meaning of lyrics... but, even for folks who enjoy inspired lyrics, a lot of the energy and power you derive from the impact of that song derives from the music. And the song structure/accompaniment of "Stars" is of the most staid, boring variety; the "melody" sounds like the singer listened to those boring 4/4-time I/IV/V chord changes and came up with a correspondingly boring, noodly string of notes that sort of work OK against those changes. Utterly uninspired, all 'round, musically speaking.

And what about those lyrics? There's a really easy way to describe bad lyrics of that type: They sound like bad high-school poetry.

I'm sure the writer had all those feelings and all that, and bully for him. But there's an amazing tradition in the world of songwriting, and it has to do with the fact that a great lyricist possesses both affect and skill; and the art of lyrics is thus a little like walking a tightwire: You have to have the affect, but you also have to recognize that there's a tradition which places certain demands on the expression of those feelings. In short, a good lyricist is a true artist, and thus a rare bird, indeed.

That said, we can all think of times when a marketing weenie at a music production/distribution company decides to damn the torpedoes and let substandard musical and/or lyrical hackery escape from the studio and find some small market: And this song is a sterling example of that.

Wow. Like I said, I've never done this before; and I don't take it flippantly or lightly, as I hope you will discern from the detail in my analysis. But I can't think of a better forum for just letting one's hair down like this and making a good and proper stand for musical/lyrical artistry. Someone's gotta do it, and I guess it's gotta be me.

I've only heard one other song by "fun", and it also sucks, in pretty much the same way; I strongly suspect the band to be consistent in their dedication to eschewing artistry. Maybe they will evolve into something better. I certainly hope so!

But the key is that we have to evolve into something better. And one thing that comes along for that evolutionary ride is discernment in the matter of art.

this growing old is getting (pretty obvious, he doesnt like growing)

i often find myself here thinking about the birds, the boats, and past loves that flew away or started sinking. (he often thinks about old relationships that have ended in breaking up of marriage, etc.)

and its crazy here without you. i used to think this all was ours. we'd stay up late, debate on how we find our way. you say its all up in the stars. (he had a girl he cared about but she never thought logically. she only thought about her imagination)

some nights i rule the world, with barlights and pretty girls. (some say this is a reference. not too sure. i think means he spends so much time at a bar trying to pick up girls, he could rule the world with them)

but most nights i stay straight and think about my mom. oh god i miss her so much. (instead of thinking about his girls, he thinks about his mom and how much she misses her.)

and there are people on the street. they're coming up to me. they're telling me that they like what i do now. (people are starting to notice that hes a singer, instead of an ordinary person)

and so i tried my best when i took the fall to get right back up back in your arms. if you're right here why do i miss you so much? (when his career/life started to plummet, he went back to that girl. but she is so distant, and her mind is so different, he misses the old version of her)

i feel like i had it all back before i lost it all. now i just wait for you to talk to me. but you dont even look at me baby. (he felt so good with the format[his old band] but he quit and felt so bad and lonely. and he want back to the girl and she doesnt want him)

and ive been saying that you, you're always holding onto stars. i think they're better from afar, because no one here's gonna save us. (she thinks the future should stay in the future, and that it cant be prevented. and he says the future can be dealted without imagination. that stars exist to exist. and no one is gonna help them change their future)

oh and me, well i am fading in the dark. so dont you ever kiss me. dont you wish on me. why cant you see that no one's gonna save us? (