It's Only Life

"It's Only Life" feels like a throwback to Wincing The Night Away to me, but from the perspective of someone whose been who's been through all that. The speaker throughout Wincing The Night Away is coming to terms with a lot of existential truths: that, in the absence of God, there are no rules, and we're on our own to decide how to live, a responsibility we cannot escape until death. He tries to share those ideas with his partner, who rejects his philosophy and him along with it, making his isolation seem all the more real.

"It's Only Life" could be directed at that speaker, or to anyone who's faced those thoughts. The first verse sets it up, when he says "you've died in the world" -- not a literal death, but maturity; the point of rejecting a youthful naivete. The object would like to return to a simple, carefree life, but he can't ignore that everything will eventually fall apart, "time will wash every tower to the sea". "Who would be born must first destroy a world," but first we must reject the world, a process which often manifests as nihilism, when we destroy what we mistook for meaning, before we've replaced it with our own.

If you're skeptical of this interpretation, I don't blame you: it's odd, and usually inaccurate, to read so much philosophy into song lyrics, but it's hard to deny Mercer's familiarity with these concepts, considering lines like "Some uberman I'd make, I'm barely a vapor", from "A Comet Appears", which references both Nietzsche's concept of the superman and possibly Sartre's recurring use of lightness as a lack of responsibility (Orestes complains of feeling too light and is grounded by murdering his mother's husband). In context, "you used to be such a lion" could be a reference to another one of Nietzsche's concepts: in his three metamorphoses, the Lion overcomes "thou shalt" to leave room for his own code of laws, but the Lion does not exist as a whole: he can only destroy.

So the object is trapped between the Lion and the Child, the Sacred Yes that builds new meaning. He's torn down everything he believed, and he doesn't know how to rebuild his world. In the chorus, the speaker sympathizes, "I've been down the very road you're walking now", and he wants the person to know that it's still okay to seek help from outside. Even if the speaker cannot tell this person what to believe, he can at least provide support and guidance.

This song is addressing a person who has been going through life following the crowd, content just having sheep mentality rather than being an individual or their authentic self (as indicated by "dyed in the wool" and wanting to hop along with the "giddy throng" through life.) Obviously, this person has lied to himself/herself to the point where he/she has wound up in a very troublesome place...emotional or otherwise.

The speaker is reaching out to this person, letting him or her know that "it's only life." Everyone goes through hard times. The speaker is willing to be there for this trouble person, but the troubled person is either in denial or isn't receptive to having someone reach out to them ("I call you on the telephone, won't you pick up the receiver?")

The speaker can relate to what this person is going through ("I've been down the very road you're walking through") and wants to reach out very selflessly.

The part about the "future calling" is the most poignant part of this whole song. The speaker is living his life, embracing forward momentum while his friend/lover has been unsuccessful at bringing him down and holding him back with him/her. "I never drank your potion and I know it breaks your heart." The speaker knows he has to leave his friend/lover behind (as far as negative energy or ideas go), but is more than willing to be supportive while this person is in need of emotional support.

This song has obvious references to Alice In Wonderland, but I don't remember much of that story. Maybe someone else has a more thorough interpretation.

Nevertheless, this song is beautiful and very encouraging when you feel hopeless and alone. The speaker is very self-aware and brutally honest, as he speaks to a somewhat toxic friend or lover, trying to help them out of their deep despair.

“When you’ve got that friend who is depressed and bummed and you just want to shake them out of it and be like, ‘Come on, isn’t there anything that you can grab on to that you can enjoy?’ Something I wish that somebody would’ve asked me that question at certain points in my life, you know?”

http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2012/03/26/magnet-web-exclusive-the-shins-james-mercer-on-the-new-port-of-morrow/

The person walked away from him. The second party thought they were getting handed all of the answers by another person/group as they conformed to feel like part of a pack. He never gives up on them but he doesn't follow them either. They thought that they were growing as a person, but in reality everything they were learning and doing was wrong. It all came back to hurt them later down the road. Once they realize they were wrong, everyone who they've been walking alongside turns on them. The person turns back to him, the one they left behind with tears in their eyes... And he's still there waiting. He says it's fine, it's only life and we've all went in wrong directions. He says ' yes you left me to free fall to your own destruction, but i've been waiting here for you with a parachute.' Even through all of the pain (that he refused to partake in) he never left because that person was still his opportunity for happiness and he could never lose sight of it... Even if it was so distant for so long. Will they take his help, or will they wander off alone into the dark?

I saved a person's life by sharing this song. Well, I should say James Mercer saved a life.

First line is “dyed in the wool,” not “died in the world.”\n\nMercer has acknowledged that this song is about the original Shins drummer, Jesse Sandoval, whom Mercer parted ways with after their third album.

Mine's a bit different... I always thought it was more of a "moving on song" sounds like he's ending a relationship and the other person is heart broken because they are getting left behind so he says, "You used to be such a lion Before you got into all this crying on my lap Back when you thought I'd never get this far" basically the other person thought the speaker would never leave them, but the speaker knows that he only has one opportunity and he's taking it and the whole potion thing maybe means "love" like he never was in love with the other person and he knows it broke the persons heart :3 "But did you really think I'd shut an open door? The future's calling and Imma answer her The wheel's in motion, I never drank your potion And I know it breaks your heart" And the hook is just basically him saying i've been where you are too i've had my heart broken dont worry it'll be okay "its only natural" its part of life to have your heart broken :l I think the speaker is saying that he will be there for the other person just as a friend but the other person wont be alone :0

this resonates deeply with me. im a huge a mercer fan i find mercers music to symbolizes change and how to overcoming change fear and anxiety from everyday life and our struggles to accept things for what they are.. its like hes been through these everyday life struggles with being alone, being isolated and even the feeling like when he has to please people, by smiling when hes not happy to fake it to make it for lack of better word. some reason like nostalgicBadgeron said i related it to that song too a comet appears

even when he says we ve all been down the rabbit hole like calm your mind rest ashure youll get thru this this pain you feel, weather its lost love, or other obstacles life throws at us. time heals all time all. time will wash every tower to the sea.

this may seem selfish but in a way im happy the shins never hit major mainstream success and that and you will find mercers music in the strangest of places in movies ,shows and soundtracks its like the people incharge know this is a brilliant man and he makes you think to listen to his music love trying to decipher his songs and reading peoples takes on it, at the end of the day theres no right or wrong way these lyrics hit you its how its resonates to your life shins for life.... listen this band everyday its like my therapy love it. give thanks