Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Lonely in a void where people are dying to live
Weary of the stories that unfold before my eyes
A clenched fist can feel so strong
A lion's heart unable to break
Though a fire burns inside,
these fates are not for this lion to decide upon
Tied to a leash poisoned by untruth
Entangled in the web of a distant order
The iron hand has the lightest touch
Caresses the shells of the hollow and cold
See wind carry dust of withering lives
I see towers collapse to the ground
I lose you just the way that you lost me
I tie myself up as much as you refuse to set me free
It seems inevitable, it always was and always will be
We were always destined to belong to everyone else
(x2)
Weary of the stories that unfold before my eyes
A clenched fist can feel so strong
A lion's heart unable to break
Though a fire burns inside,
these fates are not for this lion to decide upon
Tied to a leash poisoned by untruth
Entangled in the web of a distant order
The iron hand has the lightest touch
Caresses the shells of the hollow and cold
See wind carry dust of withering lives
I see towers collapse to the ground
I lose you just the way that you lost me
I tie myself up as much as you refuse to set me free
It seems inevitable, it always was and always will be
We were always destined to belong to everyone else
(x2)
Lyrics submitted by Octavarium64
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No Surprises
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
To me, this song is about an ending relationship. The man (the singer) is refusing to face the truth. He thought he was strong, he thought the love was eternal, and he could not accept to see the cracks in it.
"Lonely in a void where people are dying to live" People are dying to live in love, to have a real and good relationship. And now, his own is being destroyed, so he feels lonely and empty.
"Weary of the stories that unfold before my eyes" He can't accept to face the truth, he refuses to see the signs of the ending
"A clenched fist can feel so strong A lion's heart unable to break Though a fire burns inside, these fates are not for this lion to decide upon" He felt so strong when he was loved, and he has no power to change the fate
"Tied to a leash poisoned by untruth Entangled in the web of a distant order" Here again, the other person in the relationship is "poisonnous", distant.
"The iron hand has the lightest touch Caresses the shells of the hollow and cold" The iron hand is the one of the singer, the one feeling strong, but he can only carress something cold and hollow, as the other one is already gone.
"See wind carry dust of withering lives I see towers collapse to the ground" And now he sees all his dreams falling apart
"I lose you just the way that you lost me I tie myself up as much as you refuse to set me free It seems inevitable, it always was and always will be We were always destined to belong to everyone else" He finally realizes that he has lost her like she did with him. He struggles to keep her ("tie myself up") and she has also some difficulties to let him go. But now, they know that it has come to an end, and that they were not "destined" to be together.