Prehistoric

This song is about a stagnant relationship. The singer is still invested in it even though she knows it's not going anywhere.

I know this will mess things up tonight But god it feels so good to close my eyes I'll say that I've been trying to move on We both know I'm not (It's that point where you choose to close your eyes and go to sleep instead of staying up all night working on the fight. She says she wants to move on but she really doesn't.)

It may be different now but the pattern won't wash out Covers up our eyes, leaves us knots and severed ties We follow new lines (Though they try to change things, they stay the same. Their situation blinds them and causes them to sever ties. They can't see they're moving in different directions.)

I would trade this sleep for you in a heartbeat But this weather will not lift It leaves us shouting into cliffs without an echo Each day you come closer So close I can almost feel your breath on my shoulders But I know if I turn around you might run away again (She wants to stay up all night and work things out but she knows the clouds of their relationship won't lift. Shouting into cliffs represents putting things in but not getting anything back, even though you should. Each day seems like they're getting closer but when she lets her guard down her love starts pushing away again.)

Stuck like those prehistoric mammoths in the ice Thaw me out and I won't close my eyes Stuck like those prehistoric mammals in the ice Thaw me out and I won't go to sleep tonight (They're stuck, frozen in this relationship. She's asking for her love to give her hope, to thaw her out because if he does she'll do anything to work it out.)

I've always thought of the song as being about trying to cope with being estranged of a significant other.

She can't sleep b/c she's thinking of them. She knows trying to talk will mess things up, but she just wants to be able to close her eyes. In the small talk she'll mention how she's moving on, but she really isn't.

They are no longer in a relationship, but it's hard to move on. Certain things are tied to that person while other ties are severed. They now follow different paths.

She'd rather have them than the sleep she's missing. They can't find common ground to get things started again. They can't communicate.

She's turned her back on them. She wants them to follow her in pursuit, and they are, but she knows that she must wait longer or she may scare them off.

They've been stuck in this argument for what seems like ages. Maybe it's the same argument that led to their separation. They seem to be frozen in it. But if she were thawed out, she would still be without sleep. That is part of what makes it so hard to move on.

It seems pretty clear to me this song is about regret. I actually think it's NOT talking that will mess things up. She just wants to go to sleep but that ends up ruining the relationship instead of talking about things. Such as lines like "I would trade this sleep for you in a heartbeat" and "Thaw me out and I won't go to sleep tonight." Like bring me back and I'll do things differently.

I think this song is about trying to move on with someone new but being stuck on someone from their past. But, acknowledging the past will only further the void that's been created. This could just be about stagnant love, but it seems more painful than that and riddled with regret and a desire to have what's no longer attainable.