This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Red wine and tan lines
Colour our differences
You feel less satisfied
The more that you acquire
Black cabs and bar tabs
To help you get away
‘nd you feel quite justified
To feed your magpie’s eyes
You’ll be happy
When you’re willing
To share
..
Worn holes in old clothes
Wait for the hand-me-downs
Tethered, tangled, and tied;
The suit that fits too tight
Hide behind the bread line
Hunger howls our pockets dry
‘nd It should cripple your pride
To know others won’t survive
We’ll be happy
When we’re willing
To share
..
Gather the right minds
‘nd Slowly through time
All the right minds
Ignoring patience that we lack
Will inform the new minds
And likely incline all the new minds
Will in turn replace the old way
Will change you easily
Great ideals will be replaced
Red wine and tan lines
Colour our differences
Economic divide
This doesn’t suit me fine
Colour our differences
You feel less satisfied
The more that you acquire
Black cabs and bar tabs
To help you get away
‘nd you feel quite justified
To feed your magpie’s eyes
You’ll be happy
When you’re willing
To share
..
Worn holes in old clothes
Wait for the hand-me-downs
Tethered, tangled, and tied;
The suit that fits too tight
Hide behind the bread line
Hunger howls our pockets dry
‘nd It should cripple your pride
To know others won’t survive
We’ll be happy
When we’re willing
To share
..
Gather the right minds
‘nd Slowly through time
All the right minds
Ignoring patience that we lack
Will inform the new minds
And likely incline all the new minds
Will in turn replace the old way
Will change you easily
Great ideals will be replaced
Red wine and tan lines
Colour our differences
Economic divide
This doesn’t suit me fine
Lyrics submitted by Aragorn224, edited by berglaseffect
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The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
It's a song about the true cost of materialism and excess.
"You feel less satisfied The more that you acquire"
Material possessions can bring pleasure, but they won't necessarily bring happiness. Sometimes, the reverse is true. We can become desensitized.
The song exposes the main reason being obsessed with materialism is a problem: we live in a world where other people are suffering. How can we justify our own indulgences when people 'Hide behind the bread line' with 'Worn holes in old clothes'?
As the song goes on to say: 'It should cripple your pride To know others won’t survive'
The song is still hopeful, suggesting that - over the generations - all of the 'new minds' will come together, with a 'patience we lack'. They will do something about the 'economic divide'.
As the last line says, the current situation is not fine. We should learn to share our wealth around more.
I think this song's pretty much about superficiality and how people define themselves with the accumiliation of useless stuff. We'll pretty much be happier if we all learned to share.
It's a song about the true cost of materialism and excess.
"You feel less satisfied The more that you acquire"
Material possessions can bring pleasure, but they won't necessarily bring happiness. Sometimes, the reverse is true. We can become desensitized.
The song exposes the main reason being obsessed with materialism is a problem: we live in a world where other people are suffering. How can we justify our own indulgences when people 'Hide behind the bread line' with 'Worn holes in old clothes'?
As the song goes on to say: 'It should cripple your pride To know others won’t survive'
The song is still hopeful, suggesting that - over the generations - all of the 'new minds' will come together, with a 'patience we lack'. They will do something about the 'economic divide'.
As the last line says, the current situation is not fine. We should learn to share our wealth around more.