Hearts Like Ours

The song is about feeling fearful, inadequate, and so on. In general I'd say the subject of the song is any mental distress or disease. It's called "Hearts Like Ours" because these people have good intentions and want to be well, but are paralyzed to do so -- (There's an animal inside // There's a fear that won't subside).

"Climbing up the walls" is a saying which describes being very upset and nervous. "All the time and energy" is meant to convey the exasperation of feeling like you're trying so hard to make things right, but always wondering if it's been for naught.

I am thinking it refers to a passion, a pursuit towards a dream, but also knowing you are not the only one, and yet you feel all alone, inadequate, scared to fail, and going crazy in this pursuit. You consider "reinventing yourself" and possibly pursuing something with "common sense" but you have "yet to bleed" so you keeping going "using all your time and energy" to the point you are "half awake and almost dead" working through the night "keeping empty beds elsewhere". So you continue on "in silence", putting aside your worries, and never giving up until you see the light of your success. The title may be in reference to the "hearts of a dreamers"

First line is incorrect, should be "borders and horizon lines", which probably refers to always driving and flying to do shows and appearances. Probably reflects the fact that they're from New Zealand and had to travel a lot to reach new audiences / their fans.

Pretty consistent with the song's other lyrics, half awake and almost dead (exhaustion), and keeping empty beds elsewhere (being on the road all the time).

Agreed with the other comments about this song's meaning.

Such an amazing song. Lyrical genius...

thenakedandfamous.com/songs/hearts-like-ours/

First off this is my favorite band out rite now. Their music is brilliant. The sound and lyrics flow with beautiful precision. As for this song I could be wrong but sounds like its about a couple who have a reltionship where they dont see each other much as they like and they are fighting to find a happy balance. The lyrics "Climbing up the walls with u" "all the time and energy" and "keep an empty bed elsewhere" lead me to this conclusion, I could be way off lol

Great song !!!

From the band:

This is an anxiety-fuelled song about the desire to leave a place or a situation. I think doing something like that can be very frightening at times. Essentially this song is about being brave. – Alisa

This is powerful meaning here. For some reason it make me struggling of cry. I'm now older and always pushing bondaries of human consciousness and to me this song have been design in a parallel meaning to touch you and your sister soul and at the same time the relationship between you and this world era. The Video is full of metaphore that shows it. Ask yourself? Why pushing away armonious worker bees with smoke? and why all the smoke makes peoples sleep? Why the instinguisher? why The very patient and determined weak guy fight against a 1000 times stronger than him wall of concrete? ask yourself, When you look inside the world economic model that seems to bring all of us directly in slavery and dead end era. Why there's an animal inside, why an animal? why a huge spider? what is the real difference between human & animal? basic needs seems to be the same, what about silence? our society isn't to noisy? The song itself is noisy, noisy anough to reach the same speed and noise of our own sick consciousness and say, hey! lets wake up and let's climb this wall together? But you cant say that, clearly in a main stream cause the Matrix will be damage and bad peoples will come along to hit your nail sticking out the floor. To me it's sad and full of good will at the same time. A master piece of this actual World. - A french guy came here and told you so.

This is my favorite Naked and Famous song.

To me this song is about dealing with the anxiety and sadness of having unresolved plans/hopes/dreams.

The lines "There's a fear that won't subside, Of all the things I'll never do" refers to opportunities slipping away....

The lines "Half awake and almost there, Keeping empty beds elsewhere" immediately made me think of projects that I had started but never finished... things I really want to do but haven't yet given my full attention... projects I intend to return to someday, but haven't yet.

When I hear "We're yet to bleed, All the time and energy", it makes me think of those times when I really wanted something but just didn't try hard enough... I didn't "bleed the time and energy" that was required to make my dream come true.

To start -- I do not think this is the original/intended meaning of the song

This song can be a powerfully interpreted as a woman struggling with the decision to have an abortion.

It opens with a stanza that can be both a conversation with her unborn child and with her partner. "Borders and horizon lines / we're alone but side" by side can be interpreted as both the person beside her in the bed or the child she's carrying. Either way she's feeling alone as the morning comes and lines are being drawn in the sand. "We're yet to dream" and later the line "we're yet to bleed" are parallel lines. They both echo this idea that the child is real, but not real. It's hard to accept because "nothing here is as it seems".

The pre-chorus drives the point home: "there's an animal inside". This is real. This is too real. To use terms like person, child, or fetus might be too painful. Animal is both touching and distant at the same time. Touching -- "as all the things I'll never do" -- describes the life that might be with a child. "Will I ever follow through" describes both sides of the decision: will I keep this pregnancy or will I terminate. The next lines are repeated twice, once for each side of this coin. "In Silence" brings us back to the idea of that she's laying "alone, but side by side" because neither her partner nor the child answer her.

"Half awake and almost dead" is a harsh line to interpret in this light. She's referring to herself struggling, tossing and turning, unable to decide. She's also projecting onto an unborn child in a literal sense. This projection carries into the next verse: "can we try and reinvent / feed the head with common sense." Here she hits a hopeful note, but it also reverberates with reason. What's are the pros and cons of each side? What does common sense say?

This crumbles as the verse concludes. She walks outside. She can't hide her anxiety or her fear. She's climbing up the walls, together, but still alone. She leaves home, sneaks out "leaving this place behind, in silence." She's "yet to bleed" which, as before, is an indication of pregnancy, but also "all the time and energy" refers to both the bearing of a child and the arguments with the partner that may disagree with her decision. This decision and the child are both referred to as "the weight we find inside us"

The denouement is the rising tempo of the final stanza: "lead me to the edge of night / 'til the dawn / the end of time / 'til the fire blazing light / shines again within our eyes" is her making her decision. We do not know what decision she has made, but it doesn't matter. She's been lead to the proverbial 'dark night of the soul' and the dawn and the time has come. She move forward firmly resolute.

The final chorus is repeated twice, and can be interpreted two different ways. She may have decided to keep the child and she's bleary eyed and exhausted. She did not bleed -- so she kept the pregnancy -- but she recognizes that there is much time an energy to be spent raising her baby. She may have decided to terminate the pregnancy, knowing that she will have to struggle with herself and her partner.

"Hearts Like Ours" describes the three connections -- a woman, a fetus, a partner -- but also is a call for autonomy. "Ours" is all of the women that have had to struggle with this decision, with themselves, with their partners. In light of the catastrophe that is the legislation in Alabama, these kinds of stories need to be told. Choosing to terminate a pregnancy is never an easy decision, but it is, "at the edge of night", a decision that belongs solely with the woman who is "yet to bleed / all the time and energy".

love this song. also, i'm pretty sure it says "half awake and almost THERE" - i've seen 2 or 3 live performances and in all of them it seems like that's what she's saying, plus it rhymes with "elsewhere" so i'll try to change it, but, we'll see. as for the meaning, i agree with DeepinThought. ;)