Settle Down

My InterpretationI think this song is about a girl who is ashamed to be dating Matthew.

"A soft sound
To the way she wears her hair down
Covering up her face
Oh what a let down
I don't seem to be having any effect now
Falling all over the place"

He is head-over-heels about her and she just wants to hide her face when they're out in public. Usually things are great between them, but he doesn't "seem to be having any effect now" that they're out in public.

"But you're losing your words
We're speaking in bodies
Avoiding me and talking 'bout you"

He feels sort of used for sexual purposes. She doesn't really talk to him anymore and they're only 'speaking in bodies.'

"But you're losing your turn
I guess I'll never learn
Cause I stay another hour or two"

Despite her cold nature towards him, he can't help himself and sticks around.

"For crying out loud, settle down!
You know I can't be found with you"

This strikes me as something he thinks she feels. An attitude from her that he shouldn't be upset because he should know that it's not socially acceptable to be dating him.

"We get back to my house
Your arms, my mouth
Now I just stop myself around you"

But when they're away from the public eye, she's all over him.

"A small town
Dictating all the people we get around
What a familiar face
Do you get what I mean now?
I'm so fixated on the girl with the soft sound
And hair all over the place"

Just hammering home the point. They live in a small town where anyone could recognize them and she doesn't want word getting around that she's with him.

"But you're sure that I'd learn
I'm pushing through bodies
Avoiding me and walking around you
But you're cold and I burn
I guess I'll never learn
Cause I stay another hour or two"

He continue to pursue a relationship despite her cold disposition and avoidance in public.

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General CommentIn MY opinion, I feel like this song is about a girl who is insecure and everything about her is soft. He's head over heals for her. She doesn't want to commit, like their relationship is just physical. He wants more because he's in love with her. She however doesn't, therefore she's giving him the cold shoulder and all. His patience is wearing off, he knows there is no hope, but he just can't stop. It's so beautiful, tragic, and captivating. Matty's songs are art.

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General CommentI think some of the lyrics are missing words,
"to the way 'that' she wears her hairs down"
you can hear matt say that and it fits in better

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Song MeaningMatty wrote what the song/music video was about on his tumblr:
I used to have a recurring dream when I was younger. The narrative was loosely based, but the setting was always the surrounding areas of where my parents grew up. I think I was slightly obsessed with how certain, bleak areas of Northern England contained my history and the soul of my family, my psyche - I always felt connected and disconnected at the same time. Metaphorically and physically I would visit these places frequently as a youngster and in turn have used them as the setting to a lot of the stories in The 1975 - the North East was the visual setting to my formative years.
I suppose, like any narrative, the meaning and the connotations within the story are subjective. I’ve always been quite fascinated with the potency of same sex relationships, platonic or otherwise. I was brought up in a very open minded environment, somewhere I felt that, whoever I was, I would be accepted. With this understanding I was also very aware of others, school friends, acquaintances - whom, due to where we lived, probably didn’t have such a comfortable place to grow up, we were unaffected and affected by taboos and the small minded at the same time. I’ve dreamt the story of these two boys on countless occasions - every time drawing a different conclusion on its meaning.
With ‘Settle Down’ I wanted to make a story about the extension of that dream, a video that explores love, a video that was as fantastical, consuming and limitless as the love we all chase and desire. Love as I have always imagined.
So upon meeting Nadia, who directed the video, I told her about my dream. We sat for hours looking through pictures and talking - it was decided in those moments. We were just to film my dream. The process of making this video was so intensely exciting for me as I was finally working through and figuring out exactly what this place, this story and these characters meant to me. I think now that I understand it. But I’m totally open to suggestions / interpretations.

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My OpinionI'm M

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General CommentI think the song is about:
Someone who loves somebody doesn't matter in which way (friendship or more like a relationship).
But knows it isn't social accepted and that this can't be something real.
But it's hard to deny the social world and they only speak each other when nobody is around.

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General CommentI think this song is about Matty, a guy with the reputation, being involved with the stereotypically shy but snarky girl.

"A soft sound, to the way that she wears her hair down, covering up her face." She's shy, introverted.

"Oh what a let down. I don't seem to be having effect now, falling all over the place."

She seems to be immune to his charms. Instead she's the one making him flustered.

"But you're losing your words, we're speaking in bodies..."

She's becoming less snarky, running out of comebacks and starting to like him after all. Basically for this part they get physical, probably have sex.

When he says "avoiding me and talking about you," it's because he has a bad reputation and would rather not talk about himself and would like to hear more about her.

"For crying out loud! Settle down! You know I can't be found with you."
He doesn't want them to be seen together because it'll corrupt her good reputation. He knows what people say about him. For the rest of this part it's physical again.

"A small town. Dictating all the people we get around. What a familiar face. Do you see what I mean now?"

It's a small town, people will find out they have a thing going on sooner or later.

"I'm so fixated on the girl with the soft sound and hair all over the place."
He's falling for the shy girl.

"But you're sure that I'd learn, I'm pushing through bodies, avoiding me and walking 'round you." I think he's trying to avoid her because he thinks he's no good for her.

"But you're cold and I burn." She's still quite snarky and defensive and he's quite passionate.

"I guess I'll never learn..." He can't avoid her successfully because he can't stay away.

And then basically it's a repetition of previous parts, he tries to remind her they shouldn't be seen together — she doesn't seem to care despite him continuously trying to convince her ( to the point of exasperation: "For crying out loud") — but he ends up getting together with her all the time anyway, even though people are bound to find out.

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General Commentall the comments have given me a different perspective of the song, and have completely changed interpretation of the song meaning, but what I originally thought was the complete oppisot and thought that it was the boy (Matty) knows he can't be around the girl.

I felt like the lyrics were about a girl who seemed to rush into a relationship with Matty and had fallen completely head over heels for him.
But she had an attitude, and was afriad of loosing him because of what she had heard in the past, she was quiet but cold toward him.
"You're cold and I burn, I guess i'll never learn cause I stay another hour or two"
Her words are as sharp as knives but he knows it's only because she's afriad to lose him and knows his past, and although they argue he stays another few hours.

She goes back to his house, and they have sex.
"Now I just stop myself around you" makes me think he cut her off a few days/weeks later, she's hysterical and feels used and upset.
"For crying out loud, settle down, you know I can't be found with you" is his response.
"a small town, dictating all the people we get around, what a familiar face" He knows he can't be found with her, he might truely like the girl but he's well known in there small town, and people take notice of who he is, he knows he can't be found with her because people around will judge and start talking. So he now stops himself around her. He doesn't want to lead her on, and he knows he can't be found with her.

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