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.
I walked the steps of my father today
Walked till I froze and my face turned grey
And all of my fingers calloused and worn to the bone
And I felt like a child in a world full of men
Trying to capture that something again
Strong as an ox but slowly turning to stone
Walking away from this room dark and grey
Smoke hangs in clouds and the old echo plays
And the music is soft
And the voice is hushed
And the boy he has loved
And the man he has lost
And I walk out in the rain
All over again
I felt the touch of my mother today
Gently pushing me forward again
Closing my eyes but still feeling the way
And I'm clutching at fingers through crumples & creases
I came to my senses it cut me to pieces
'Cause I needed more but I was pulling away
Walking alone with these legs made of stone
I'm almost dry and I'm almost home
Where the photographs smile
And I'm still someone's child
And my place it is set
So I'll stay for a while
Till I walk out in the rain
Like water would stain
And I'm born all over again
Come, come, come, now
So I walk out in the rain
Like water would stain
And I'm born all over again
And I walk out in the rain
Walked till I froze and my face turned grey
And all of my fingers calloused and worn to the bone
And I felt like a child in a world full of men
Trying to capture that something again
Strong as an ox but slowly turning to stone
Walking away from this room dark and grey
Smoke hangs in clouds and the old echo plays
And the music is soft
And the voice is hushed
And the boy he has loved
And the man he has lost
And I walk out in the rain
All over again
I felt the touch of my mother today
Gently pushing me forward again
Closing my eyes but still feeling the way
And I'm clutching at fingers through crumples & creases
I came to my senses it cut me to pieces
'Cause I needed more but I was pulling away
Walking alone with these legs made of stone
I'm almost dry and I'm almost home
Where the photographs smile
And I'm still someone's child
And my place it is set
So I'll stay for a while
Till I walk out in the rain
Like water would stain
And I'm born all over again
Come, come, come, now
So I walk out in the rain
Like water would stain
And I'm born all over again
And I walk out in the rain
Lyrics submitted by AmberBell
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“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.
Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Another Love
Tom Odell
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
I think it is about psychological modeling. We tend to become or try to follow on our role model's footsteps. Boys tend to look up at their dad and try to become like them because the dad is a male role model. But unfornately many men tend to hide their emotional side - it is almost a Tabu for many men to show their sensitive and feminine side! Musicians, artists and may I say most men, need to embrace this side of their character! It makes people feel human alive and 'home'. Passenger seems to be saying that he feels closer to 'home' when he thinks of his mum's attitude towards life ...and he prefers that than his dad's macho and manly attitude which makes him feel dark, grey and cold! Why are men so scared to show their feelings, cry and wear their heart on their sleeve? ...why should a boy feel different when he realizes that he is sensitive? ...it is liberating to find and accept yourself without thinking of stereotype gender identity! (...who's fault is it? ...the world? ...stereotypes? Media? Or maybe even women, cos as a friend once told me...can a woman handle a man crying?)
I have a gut feeling that it is about the loss of his parents, and how the man in him is lost. How his parents are his guide and that the pain of their loss is making him stronger. But, I don't know. I would like to know the actual meaning, myself.
I think he sees himself as following in the same path of his father, but failing.
He essentially is trying to be like his father (who is now dead) but he feels like he's not good enough and has a longing for his father. He realizes that there is no going back in the end -'And the boy he has loved, and the man he has lost'.
His mother is also dead but he feels her presence, he hears his mother's voice motivating him to not give up.... but then he touches his mother's hand... and realizes that she's gone forever also, he wants to feel her love but he is too scared to face facts.
He is nostalgic, he wishes he could rewind time to when he was young and both his parents were alive...he misses the good times.