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 walk out to the edge of the lake,
Eyes following the water
As it washes my convictions away.
He stops me when I'm starting to pray.
He says,
"Intuition is awakening suspicion."
He says,
"My tradition is the art of superstition."
I wake up in the light of the fire,
Eyes burning like the ashes
In submission to the heat of desire.
He tells me not to preach to the choir.
He says,
"This condition is a slow decomposition."
He says,
"My religion is the practice of sedition."
He says
He says,
"Intuition is awakening suspicion."
He says,
"My tradition is the art of superstition."
"This condition is a slow decomposition."
He says,
"My religion is the practice of sedition."
Eyes following the water
As it washes my convictions away.
He stops me when I'm starting to pray.
He says,
"Intuition is awakening suspicion."
He says,
"My tradition is the art of superstition."
I wake up in the light of the fire,
Eyes burning like the ashes
In submission to the heat of desire.
He tells me not to preach to the choir.
He says,
"This condition is a slow decomposition."
He says,
"My religion is the practice of sedition."
He says
He says,
"Intuition is awakening suspicion."
He says,
"My tradition is the art of superstition."
"This condition is a slow decomposition."
He says,
"My religion is the practice of sedition."
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
I remember Chibi and the band saying in an interview that this album was strongly linked to water imagery in meanings (emotions, drowning in them) and death. It's obvious in the song titles Rain, Oceania (water), The Other Side, Beyond (death) and all the others lyrically as well.
She also said that this song related to her experiences going to a psychiatrist/psychologist (can't remember which one) and that makes a lot of sense, as if she was recalling her thoughts and experiences, maybe with her spiritual insights/visions, only to be told it's basically all fake and an illusion by the psych. It also relates to the water and death theme: "I walk out to the edge of the lake, Eyes following the water, As it washes my convictions away." meaning that shes readily immersing herself in these visions and feelings/thoughts, and the death part meaning that she wanted herself to be reborn into this new 'world' she'd found, but only to be told by the psych that it's wrong, that she's being superstitious, that its 'sedition', etc and not right, that she'd break herself apart (slow decomposition) if she lets herself become her visions.
The fire part.: " I wake up in the light of the fire, Eyes burning like the ashes In submission to the heat of desire." is probably referring to her 'rebirth' like a pheonix being burnt and rising from the ashes. She wants to be reborn into this new 'religion'/belief of hers, but the psych tells her to let it go and not to tell others about it because its all suspicious beliefs, and its a mental illness etc.
It sounds very much like my own experiences with hypomania, where I (and lots of others say this too) had big insights and revelation, only to be told that it was part of my illness and to not envelop myself in it because it was 'just mania'.
I saw no one had posted so I wanted to take my crack at it. This song is pretty simple, in my opinion. It's about questioning faith/religion/etc.
Water imagery is used a lot through out the album, and in this song it represents the inkling once someone begins to question the validity of something. [Eyes following the water / As it washes my convictions away.]
The "he" in the story sees the narrator sitting staring at the lake and notices the narrator's feelings, so he speaks and helps further the process. [He stops me when I'm starting to pray / He says, "Intuition is the awakening of suspicion.]
The third verse implies that "he" used the doubt in the narrator's mind to convince them to do something that was seen as a sin in their faith. The eyes burning means they're either crying or feel like crying at committing this sin. [Eyes burning like the ashes / In submission to the heat of desire.] "He" uses cruel irony in telling the narrator not to lament their sin/consider it wrong when they just committed it. [He tells me not to preach to the choir.]
In the fourth verse, the phrase "slow decomposition" refers to the narrator's faith slowly fading away. "He" is using cruel irony again, claiming sedition ("conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch; trouble making, rebel inciting, subversion." Totally didn't have to google that.) is his religion.
The final verse sums up the song. Even though the narrator is not "he," I think the title was chosen from his POV, since a lot of people who encourage questioning religion call religion "superstition."
I think the entire album is really great both sound-wise and concept-wise. This song is relatively simple but also has a lot of depth to it. The United States is currently in this state of most everyone questioning the validity of following the rules of religion, so it's cool to have a song relevant to that status.
The song is about realising that religion is false, and the fire burning in the heart of new-born atheism.
The water washing convictions away means the narrators beliefs are wavering. She is tempted to pray on her wavering faith, but "He" (and who "He" is, is completely open to interpretation. It could be the voice of inner-reason, it could be Satan, however you want to interpret it) stops her from being lured back to religion.
He says "Intuition is awakening suspicion", meaning the narrators intuitive nature makes her suspicious of her beliefs and her religion.
He says "My tradition is the art of superstition", meaning the "superstitious" religious beliefs are the foundation of the narrators life, her "tradition".
The narrator "wakes up in the light of the fire" meaning she suddenly sees clearly the falsehood of her religious beliefs. Her "eyes burning like ashes in submission to the heat of the desire" represents her lust for control of her own life, and the shedding of the shackles of religious belief. "He tells me not to preach to the choir" means whoever "He" is, already knows such desires and feelings.
He says "This condition is a slow decomposition." which could mean that losing your faith is a slow process into atheism, or it could be from the opposing point of view that losing your religion is like dying, decomposing.
He says "My religion is the practise of sedition", which clearly means that the narrator's new path is rebellion against the church. The narrator's religion is essentially now atheism.