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,
Growing strong, the voice of my father said
"Don't give up, don't be forgotten"
This hell on earth, I just want to run away
They told me dreams don't grow from here
Stay alone, count your fears
Somewhere down the line I might figure it out
Singin' all my songs to bedroom mirrors
Deep inside my heart I'm still here
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
What made me tough almost killed me
At least that's how I remember the story
Over the years I've forgotten how it was
But I survived and I won't walk down
The same old road that they all followed
It only leads to a life not meant for me
Singin' all my songs to bedroom mirrors
Deep inside my heart I'm still here
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
Streets in my hometown seem strange now
They feel like a distant memory
I'm always fighting 'cause I know you're trying
But you can never take this dream from me
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
"Don't give up, don't be forgotten"
This hell on earth, I just want to run away
They told me dreams don't grow from here
Stay alone, count your fears
Somewhere down the line I might figure it out
Singin' all my songs to bedroom mirrors
Deep inside my heart I'm still here
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
What made me tough almost killed me
At least that's how I remember the story
Over the years I've forgotten how it was
But I survived and I won't walk down
The same old road that they all followed
It only leads to a life not meant for me
Singin' all my songs to bedroom mirrors
Deep inside my heart I'm still here
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
Streets in my hometown seem strange now
They feel like a distant memory
I'm always fighting 'cause I know you're trying
But you can never take this dream from me
We're always runnin' away and we don't even stop to think about it
The world's in our hands yeah
They don't need to understand
We do it our own way, no matter what they try to say about it
We've got our own plans yeah
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
They don't need to understand
Lyrics submitted by hannah102
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I believe this song means a lot of things. The one thing I got from this was simply they don't need to understand. You should be able to do whatever you want for any reason, no matter if other people question it. I believe that the "They" Andy is referring to is the haters. "They" don't need to understand why you are you. Just be yourself, even if people question you, because the people who truly love you won't need to understand you to love you. So, always be yourself, even if others don't understand you, because they don't need to understand.