Loneliest

I think the song is definitely about social media & cyber "connection" (well...disconnection) that we have with others. but to me I feel like it goes deeper with more intimate relationships. He's talking to a girl online, & hasn't had physical contact in awhile ("I have forgotten what it feels like/tastes like") and her "proposition" that he is inspired by is that they meet up in person. It he's scared ("I don't trust my intuition") because it's been so long and because it's much easier to hide behind the barrier of technology. You can be a nobody you want to be online but in person you can only be just you. He's also unsure if this girl/other person is who they appear to be online, just like he is pretending. ("Yours is the curtain.....but I can't be certain....") Then the last line is him just giving up & deciding to stay digital tonight. If you have a dirty mind like me you might think of it this way too: ("I have forgotten what it tastes like") means pussy. Inspired by the proposition to hook up, doesn't trust his intuition in bed, "guess I'm going digital tonight" means eh I'll just watch porn tonight instead.

This song explores themes of loneliness, uncertainty, and the search for genuine connection. Here's a deeper analysis of its content:

Verse 1

"I have forgotten what it feels like
I don't remember, it's true
It'll take all I have left to make this right
But I'd like to try it with you"

The opening lines suggest a profound sense of detachment or amnesia regarding positive emotions or past experiences. The speaker acknowledges the effort required to restore these feelings and expresses a willingness to attempt this with another person, indicating hope and a desire for connection despite the challenges.

Chorus

"I'm the loneliest I've ever been tonight
I'm the loneliest I've ever been, that's right
I'm the loneliest I've ever been tonight
I'm the loneliest I've ever been tonight"

The repetition emphasizes the depth of the speaker's loneliness, which is at its peak. This repetition could also signify the cyclical nature of their feelings, where each night feels progressively lonelier.

Verse 2

"I have forgotten what it tastes like
I don't remember, do you?
Oh, it'll take all I have left to work this out
Oh, push on 'til I'm breaking through"

Here, the sense of forgetfulness extends to sensory experiences (taste), further emphasizing the disconnection. The speaker questions if the other person can remember, seeking a shared understanding. The determination to work through these feelings despite the difficulty is again highlighted.

Bridge

"I'm inspired by your proposition, but I don't trust my intuition
I'm the loneliest I've ever been tonight"

The speaker feels inspired by an offer or opportunity for connection (a "proposition"), but their self-doubt and lack of trust in their intuition create a barrier. This line reveals internal conflict—wanting to trust and connect but being held back by insecurity.

"Yours is the curtain that I'd like to pull back
But I can't be certain that you're really real
Yours is the curtain that I'd like to pull back
But I can't be certain that you're really real"

This metaphor of a curtain suggests a desire to uncover or understand the other person fully. However, the uncertainty about the other's authenticity (whether they are "really real") adds a layer of skepticism or fear of being deceived.

Conclusion

"I'm the loneliest I've ever been tonight
I'm the loneliest I've ever been, that's right
I'm inspired by your proposition but I don't trust my intuition
I'm inspired by your proposition but I don't trust my intuition
So I guess I'm going digital tonight"

Reiterating the themes of loneliness and inspiration mixed with distrust, the final lines introduce the idea of "going digital," which could imply retreating into a virtual or less personal form of interaction. This could be seen as a coping mechanism or a way to avoid the vulnerability of face-to-face connection.

Overall Themes

• Loneliness: The central theme, described as the deepest the speaker has ever felt.
• Disconnection: The speaker feels disconnected from emotions, memories, and sensory experiences.
• Hope and Effort: Despite these feelings, there's a desire to reconnect and the willingness to put in the effort.
• Uncertainty and Skepticism: The speaker's uncertainty about the authenticity of others and their own intuition creates a barrier to connection.
• Digital Interaction: The mention of going digital hints at modern coping mechanisms and the challenges of genuine connection in the digital age.

This song reflects a complex emotional landscape, highlighting the struggle between wanting to connect and the barriers that prevent it, set against a backdrop of profound loneliness.

I love Incubus and have been a fan ever since I was a kid. This song gave me chills when I saw them performing live. Props to them for doing such an amazing job and an ethereal performance.

Let me try to coherently put my thoughts and ideas of this together.

'Loneliest' has an other-worldly quality such as "Stellar" and "Here in my room" but it's also different from those songs in its intensity and solemness. There is an old-ness feel to this song. It's very indicative of their older works, which is something I heavily appreciate. It also reminds me of a few works of literature. All thoughts and writing expressed here are my own, so don't plagiarize (except for the beautiful music and lyrics which do not belong to me obviously.)

This song is beyond its time even with an old feel. 'Loneliest' taps between the past, present, and future intertwined with technology. It's a lost love connection two people have had over the early days of the internet such as AOL. This also gives me the feeling of nostalgia.

The beginning of Loneliest is slow and singular and he is really reminiscent of something that was dear to him at a certain point of his life. But whatever he had, whether a kind of relationship or love--it was beautiful and innocent/pure, and this is depicted through the lyrics in the first verse with "I have forgotten what it feels like, I don’t remember it’s true." He is revisiting the memories in his head and doesn't know if it was real (now in his older age). The music accommodates the depth and intensity using the synthesizers and also creates the technological connection. Then he says, "It will take all I have left to make this right. But I’d like to try it with you." I've interpreted this to mean that he's trying other means to connect with former admiration such as through his dreams or astral-projection.

The second verse helps convey that he is feeling alone 'tonight.' The night is a time when human needs, desires, and thoughts become raw and stronger. The bass and synthesizers permeate through like the ebbing of waves on a shore but symbolize the relationship humans have with technology. It's there around us and so is nature and the universe.

In the third verse, he's reinforcing how he's missing his 'admiration/inspiration/soulmate', still ruminating his nostalgia and memory while desiring it to be there with him in a tangible form. But he's actually replaying something it in his mind or imagining it in his head (and it could be sexual) but the sexual part never happened which is why he has this lingering sexual tension, through the lyrics, "Oh, it’ll take all I have left to work this out. Oh, push on ‘til I’m breaking through."

The chorus repeats in verse four but also goes on to include, 'inspired by your proposition, but I don't trust my intuition.' Intuition is an inherent evolutionary human trait, so why wouldn't he trust his intuition? He can't trust his intuition because he doesn't know if what he's feeling is true, real, tangible-at least in his physical form of reality.

He goes on to sing, "Yours is the curtain that I’d like to pull back, but I can't be certain that you're really real," in the fifth verse. This verse has a slow tempo and a sincere guitar solo that's played in clarity, while the synthesizers have decreased but slowly goes to a crescendo in increments within the verse, as he repeats the lyrics signifying his intense and spiritual feelings. Whoever and whatever he's referring to is not something he can physically attain, thus this is why he says its the one thing I'd like to explore, as it's a beautiful mystery and experience to him. 'Curtains' also symbolize the cloak of the night, the dark and starry darkness of the universe and the unknown beyond it. To him, this experience was a very real and positive experience for him and he's currently feeling alone, sad and misses the comfort it gives him. This is because there's a stark contrast between what his reality is in the present reality and what he had was something that made him feel real, warm, connected and wonderful.

As the song comes to a conclusion, he comes back closer to reality. There's a desperation and yearning-hunger in his soul and his voice while he's singing "Real. Are you really, really real?" He comes out of his trance where he has had a short-lived trance and contact with his soul-mate and rules it out to be real but cannot reach it on a physical level. Although he/she has memories of her/him and things that remind them of their spiritual connection. (The reason I am changing he/she now is because I didn't want to write it out throughout my whole interpretation and also because it goes both ways.) There is a psychic connection but he doesn't want to lose himself in his own insanity and awe. That's why he resorts to going 'digital' tonight because life and technology are presently intertwined but not in the way he was nostalgically ruminating. This can superficially be interpreted as 'porn' to someone, but to me, this song is deep, as technology is all around us (like nature) and can mean any sort of content (reading, entertainment, social media, music etc.) which he can distract himself with as a source of escapism.

'Loneliest' is very beautiful, special and alien to me as it touches me personally. One can interpret 'Loneliest' superficially and say there's nothing deep about it. But, I like to peel the onion to get to the core. I would also argue that this song is equally about God and his/her relationship with humankind. In that sense, he is not sure if God is real but is continually inspired by God and wants to have a better connection with God. To me, this song is more of an ethereal concept than something tangible.