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."
Yeah!
You lie awake, your body aches
Livin' your life under the shadow of your father
She's flying high, you don't realize
She's got her share of her own problems in her life
You'd better slow down, you know you're livin' too fast
You're gonna break down, they say you're never gonna last
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah!
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say who they are
Two hearts, two hearts
The age gap, the mental lapse, livin' at home can drive you crazy
But you take it
She's workin' hard to hide the scars
Nobody said it would be easy, but she's tryin'
You'd better wake up, too busy livin' in the past
You'd better shape up, 'cause this could be the chance
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah!
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say who they are
Now it's the showdown, they're gonna put you to the test
You gotta break out, you gotta do your best
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say "Here we are" - yeah
Two hearts, when two worlds collide it starts - yeah
Two hearts, when two worlds collide, there's no place to hide
Two hearts
You lie awake, your body aches
Livin' your life under the shadow of your father
She's flying high, you don't realize
She's got her share of her own problems in her life
You'd better slow down, you know you're livin' too fast
You're gonna break down, they say you're never gonna last
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah!
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say who they are
Two hearts, two hearts
The age gap, the mental lapse, livin' at home can drive you crazy
But you take it
She's workin' hard to hide the scars
Nobody said it would be easy, but she's tryin'
You'd better wake up, too busy livin' in the past
You'd better shape up, 'cause this could be the chance
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah!
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say who they are
Now it's the showdown, they're gonna put you to the test
You gotta break out, you gotta do your best
Two hearts beat as one together
It may not be forever, but it's for now - yeah
Two kids, they were nothing special
But they both had the metal to say "Here we are" - yeah
Two hearts, when two worlds collide it starts - yeah
Two hearts, when two worlds collide, there's no place to hide
Two hearts
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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