Thanks a Lot

To me, this song is about the subtle shift of power that happens when a person falls out of love. Though cleverly scrambled, this entire album's songs read like a chronological map of the events that took place within one profound relationship.

Here, the woman has fallen out of love with the singer/author, and now it is she who holds the dominant position... but it is too early in the shift to expose this dynamic outright. It is a secret that they both know in their hearts, yet she is not ready to reveal it and he is too busy focusing on the symptoms to come to terms with it.

"It's all in your mind," she said, "the darkness and the light" [typical female brush-off: "Don't pay attention to all the ups and downs we're going through. It's normal, and it's all in your mind...we're still in love."]

"The clock, it bleeds for you, but you never got the timing right " [Shifts in focus to the author himself, describing how he got many chances --to the point of time symbolically 'sacrificing itself' --to prove himself worthy of her love and confidence, yet fails]

"I woke you up and I slit the throat of your confidence, and we laughed in the night, and I felt alright" [holding a woman's confidence is the key to winning her love. The author recognizes that he has killed her confidence, yet reveals the very trait that causes the murder....a lack of intuition. The woman has lost confidence in him because he lacks intuition. (She's that good.) Despite this defining moment in their relationship, he falls for her ability to hide their secret, and when she 'laughs in the night' like everything's okay, he is falsely reassured. Her ability to deceive him confirms her newfound dominance.

"All hands on deck boys, 'cause this ship was made to sink; your swabber salutes you now, but I know what he's thinking" [Symbolizes the shift in power. The Captain, who is in the dominant position, has somehow lost the confidence of his lowest-ranking subordinate--the swabber. The swabber now deceives the Captain by alluding to formalities (a salute) to keep the peace while the ship is still afloat. But he's thinking, "you're not a very good Captain anymore."]

"Thanks a lot" [A sarcastic condemnation of both partners' actions, simultaneously aimed at each other. The woman says, 'thanks alot for killing my confidence and not being the person you said you were,' while the man says 'thanks alot for pretending everything was fine after you had decided I wasn't someone you could look up to.' At the precise moment when this sentiment is dually expressed, the downward spiral of the relationship to the end of the album begins. This leads to new relationship dynamics, and a whole new readjustment to the newly defined roles of each partner, which takes us to the last verse:

"The clothes she wears misfit, and she's nervous when she speaks...Her zombie mom and dad live in a separate house of freaks" [Now, the stress of falling from leader to subordinate is wearing on the author. No longer does he feel the sentiments expressed in "Good For You" and "I Want You," tracks #9 and #11. Now, his disappointment in himself is projected onto the source of his anxiety: his woman. He ignores the things he'd loved about her and focuses on the things he dislikes. Her clothes don't fit. She lacks speaking skills. Her family is screwed up. These are complaints that pave the way for fear, pain, and hostility, expressed in the bi-polar on/off quality of the next songs "Burning Man" and "Semi-Charmed Life."

"I'm the one for you, 'cause I know all the dirty things you like to do...I'm the fear in your eyes, I'm the fire in your flies; I'm the sound that's buzzing 'round your head" [The attempt by the author at re-establishing his partner's love by appealing to the memory of their past experiences. Written into this attempt is also a display of its inherent futility; a good leader does not have to convince a willing follower. At this point, we know she is less than willing to follow him. We know she's made up her mind.]

what is this song about?

I think this song is about this chick that this guy likes. She is different, but he loves her for it. It's like he's saying "Thanks a lot" for everything that she does for him. But other than that I don't know what it means...I'd like to know what he was thinking about though.

personally, i think the song is about how differnt the girl is, and thanks for all that she has had to put him through for her screwed up kind of life. but becuase he knows her so well, he wouldnt leave her, but thier are times he gets tired of it all the shit that she has put him through. but he has to get it all out, in this song.

personally, i think the song is about how differnt the girl is, and thanks for all that she has had to put him through for her screwed up kind of life. but becuase he knows her so well, he wouldnt leave her, but thier are times he gets tired of it all the shit that she has put him through. but he has to get it all out, in this song.

I think it's about this girl he knows who is very different-- and "I slit the throat of your confidence" must mean that she became embarassed by something he did. But "Thanks Alot" means that Stephen learned something from this girl...

I dunno. I'm all screwed up.

i think hes being sarcastic...its sounds to me like hes almost cynical towards whoever hes speaking to..maybe its just a friend who owes him everything. he was there for him and he doesnt appreciate it. or maybe its someone who he has been that inspiration to...that source of light and love and he knows it. he feels like the power over this person. "i slit the throat of your confidence" its an amazing song..the middle is crazy and the best part of the album!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I have no clue what this song MEANS. It's tormented me to no end because I have no clue what it means!

I love it all the same though, it is either my favorite or my 2nd favorite off of the album.

this is pretty easy to break down if you spend the time...

It's all in your mind, she said The darkness and the light The clock it bleeds for you But you never got the time in right I woke you up And I slit the throat of your confidence And we laughed in the night And I felt all right

This is about a boy and a girl, a girl who is an outcast, and has problems. the boy got to know her, past her reputation, which isn't a good one. he slit the throat of her confidence, meaning she doesn't intimidate him. once they get past this barrier, they actually have a lot in common. (laughed through the night.

All hands on deck boys Cause this ship was made to sink Your swabber salutes you now But I know what he's thinking

This basically means that all the friends and family of the boy don't like that he is with this girl. all the people who are openly against this relationship say that he is gonna go down with her, and the 'swabbers' are his friends, who support him, but still think the same thing everyone else does

I woke you up And I slit the throat of your confidence And we laughed in the night And I felt all right Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot

same thing as the first one, I woke you up meaning that he surprised her, and broke her barrier.

The clothes she wears mis-fit And she's nervous when she speaks Her zombie mom and dad Live in a separate house of freaks

this shows that the girl isn't screwed up, just different. deep down she is actually really insecure(nervouse when she speaks). she dresses a certain way that society doesn't approve of. we find out that she is messed up because her parents are divorced, and both of her families(mom and stepdad, dad and step mom) are all fucked up.

I woke you up And I slit the throat of your confidence And we laughed in the night And I felt all right Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot

blah blah blah, you know this one

I'm the one for you Cause I know all the dirty things you like to do I'm the fear in your eyes I'm the fire in your flies I'm the sound that's buzzing around your head Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot Thanks a lot, Thanks a lot

this is explaining that they are ment for each other. they are perfect, with her fucked up life, and his compasion for her. he truely loves her, and thats what she needed. they both saved each other from mundane lives that probably would have either ended early, or gotten worse.

"Thanks a lot" is them saying thanks to society. these are both people, and everyone was against them. they are perfect for each other, and it is basically saying "thanks a lot for your support. if i listened to you i wouldn't have all this joy"

hope that helps. and remember, this is my view of it, it could be wrong.

forgot to add:

It's all in your mind, she said The darkness and the light The clock it bleeds for you But you never got the time in right

this is the girl talking to the boy. the boy never had luck with girls, and this is why she falls in love with the girl. even though she has this reputation, she is deep. she basically says here, happyness and sadness are all in your head. he hasn't had a decent relatinship because he's created everything in his head, and hasn't found a good partner(the clock it bleeds for you, but you never got the time in right).