Under My Umbrella

this is one of the greatest songs ever written. im serious, this is the most underappreciated song ive ever heard.

"when i close my eyes i can see for miles" - when things start to seem like they're too much to take, just close your eyes and pretend everything's alright, therefore seeing for miles.

"there's comfort in my dark seat and chaos in the aisles" - from the view of an outcast in society, watching the world around him/her. there's comfort in his loneliness while hes watching all the chaos in the world around him. if you've ever been in this position this is such a perfect description.

"These eyes are not your eyes And these eyes are not the colors that Your arid eyes might be" - watching a friend change with society, or becoming popular. the outcast knows who the real person is and is seeing the person/friend he knew change into something they aren't. the other lines are basically saying well, maybe i never really knew the real person. they might really be who they're becoming.

"Now I was not around When those eyes of yours decided so I refuse to kneel before the sights you chose to see" - basically, this is about not wanting to comform to society and having your life controlled. 'the sights you chose to see' basically is saying i refuse to live my life the way you've already decided for me

"When I close my eyes I remember why I smile" - same as first two lines of song

"Under my umbrella I'm an accomplished exile" - under my umbrella is a metaphor for kind of like, watching society from your safe little haven. watching people go to waste, etc. just wondering how people can be so stupid...and trying to do the right thing.

Chorus twice, then this

"If this is right... I'd rather be wrong... If this is sight... I'd rather be blind! " - if what society deems normal is right/sight, then i'd rather be wrong/blind...

i think its about..perspective.. its about how we chose to see things and the way we decide to respond.. we dont have to do the same things..or act the same way.. its about how right its to be wrong...and how wrong its to be politicly correct.. its okay to be "different"..its good to be unique.

if this is sight i'd rather be blind

what the fuck, does it get any better than this?

If you don't agree with my above translation, whatever. :p

I am a metaphor-happy person, and in this song I see the eyes portraying the mind. I'll rewrite the chorus as I see its meaning:

This mind is not your mind And this mind isn't the kind of mind your dry mind might be I was not yet born when that mind of yours decided (chose, or conformed) So I refuse to submit to the thoughts you choose to think

I guess the mind he isn't conforming to is the mind of society and those around him.

But that's just my personal interpretation.

Its about having the ability to turn off to the world that is presented to you ("close my eyes, see for miles"=meditation). In a meditative state, a peaceful state of mind, you can definitely get a much broader view of your life ("I can see for miles"). Then we get to the confrontational aspect of this song - "These eyes are not your eyes, etc.." and I think this gets into him standing up for what he believes - that life is full of potential, but your "arid eyes" can't see that. To put it another way, someone else has a habitual, mundane existence and Boyd is at once confronting him about it, while at the same time denying the fact that existence is mundane at all. We choose how adventurous our lives are to become. Also, the lyrics aren't posted correctly, as pointed out earlier: "i was not around when those eyes of yours decided, so i refuse to kneel before the sights you choose to see." - which is the very essence of the song - both confronting someone who lives a stale life, while at the same time explaining that life is what you make of it. To me, this is entirely true - and that which makes our lives stale is our own fear of changing, our own fear of the unknown.

is no one going to correct the lyrics?

its "I refuse to kneel before the sights you choose to see!"

"When they chose to kneel before the sun could touch the sea" doesnt even make any sense. PAY ATTENTION

I have to say I like this song a lot. It has several different meanings to me but its groovy.

This song is much like many other Incubus songs in that it has the message of seeing things through your own eyes, and not others. Do what you want, not what society and others tell you to do.

The chorus line should read

"Now I was not around, when those eyes of your's decided so I refuse to kneel before the sights you choose to see!"

Am I right?