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."
Well, I remember as it were a meal ago
Said Tommy the Cat as he reeled back to clear whatever foreign matter
May have nestled its way into his mighty throat
Many a fat alley rat had met its demise while staring point blank down
The cavernous barrel of this awesome prowling machine
Truly a wonder of nature this urban predator
Tommy the Cat had many a story to tell
But it was a rare occasion such as this that he did
She came slidin' down the alleyway like butter drippin' off a hot biscuit
The aroma, the mean scent, was enough to arouse suspicion in even the
Oldest of tigers that hung around the hot spot in those days
The sight was beyond belief
Many a head snapped for double--even triple--takes as this vivacious
Feline made her her way into the delta of the alleyway where the most
Virile of the young tabbies were known to hang out
They hung in droves
Such a multitude of masculinity could only be found in one place
And that was O'Malley's Alley
The air was thick with cat calls (no pun intended)
But not even a muscle in her neck did twitch as she sauntered up into
The heart of the alleyway
She knew what she wanted
She was lookin' for that stud bull
She was looking for that he cat
And that was me
Tommy the Cat is my name and I say unto thee
Say, baby, do you want to lay down with me?
Say, baby, do you want to lay down by my side?
Ah, baby, do you want to lay down with me?
Say, baby?
Say, baby?
Said Tommy the Cat as he reeled back to clear whatever foreign matter
May have nestled its way into his mighty throat
Many a fat alley rat had met its demise while staring point blank down
The cavernous barrel of this awesome prowling machine
Truly a wonder of nature this urban predator
Tommy the Cat had many a story to tell
But it was a rare occasion such as this that he did
She came slidin' down the alleyway like butter drippin' off a hot biscuit
The aroma, the mean scent, was enough to arouse suspicion in even the
Oldest of tigers that hung around the hot spot in those days
The sight was beyond belief
Many a head snapped for double--even triple--takes as this vivacious
Feline made her her way into the delta of the alleyway where the most
Virile of the young tabbies were known to hang out
They hung in droves
Such a multitude of masculinity could only be found in one place
And that was O'Malley's Alley
The air was thick with cat calls (no pun intended)
But not even a muscle in her neck did twitch as she sauntered up into
The heart of the alleyway
She knew what she wanted
She was lookin' for that stud bull
She was looking for that he cat
And that was me
Tommy the Cat is my name and I say unto thee
Say, baby, do you want to lay down with me?
Say, baby, do you want to lay down by my side?
Ah, baby, do you want to lay down with me?
Say, baby?
Say, baby?
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"TOMMY THE CAT IS MY NAME!!!"
That line sounds like it's being squeezed out of a mustard bottle. It's so gloriously ridiculous.