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."
Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did
I got what I paid for now
See ya tomorrow, hey Frank can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I'm tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything's broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
Now the dogs are barking
And the taxicabs parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
You tore my shirt open
And I'm down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmills I staggered
You buried the dagger in
Your silhouette window light
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
Now I've lost my St. Christopher
Now that I've kissed her and the
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinaman, and the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the strip tease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
No, I don't want your sympathy
The fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming now
Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
And you can ask any sailor
And the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
And it's a battered old suitcase
To a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers
The night watchman flame keepers
And goodnight Matilda, too
I got what I paid for now
See ya tomorrow, hey Frank can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I'm tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything's broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
Now the dogs are barking
And the taxicabs parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
You tore my shirt open
And I'm down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmills I staggered
You buried the dagger in
Your silhouette window light
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
Now I've lost my St. Christopher
Now that I've kissed her and the
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinaman, and the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the strip tease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
No, I don't want your sympathy
The fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming now
Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
And you can ask any sailor
And the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me
And it's a battered old suitcase
To a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers
The night watchman flame keepers
And goodnight Matilda, too
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
Tom Traubert's Blues Lyrics as written by Tom Waits
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) song meanings
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"Waltzing Matilda" in this song at least, refers to being on the road, far from home and broke, period.
Two of my brothers were successful folk songwriters in the late 60s-early 70s who sold pieces to the likes of Mac Davis, John Denver and Johnny Cash. Both told me all manner of experiences and observations go into song lyrics. Some are specific, others are "hybrids" that come from many different yet similar experiences. Occasionally something totally unrelated just works its way in perfectly. To me, that explains the different "origins" of the song Waits gives in his live prefaces. In one show, he says it's about "throwing up in a foreign country". In another, he mentions the real Tom Traubert. In yet another he talks about something else.
I've also read interviews with Waits where he describes going through a period of thinking how "uniquely American" being a drunk is when he was writing many of the songs that appear on this album.
We all want to know the true meaning behind such powerful lyrics as these and other songs Waits has written. Unfortunately, without being a close personal friend of his, none of us will ever truly know.
My gosh, I remember how many wildly different theories I heard from friends & acquaintances for such songs as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" & "25 or 6 to 4". Looking back, it's pretty damn funny.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/…
Etymology[edit]
Derived from sailing ships. The 'sheet' in the phrase uses the nautical meaning of a rope that controls the trim of sail. If a sheet is loose, the sail flaps and doesn't provide control for the ship. Having several sheets loose ("to the wind") could cause the ship to rock about drunkenly.
Adjective[edit]
four sheets to the wind (not comparable)
(idiomatic) Extremely drunk [quotations ▼]
Synonyms[edit]
three sheets to the wind