Compliment

To me, this song has a very subtle and complex meaning.

"Now I've taken the side Of a beautiful calm"

He's changed perspectives. Now he sees thing through calm eyes and the world looks and/or feels beautiful. Such as when you wake in the morning, smell the morning air, and everything appears, calm, fresh and beautiful.

"Can you see this disguise Fading to a resolve"

Everyone acts in what they consider out of their own character, or wishes they had acted differently at times. And we all wear masks at times, to fulfill roles or accomplish something. He's saying this disguise is fading/leaving/being replaced by a resolve. That resolve is most likely to be true to himself and his intentions.

"And there it goes my innocence While gathering up a compliment"

There are often times when you are complimented for things that make you lose your innocence towards something. It creates a dichotomy, because you are receiving praise for something that makes you view the world in a more cynical manner. Alternatively, it reminds me of times when you have accomplished something, or are known for something and people compliment you for it. But secretly, you feel like you betrayed that part of yourself, that innocence, that intent. You've moved and changed but people still think of you as your older self, and give you praise for it.

"And here I lie with words to swear There's something more than The world out there"

He's lying down, feeling that he has things that need said, looking at the bigger picture. And he's saying, that there's something more than this. He's feeling listless, trapped, and that he can't escape the everyday pattern that he is becoming fed up with. On the other hand, he's also feeling hopeful, because there is "More out there". Its said in a way that not only does he believe there is more out there but he intends to find it. It also is another dichotomy, as the world is a word that usually means everything, and he's saying there is more than that. One interpretation is that the world means everything material, and he seeks the spiritual. Another interpretation is that there is more to the world than what he currently knows of it, and possibly that his current loss of innocence has let him see that.

"Hesitation compounds I've nothing left to sustain"

He hesitates, feels like he has no resolve left. Or possibly, that its not worth sustaining the way his current life is as its too full of hesitation. Or perhaps, he is hesitating to make that change.

"My worries here have allowed A momentary refrain"

His worries over the way things are progressing right now, have given him an opportunity to sit back and take a look at things. It has also changed things enough so that things, even if for a short while, have changed for the better because at least now he's thinking about how to attack the problem rather then letting things go as they were.

The title of the song is Compliment. It seems to me this points that perhaps the whole reflectiveness of the song, his changed perceptions, his resolve to accomplish something all stem from the dichotomy of being complimented during a time of lost innocence. It lets him see the difference between what he is, what he was, and perhaps, what he wishes to be. At the very least, it gives him a perspective on the world, its size, and his feeling toward it.

me neither, this is a great song. MORE COMMENTS

To me I get the feeling that he started out small and innocent inside, and started growing and realizing that the world can be a scary place, and there is 'more out there' to discover.

I recently went to one of their concerts and before they played this song Ed Roland said that his brother, the guitarist, Dean, wrote this song. Just an intersting point. Great song.

I think that this also has to do with him wondering if there's more out there than just this horrible world. Like...the world's a scary place, and he wants to know that there are other places out there in the universe that are better than this place, because if there aren't, then the universe is just as horrible as the Earth can be.

yeah i think EphemeralArcs had a pretty good idea. this song is kinda hard to interpret, but to me i think it is about how he was beginning to drift to the ways of the world or the flow of everyone else, but he decides that he is going to go his own way and live his own life. im sure there is more to it, but thats just what i think.

by the way, this song has some beautiful guitar work as do most collective soul songs. not to mention so sweet drumming.

EphemeralArcs is on the right track, but maybe the song isn't about losing innocence from receiving a compliment, but rather through giving one...

For example, one of those phony compliments like when your grandfather gives you a gift that's less-than-exciting, but you tell him it was a "great gift" and "really thoughtful"...

What i find interesting with this song is that their live performance of it is better than their studio records. Don't get me wrong i overall like the text and the song is ok, but i generally don't like live recordings cause the sound sounds so messy on them alot of times, but this one was really good

This song is so pretty, why hasnt anyone said anything yet?! lol, i dont really understand the lyrics that well though

about how feel the need to have the approval & compliments of others ... n how fake compliments can be , hence u long to find something more in life (world)