Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
You played those notes a year ago
But nobody ever seems to mind
You're so sweet
Upon request from her dad
She takes a seat centre stage
And starts to play
And when she's done we take our roles as assigned
A few kids whined
But everyone behaved
So take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
The fact the notes are right
Doesn't mean she has any feeling
This year yields something new
A reason for the downcast eyes
The buttoned lip
The irony that rings so true
Is in the corner holding hands
That played the keys
That bored the kids and the adults alike
But made the teenagers laugh
At pure precociousness
So take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
Take note, the facts are right
But she hasn't any feeling
And we'll be appealing
Upon request from her mom
She takes a seat centre stage
And starts to cry
Take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
Take the bench Little Girl
But nobody ever seems to mind
You're so sweet
Upon request from her dad
She takes a seat centre stage
And starts to play
And when she's done we take our roles as assigned
A few kids whined
But everyone behaved
So take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
The fact the notes are right
Doesn't mean she has any feeling
This year yields something new
A reason for the downcast eyes
The buttoned lip
The irony that rings so true
Is in the corner holding hands
That played the keys
That bored the kids and the adults alike
But made the teenagers laugh
At pure precociousness
So take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
Take note, the facts are right
But she hasn't any feeling
And we'll be appealing
Upon request from her mom
She takes a seat centre stage
And starts to cry
Take the bench Little Girl
And sing your little heart out
Take the bench Little Girl
Lyrics submitted by becky_salami
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings

No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead

Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.

Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.

Another Love
Tom Odell
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.

Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
According to Murph, it's an agonizing piano recital and also an agonizing divorce. The kid is on the "bench" for both -- her parents have pushed her to perform onstage and in the courtroom.
I wonder if there are any other songs that compare divorce court to kids' recitals? Sloan found some odd parallels here.
At first, I thought the song was about a famous court case, but I think it's just about a piano recital. :)