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.
Aaron and Maria ran
From the Northwest coast to the city and
Now they reside out in Brooklyn Heights
Where the rich kids hide and the years go by
Aaron writes but they both survive
'Cause Maria waits on library lines
And Aaron sighs, "If the TV's right
You put your hat on tight or catch a death outside"
We're living off some modest trust
From daddy 'fore his oil went bust
And loving you is just enough
'Cause no one gives a fuck about us
Understand it's the way I am
When we argue and break the hearts we have
We only fight 'cause you love me right
And when we lay at night I feel a kick inside
We're living off some modest trust
From daddy 'fore his oil went bust
And loving you is just enough
'Cause no one gives a fuck about us
From the Northwest coast to the city and
Now they reside out in Brooklyn Heights
Where the rich kids hide and the years go by
Aaron writes but they both survive
'Cause Maria waits on library lines
And Aaron sighs, "If the TV's right
You put your hat on tight or catch a death outside"
We're living off some modest trust
From daddy 'fore his oil went bust
And loving you is just enough
'Cause no one gives a fuck about us
Understand it's the way I am
When we argue and break the hearts we have
We only fight 'cause you love me right
And when we lay at night I feel a kick inside
We're living off some modest trust
From daddy 'fore his oil went bust
And loving you is just enough
'Cause no one gives a fuck about us
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I really like this song because of its play on upper-middle-class values. this song, to me, centers on the aftermath of maria's pregnancy. aaron and maria flee their affluent california lifestyle and still believe an independent life means doing what you like while daddy foots the bill. they struggle to cope with a coming child and a scared marriage in a city full of people just like them.
This is such a profoundly amazing song. I can just picture riding in a car with the windows down, the sun setting on the orange horizon...warm air brushing faces. It seems fairly clear that this song outlines the life of a young couple, possibly running to escape some horrible persecution on the west coast, to where they "hide" in NY and just barely make a living. They realize that times are difficult but commit to each other based on the love they feel. No one gives a fuck about them, but they continue on because they have each other... absolutely beautiful. I can't believe no one else posts under these guys!!
i jsut heard about this band not too long ago, through the Home V ep by ben gibbard and American Analog Set's Andrew Kenny... really good stuff...
I love AmAnSet!! When you hear "when we lay at night, feel a kick inside," do you interpret that as Maria being pregnant with a baby that's kicking, or the love they have making a "kick" of emotion? I can't decide but i think i like the kick of emotion interpretation more.
Home Vol 5 is GREAT. I searched for Andrew Kenny and didn't find anything, maybe i'll contribute some lyrics.
simply cool!!
This song kind of scares me.
the people at my school named Aaron and Maria have dated twice and it's rather scary finding this song because I'm sure that they'll start going out again. weeeiiiirrrd.
Kind of a poppy slowcore song, but I love it!
they came to brooklyn because they had artistic aspirations and thought it would be cool, that they were better than everything else. but as we know, it's where the rich kids hide and the years go by. but it's hard and stagnant. so they live off of this trust, the wealth that once generated it now dried up -- so even their original class is now irrelevant. they're just like anyone else, only less cared for. and they're scared but they only fight because they love each other, or at least that's what they hope. and there's this pregnancy to worry about. and so it goes. and no one gives a fuck.
i don't think them living off this trust fund is like portrayed negatively though. his tone is reverent, almost like he's admiring them. i think the song is meant to convey the beauty associated with complete isolation. i think it's really romantic, not meant to be ironic.
Definitely agree with the whole disillusioned upper-middle class couple with a coming child. I think the coolest part of this song though is how well it flows despite the fact that it is in free verse. There aren't even really any internal rhymes...it just works because of where they place the accents (I capitalized the accented vowels): "Now they resIde out in Brooklyn HeIghts Where the rich kids hIde and the years go bY" Cool stuff. Also [now this is a big stretch, but I think it adds to the aesthetic of the song, whether it was intentional or not (I'm guessing it probably wasn't)] this structure almost parallels the narrative in this song. These kids are lost in their own story and they are able to keep it together because of their relationship; similarly the song really shouldn't sound as fluid as it does except for these happenstance syllabic relationships.
@slacker7667 Gonna be that guy: it's not free verse if it's got a recognizable accentual pattern (which it does: three stresses per line in the chorus, four in the verse). And it's got rhymes both within the lines and at the ends. I'd agree that it's good songwriting, though.