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."
Do you remember the first time girl
That you weren't having fun
I remember the sentiments
And stupid things we've done
And I remember you
I bet you wish it wasn't true
And I remember why we never talk
If you ever, start to never
Doubt yourself then realise
Rest in me your everything
You let me down
I hope you realise
Do you recall the sad time girl
When you were on your own
I recall the way you looked
And why you never phoned
Then you turned on me or was it just society
And I remember how you pissed me off
If you ever, start to never
Doubt yourself then realise
Rest in me your everything
You let me down
I hope you realise
That you weren't having fun
I remember the sentiments
And stupid things we've done
And I remember you
I bet you wish it wasn't true
And I remember why we never talk
If you ever, start to never
Doubt yourself then realise
Rest in me your everything
You let me down
I hope you realise
Do you recall the sad time girl
When you were on your own
I recall the way you looked
And why you never phoned
Then you turned on me or was it just society
And I remember how you pissed me off
If you ever, start to never
Doubt yourself then realise
Rest in me your everything
You let me down
I hope you realise
Lyrics submitted by ThECr4cKFa1rY
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Somewhere Only We Know
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Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.

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Shudder to Think
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This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.
Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.

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