Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't

I think this is darker than it seems.

It sounds like there's a girl who's in love with him, and he knows it, but he isn't with her anymore (perhaps because she cheated on him. Perhaps he never did). That's the "Okay I Believe you" part. This song is to hurt her, to explain that the only reason she's in love with him is because he does everything right. But he needs to destroy it, and she needs to let go. "My tommy gun don't"

"I'm heaven sent,
don't you dare forget
I am all you've ever wanted,
what all the other boys all promised
Sorry I told
I just needed you to know"

-- He's perfect for her. Everything she ever wanted. And he knows it.

I think in decimals and dollars
I am the cause to all your problems

-- He has a logical mind, different than hers. It's people like him who cause all her problems. He feels different than her - smarter.

Shelter from cold
We are never alone

-- With him, she's sheltered from the world. He takes care of her.

Coordinate brain and mouth
Then ask me what it's like to have myself so figured out
I wish I knew

-- He doesn't know what he wants, or who he is, whatever this song might seem.

I hope this songs starts a craze,
the kind of song that ignites the airways
The kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are
with who ever they're there with

-- This song is a warning to everyone else, not to end up like him.

This is war
Every line is about who I don't write about anymore
Hope you come down with something they can't diagnose,
don't have the cure for

-- He wants to get away. He's tired of this. He wants her to leave him be. So much so he's growing hateful

Holding on to your grudge
Oh it's so hard to have someone to love

-- Her grudge is that he doesn't love her, but she still loves him.

Keeping quiet is hard
'Cause you can't keep a secret if it never was a secret to start
At least pretend you didn't wanna get caught

-- It was clear from the start that she loved him. The "caught" is either catching her cheating, or getting caught being in love with him (depending on how dark you think the song is)

We're concentratin' on fallin' apart
We were contenders, we're throwin' the fight
I just wanna believe, I just wanna believe, I just wanna believe in us

-- Ever since she started to cling, to try and keep him from leaving, they've been concentrating on falling apart, and everything good about their relationship has vanished. He wishes he could believe, and be in love, but he just isn't.

Oh we're so c-c-c-c-c-controversial
We are entirely smooth
We admit to the truth
We are the best at what we do
And these are the words you wish you wrote down
This is the way you wish your voice sounds,
handsome and smart
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle on my body that works harder than my heart
And it's all from watching TV
and from speeding up my breathing
Wouldn't stop if I could
Oh it hurts to be this good

-- He's trying to prove to her that everything she loved about him was just fake. It's all from copying lines from TV, saying everything right, and acting. He's trying to tell her everything she's liked about him was just fake. He's trying to hurt her more.

You're holding on to your grudge
Oh it hurts to always have to be honest with the one that you love
Oh so let it go

-- He's just being honest. Mockingly honest.

This is the grace only we can bestow
This is the price you pay for loss of control
This is the break in the bend
This is the closest of calls
This is the reason you're alone, this is the rise and the fall!

-- Only he can decide to love and/or forgive her or not. The "grace". That's the price she pays for loving him, and giving him control. But this is the end, this isn't just a bend in their relationship. This is the rise and the fall.

As you can see, a pretty damn dark and hateful song when seen that way. But for it to fit the "Tommy gun" part of the title, I'm not that surprised. At the very least though, I think it's about getting back at someone who loved him. Very amazing song though, with great lyrics. Just DARK.