The song can be taken two ways. The first way is that someone who intellectually challenges the narrator by debating left and the narrator wants that person back because everyone else has no passion, no energy, no desire to fight her. The second interpretation is a shout-out to rebellious music of the past especially that of punk rock.
We used to leave the blue lights on and there was a beat - I’m not sure if the blue lights are the lights they might have during a concert or party, or what exactly that means.
Ever since you have been gone it’s all caffeine-free - Ever since the major wave of punk rock faded out, so-called punk rock music has been lacking in energy.
Faux punk fatigues (or fatigue) - If it’s fatigue it means the fatigue/weariness/exhaustion/lack of energy of people who pretend to be punk. It’s the lack of energy that is characteristic of fake punks. If it’s ‘fatigues’ it means fake punk uniforms — uniforms are contradictory to the individualistic value of punks. A lot of fake punks wear what they think people with punk values are supposed to wear, but they fail miserably.
Said it all before - The lyrics in the so-called punk rock songs have already been said before. The new bands aren’t coming up with any original ideas.
They try to kick it, their feet fall asleep - This could mean two things. One, it could mean that they try to fight against their lack of energy and that they try to fight against their lack of originality. Two, it could mean that they try to fight against the powers that be and/or society in general. Either way their feet fall asleep — for the first interpretation, they continue to lack energy and they don’t have the energy to come up with new ideas. For the second interpretation, they lack the energy to get anything done, to really fight against society/government/etc., to passionately voice their opinions.
Get no harm done no - As I said, the faux punks don’t have the energy and passion in their music.
None of them want to fight me - I think that the point of view of the song is from the point of view of punk rock fans. They see the faux punk rockers as not wanting to debate and not having the passion/energy to disagree on the fine points of their opinions. For example, many of the original punk rockers agreed that the government sucks, but they don’t all agree on the same ways to fix that problem.
Combat baby come back baby - “Combat baby” is punk rock music and the artists that make up the genre. Also, it can be rebellious underground music in general and those artists. Metric wants punk rock and rebellious underground music to come back. One other thing — The Clash had an album called Combat Rock.
Fight off the lethargy - Metric thinks that punk rockers feel lethargic either from trying to change things or from trying to change things but feeling as if they got nowhere which left them feeling hopeless, and they’re telling them to fight off their lethargy. -OR- They’re saying to come back and help them fight off other people’s lethargy, possibly the lethargy in fake punk music.
Don’t go quietly - Metric doesn’t want rebellious music to give up and fade out.
Said you would never give up easy - Punk rockers weren’t willing to give up without a fight.
Get back in town I wanna paint it black - I know The Rolling Stones have a song “paint it black” but what does it mean? Maybe it means that she wants to show the darkness and evil in the world that other people aren’t pointing out because they don’t care, because they like it that way, because they’re trying to be inoffensive, etc. It could also mean that she just wants to have a good time with underground music - creating it and listening to the stuff others create.
Wanna get around - She wants to have fun. (?)
Easy living crowd so flat - People who take the easy way out and live life the easy way, the way of just going about their business and accepting whatever they’re told or whatever society wants them to think — they’re “flat” which is another way of saying boring, dull, or lifeless.
Said it all before - The things that they say, other people have said it all before.
They try to kick it, their feet fall asleep
I want to be wrong but
No one here wants to fight me like you do - This could mean two things. One, it could mean that the narrator of the song thinks that there’s no good rebellious music now, and she wants to be wrong about that because she wants there to be rebellious music. Two, it could mean that she wants the punk rockers (and other underground music) to challenge her opinions as being wrong.
I try to be so nice
Compromise
Who gets it good?
Every mighty mild seventies child
Every mighty mild seventies child
Beats me - I think that “beats me” is answering the question “Who gets it good?” meaning that she doesn’t know who gets it good when she compromises. She doesn’t feel as if she gets it good. What does she mean by “compromise”? She could mean that she tries to listen to non-controversial music. She was born in the 1970s, and the first punk rock bands emerged in the ‘70s. They’re mighty because they’re strong (strong-willed, strongly opinionated), yet they’re mild because they’re non-violent. -OR- “I try to be so nice/Compromise/Who gets it good?” could be one idea and “Every mighty mild seventies child/Every mighty mild seventies child/Beats me” could be another idea. If it’s that, it could mean that she tries to settle to listening to boring music, and she wants to know who’s happy. Then she could be saying that every seventies child who’s nonviolent (mild) and strong-willed (mighty) is happier than her (“beats me”). They’ve stayed true to themselves — they’re still “mighty” enough to resist listening to boring music, and they’re still “mild.”
How I miss your ranting - She misses the ranting of the punk rockers.
Do you miss my all time lows? - She’s asking from the point of view of punk rock fans: do the punk rockers miss the all-time lows of their fans? Some fans of punk rock most likely had depressed feelings from time to time because of their frustration about the way that society/the government is.
I think that the album gets its name (Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?) from the concept of this song.
The song can be taken two ways. The first way is that someone who intellectually challenges the narrator by debating left and the narrator wants that person back because everyone else has no passion, no energy, no desire to fight her. The second interpretation is a shout-out to rebellious music of the past especially that of punk rock.
We used to leave the blue lights on and there was a beat - I’m not sure if the blue lights are the lights they might have during a concert or party, or what exactly that means.
Ever since you have been gone it’s all caffeine-free - Ever since the major wave of punk rock faded out, so-called punk rock music has been lacking in energy.
Faux punk fatigues (or fatigue) - If it’s fatigue it means the fatigue/weariness/exhaustion/lack of energy of people who pretend to be punk. It’s the lack of energy that is characteristic of fake punks. If it’s ‘fatigues’ it means fake punk uniforms — uniforms are contradictory to the individualistic value of punks. A lot of fake punks wear what they think people with punk values are supposed to wear, but they fail miserably.
Said it all before - The lyrics in the so-called punk rock songs have already been said before. The new bands aren’t coming up with any original ideas.
They try to kick it, their feet fall asleep - This could mean two things. One, it could mean that they try to fight against their lack of energy and that they try to fight against their lack of originality. Two, it could mean that they try to fight against the powers that be and/or society in general. Either way their feet fall asleep — for the first interpretation, they continue to lack energy and they don’t have the energy to come up with new ideas. For the second interpretation, they lack the energy to get anything done, to really fight against society/government/etc., to passionately voice their opinions.
Get no harm done no - As I said, the faux punks don’t have the energy and passion in their music.
None of them want to fight me - I think that the point of view of the song is from the point of view of punk rock fans. They see the faux punk rockers as not wanting to debate and not having the passion/energy to disagree on the fine points of their opinions. For example, many of the original punk rockers agreed that the government sucks, but they don’t all agree on the same ways to fix that problem.
Combat baby come back baby - “Combat baby” is punk rock music and the artists that make up the genre. Also, it can be rebellious underground music in general and those artists. Metric wants punk rock and rebellious underground music to come back. One other thing — The Clash had an album called Combat Rock.
Fight off the lethargy - Metric thinks that punk rockers feel lethargic either from trying to change things or from trying to change things but feeling as if they got nowhere which left them feeling hopeless, and they’re telling them to fight off their lethargy. -OR- They’re saying to come back and help them fight off other people’s lethargy, possibly the lethargy in fake punk music.
Don’t go quietly - Metric doesn’t want rebellious music to give up and fade out.
Said you would never give up easy - Punk rockers weren’t willing to give up without a fight.
Get back in town I wanna paint it black - I know The Rolling Stones have a song “paint it black” but what does it mean? Maybe it means that she wants to show the darkness and evil in the world that other people aren’t pointing out because they don’t care, because they like it that way, because they’re trying to be inoffensive, etc. It could also mean that she just wants to have a good time with underground music - creating it and listening to the stuff others create.
Wanna get around - She wants to have fun. (?)
Easy living crowd so flat - People who take the easy way out and live life the easy way, the way of just going about their business and accepting whatever they’re told or whatever society wants them to think — they’re “flat” which is another way of saying boring, dull, or lifeless.
Said it all before - The things that they say, other people have said it all before.
They try to kick it, their feet fall asleep I want to be wrong but No one here wants to fight me like you do - This could mean two things. One, it could mean that the narrator of the song thinks that there’s no good rebellious music now, and she wants to be wrong about that because she wants there to be rebellious music. Two, it could mean that she wants the punk rockers (and other underground music) to challenge her opinions as being wrong.
I try to be so nice Compromise Who gets it good? Every mighty mild seventies child Every mighty mild seventies child Beats me - I think that “beats me” is answering the question “Who gets it good?” meaning that she doesn’t know who gets it good when she compromises. She doesn’t feel as if she gets it good. What does she mean by “compromise”? She could mean that she tries to listen to non-controversial music. She was born in the 1970s, and the first punk rock bands emerged in the ‘70s. They’re mighty because they’re strong (strong-willed, strongly opinionated), yet they’re mild because they’re non-violent. -OR- “I try to be so nice/Compromise/Who gets it good?” could be one idea and “Every mighty mild seventies child/Every mighty mild seventies child/Beats me” could be another idea. If it’s that, it could mean that she tries to settle to listening to boring music, and she wants to know who’s happy. Then she could be saying that every seventies child who’s nonviolent (mild) and strong-willed (mighty) is happier than her (“beats me”). They’ve stayed true to themselves — they’re still “mighty” enough to resist listening to boring music, and they’re still “mild.”
How I miss your ranting - She misses the ranting of the punk rockers. Do you miss my all time lows? - She’s asking from the point of view of punk rock fans: do the punk rockers miss the all-time lows of their fans? Some fans of punk rock most likely had depressed feelings from time to time because of their frustration about the way that society/the government is.
I think that the album gets its name (Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?) from the concept of this song.