Lyric discussion by ilLeopardo 

Cover art for Always Like This lyrics by Bombay Bicycle Club

I feel like it's about homosexuality. In my mind I kind of see it as a guy who has been suppressing his sexuality finally coming out to his mother or something and she's not totally willing to accept that it. She's willing to wait for him to become the son she wants him to be and is unable to believe that he's "always been like this." While she might not admit this, he can tell she is disappointed with this.

I feel like the part about following the light that he deems the brightest is his way of saying that he has chosen to accept his sexuality and live as a gay man, but he is still somewhat confused and is having trouble knowing if he really has "always been like this." This also makes sense with the "I'm not whole" part. He isn't whole because of his lack of comfort in his own skin and the rift this has caused with his family and loved ones. The "you waste it all" might be his loved ones wasting their hopes of his 'return' to heterosexuality.

The final "you can wait for what I can give" might be him telling his disapproving mother that she can wait and see that even though he is a homosexual, he is still her son and can still live the life she had dreamed for him.

"You know what I am so you know how I live" is pretty self explanatory, she now knows he is gay and knows that he will be with men. The same goes for the next two lines; she tries to be proud of her son for who he is, but she can't hide her disappointment. "It's happening now and it's always been like this" to me is a sign of his acceptance of himself. He realizes that this is the life he was always meant to live.

That's what I got out of it anyway.