One Way Trigger Lyrics

Lyric discussion by ktru52 

Cover art for One Way Trigger lyrics by Strokes, The

My thoughts:

This song is about a man wanting to leave a relationship, possibly marriage, because he does not feel loved.

"Get dressed in your bed, while she's asleep It isn't right, but it isn't hard Tell me, tell me, won't you understand? Show me, show me, show me a better plan It's summer lies, it’s someone else’s nothing Here it comes now"

He is telling himself to leave and convincing himself to do it. She wants him to explain why he wants to leave, but she won't understand.

You ask me to stay You ask me to stay You ask me to stay But there’s a million reasons to leave

She continues and asks him to stay with her, but he has many reasons to leave.

Find a job, find a friend Find a home, find a dog Settle down, out of town Find a dream, shut it down

This describes his past. He found a job, friends, a home, a pet, and he settled down. Despite the fact that man gaining the idealistic goals of the American Dream, he never gained love. Now he wants to leave because he isn't happy.

Please, please don’t point it that way It’s just a trigger that goes once and you’ll be unafraid I wish that I'd been noticed, but it never goes that way The silence that you brought has gone, gone, gone

He's telling himself once he leaves it will be over and he will no longer be unhappy. He wishes he could have been "noticed," or that she would have actually loved him. When he leaves her, the lack of love, or silence, will be gone.

I don’t wanna be in there with you I don’t wanna be in there without your loving either I waited for your thoughts Can't wait no longer

This is the explanation for why he wants to leave. He doesn't want to be with someone who doesn't love him. He loves her but she doesn't love him, and he waited for her feelings and love but he can't wait any longer.

I think the "find a job" part shows that while him and his partner have all of those conventional things, they do not have love. He tries to tell her how he feels but she does not understand. Without love, he is not happy and wants to leave.

Song Meaning