I think if you consider the song as well as the music video, it could be about an ordinary man who is probably from a small town. But he has moved to a big city in the hopes of getting a better job as he finds the jobs available to him in his hometown to be unsatisfactory (The 'city of dreams' could be Berlin, in the case of the song or London, in the case of the music video). He is relatively new to this place and he does odd or low paying jobs just to get by.
Everyday it's the same routine ("Hey now, take your pills and hey now, make your breakfast. Hey now, comb your hair and off to work").
When he's walking on the streets he sees all the crowds and it overwhelms him ("Hey now, count a thousand million people. That's astounding").
And he guesses that the people he sees working or walking to work are also chasing a dream like him ("Chasing through the city with their stars on bright").
At one point he yearns for a change in his routine ("Hey now, don't forget that change will save you"). By the way, he's saying all this to himself as he's probably alone.
The verses seem to touch upon his relatively dreary conditions. But every time the chorus occurs, it radiates hope as the man is reminding himself again and again why he came to 'the city of dreams' in the first place ("I know, I know, I know what I am chasing." and "I will make it through the day and then the day becomes the night. I will make it through the night").
After the guitar rift he admits that he's not particularly gifted. He's not great at any skill or have any special talents. ("I don't mind repeating, I am not complete. I have never been the gifted type"). He's just doing whatever he can to survive, so he doesn't have to leave the city and return to his hometown.
Now there is a man with him. He's either his friend or a stranger he met in a pub. The narrator wants to forget about his present condition and just have fun and enjoy whatever the city has to offer ("Hey man, tell me something. Are you off to somewhere? Do you want to go with me tonight?")
And sometimes he thinks that his conditions aren't changing and he is as poor as he was when he first came. So now he walks the streets to feel as if he is chasing something or to feel as if he has a purpose he's trying to fulfill. Before he used to walk only to get fresh air ("I know, I know, I know that this is changing. We walk the streets to feel the ground I'm chasing. Uberlin").
That's my interpretation. Uberlin has been my favourite song for more than a year now and I think it will remain so. It is my teenage anthem and has given me a lot of hope, helped me cope with depression and made me look at things the way they are.
I think if you consider the song as well as the music video, it could be about an ordinary man who is probably from a small town. But he has moved to a big city in the hopes of getting a better job as he finds the jobs available to him in his hometown to be unsatisfactory (The 'city of dreams' could be Berlin, in the case of the song or London, in the case of the music video). He is relatively new to this place and he does odd or low paying jobs just to get by. Everyday it's the same routine ("Hey now, take your pills and hey now, make your breakfast. Hey now, comb your hair and off to work").
When he's walking on the streets he sees all the crowds and it overwhelms him ("Hey now, count a thousand million people. That's astounding"). And he guesses that the people he sees working or walking to work are also chasing a dream like him ("Chasing through the city with their stars on bright"). At one point he yearns for a change in his routine ("Hey now, don't forget that change will save you"). By the way, he's saying all this to himself as he's probably alone. The verses seem to touch upon his relatively dreary conditions. But every time the chorus occurs, it radiates hope as the man is reminding himself again and again why he came to 'the city of dreams' in the first place ("I know, I know, I know what I am chasing." and "I will make it through the day and then the day becomes the night. I will make it through the night"). After the guitar rift he admits that he's not particularly gifted. He's not great at any skill or have any special talents. ("I don't mind repeating, I am not complete. I have never been the gifted type"). He's just doing whatever he can to survive, so he doesn't have to leave the city and return to his hometown. Now there is a man with him. He's either his friend or a stranger he met in a pub. The narrator wants to forget about his present condition and just have fun and enjoy whatever the city has to offer ("Hey man, tell me something. Are you off to somewhere? Do you want to go with me tonight?") And sometimes he thinks that his conditions aren't changing and he is as poor as he was when he first came. So now he walks the streets to feel as if he is chasing something or to feel as if he has a purpose he's trying to fulfill. Before he used to walk only to get fresh air ("I know, I know, I know that this is changing. We walk the streets to feel the ground I'm chasing. Uberlin"). That's my interpretation. Uberlin has been my favourite song for more than a year now and I think it will remain so. It is my teenage anthem and has given me a lot of hope, helped me cope with depression and made me look at things the way they are.