Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
What is courage
Is it brave
What are lions
I've only seen them in parades
How is love supposed to read
In a footnote of history
What's a tap on your shoulder
That you're afraid to look over
A soldier's down in a fire fight
No one can look me in the eye
This is what it means to be alone.
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
And if you find out he's coming home
When I come around the corner
I'll know that it's all right
Just leave me two lights
He was young just 23
Didn't have to go
But it was the man he wanted to be
Like every son he was an only one
One day he came to me, said
Freedoms nothing to look over
Till each man can stand upon its shoulder
I'll right you mountains of letters
Each one a little bit better
And know I'll never be alone
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
And if you find out he's coming home
When I come around the corner
I'll know that it's all right
Leave me two lights
Silent Angels
Light the road up ahead
As the sentries guard the way
On the avenue of borrowed time
I'm almost home
The sun's to rise
I got to know
I've been driving all the night
There's our corner up ahead
I'm alive and I am dead
I drive right through the stop sign
I turn my head
As I lift my eyes
My eyes burn
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
Is it brave
What are lions
I've only seen them in parades
How is love supposed to read
In a footnote of history
What's a tap on your shoulder
That you're afraid to look over
A soldier's down in a fire fight
No one can look me in the eye
This is what it means to be alone.
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
And if you find out he's coming home
When I come around the corner
I'll know that it's all right
Just leave me two lights
He was young just 23
Didn't have to go
But it was the man he wanted to be
Like every son he was an only one
One day he came to me, said
Freedoms nothing to look over
Till each man can stand upon its shoulder
I'll right you mountains of letters
Each one a little bit better
And know I'll never be alone
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
And if you find out he's coming home
When I come around the corner
I'll know that it's all right
Leave me two lights
Silent Angels
Light the road up ahead
As the sentries guard the way
On the avenue of borrowed time
I'm almost home
The sun's to rise
I got to know
I've been driving all the night
There's our corner up ahead
I'm alive and I am dead
I drive right through the stop sign
I turn my head
As I lift my eyes
My eyes burn
Tear out my heart
Feed it to lions
For this one wish I beg you this tonight
Show me no mercy
But spare me my pride
I'm going for a drive
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More Featured Meanings
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
i went to a five for fighting concert last night and John spoke about this song a bit. It's loosely based on a true stroy- he met a father and son one day right before the son was leaving for Iraq. John asked how hard it was for the father, and the father played it off (he fought in vietnam and was a tough guy) but said it was tough for the mother. John knew that it had to be rough for the father too, so he wrote a song talking about a father's worry.
in the song a father learns a soldier in his son's unit has been killed- but he doesn't know if it was his son or not. He can't stand to sit at home and wait for the call, so he goes out on a drive and tells his wife to leave two lights on if the son is alive. At the end of the song when he says 'my eyes burn' it's meant to be either eyes burning from the two lights or eyes burning from the tears of not seeing the two lights. John meant to leave it open because he said "some stories have happy endings and some do not"
but, the day before the concert, John heard from the father who inspired the song and found out that the son had served his time safely in Iraq and was safe at home. so i guess there were two lights.