Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Little old man, little old man staring down the road
Waiting on the bus, he's getting kinda cold
Bus finally gets there, he got nowhere to sit down
And the driver said, "You can stand right here behind me or wait for the next one to come around"
And the old man says, "That's okay, I'll stand
I might look like a little old man to you
But I've been riding this bus for years and years and years
I don't even know where it's going to"
And the driver says, "You don't know where this bus is going to?"
Old man says, "No, I don't, do you?"
Driver says, "You don't know where this bus is going to?"
Old man says, "I just want it to get me through
Hey, I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere"
The bus is rolling along, outside it's looking kinda strange
The Earth is shaking, the clouds are breaking
Everything is blue where it was gray
A thousand rivers flood over fields of snow
The driver looks back in the mirror for the old man
"Where did he go, where did he go?
Oh, there he is
Hey, old man, old man, old man, you still don't know?"
And the old man says, "No, I don't son, but I'm happy to go"
Hey, "I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere"
Hey, he said, "I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere
I was born with no name, knowing nothing, still I don't
Somebody said, 'You need a name, I'm gonna give you a name'
And I said, 'No, you won't,' I said, 'No, you won't'"
Oh, "You can let me off here, son, thank you for the ride"
And the driver said, "This is the middle of nowhere, sir,"
He pulls off to the side
And the old man says, "It might look that way to you, maybe it is"
Old man says, "It might look that way to you, son, maybe it is,"
And he says, "Stay on the ride, it's gonna take you somewhere,"
Hey, hey, he said, "Stay on the ride, it's gonna take you somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gotta take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere"
Waiting on the bus, he's getting kinda cold
Bus finally gets there, he got nowhere to sit down
And the driver said, "You can stand right here behind me or wait for the next one to come around"
And the old man says, "That's okay, I'll stand
I might look like a little old man to you
But I've been riding this bus for years and years and years
I don't even know where it's going to"
And the driver says, "You don't know where this bus is going to?"
Old man says, "No, I don't, do you?"
Driver says, "You don't know where this bus is going to?"
Old man says, "I just want it to get me through
Hey, I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere"
The bus is rolling along, outside it's looking kinda strange
The Earth is shaking, the clouds are breaking
Everything is blue where it was gray
A thousand rivers flood over fields of snow
The driver looks back in the mirror for the old man
"Where did he go, where did he go?
Oh, there he is
Hey, old man, old man, old man, you still don't know?"
And the old man says, "No, I don't son, but I'm happy to go"
Hey, "I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere"
Hey, he said, "I'm staying on the ride, it's gonna take me somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere
I was born with no name, knowing nothing, still I don't
Somebody said, 'You need a name, I'm gonna give you a name'
And I said, 'No, you won't,' I said, 'No, you won't'"
Oh, "You can let me off here, son, thank you for the ride"
And the driver said, "This is the middle of nowhere, sir,"
He pulls off to the side
And the old man says, "It might look that way to you, maybe it is"
Old man says, "It might look that way to you, son, maybe it is,"
And he says, "Stay on the ride, it's gonna take you somewhere,"
Hey, hey, he said, "Stay on the ride, it's gonna take you somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gotta take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere
It always takes you somewhere, gonna take you somewhere"
Lyrics submitted by lemonjelly
Stay on the Ride Lyrics as written by Patricia J. Griffin
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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