Arctic Monkeys returned yesterday with “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am,” the third single off their forthcoming seventh album, The Car, which arrives this Friday. (Pre-order your copy on Amazon now.) The first two singles, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” and “Body Paint,” were stylish bits of string-laced cocktail-indie, and this new tune follows a similar template, though frontman Alex Turner and the crew add just a dash of sophisti-funk bounce to keep things fresh.
“I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” debuted inside the Top 10 of the Genius Top Songs chart, which means lots of fans are searching for the lyrics. But good luck figuring out what they mean. The song alludes to opulent parties that aren’t as fun as they should be, and in the opening lines, Turner is weirded out by someone’s futuristic security system.
Freaky keypad by the retina scan
I’ve been given good reason to believe
I ain’t quite where I think I am
Turner closes the verse with a reference to two islands. Given that he mentions “the Riviera”—as in the French Riviera—later in the song, it’s possible he’s referring to the Lerins Islands, gorgeous getaways a ferry ride from Cannes. (Shouts to Genius user @PenguinAlexei for the suggestion.) Turner’s girlfriend, singer-songwriter Louise Verneuil, is French.
The disco strobes in the stumbling blocks
Wait, there’s the other island now
In the chorus, Turner marvels at the skytyping planes that create a love letter over the beach.
Formation displays of affection fly over (eyes roll back)
And I can see both islands now
From my vantage point
The second verse finds Turner again struggling to make sense of his surroundings.
It’s the intermission
Let’s shake a few hands
Blank expressions invite me to suspect
I ain’t quite where I think I am
Turner refers to the people in his orbit as “stackable party guests.” Maybe this soiree is happening on a yacht. All of this only adds to Turner’s disorientation.
Looks like the Riviera
Is coming into land
Early predictions would seem to suggest
I ain’t quite where I think I am
You can read all the lyrics to “I Ain’t Where I Think I Am” on Genius now.
