Somewhere Only We Know

"I walked across an empty land" Is a metaphor for him being unhappy and lonely

"I knew the pathway like the back of my hand" and he's used to being unhappy

"I felt the earth beneath my feet" Unhappiness is the reality for him

"Sat by the river, and it made me complete" he's watching someone he love but believe he will hurt them....so keeping a distance make him feel like he is doing the right thing or complete.

"Oh, simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on So tell me when you're gonna let me in I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin" He's wondering, why isn't he happy? he's old and need some one to trust and care for him he's tired of the games... he's asking the person to forgive him because he wants to start over.....

"I came across a fallen tree" the love is dying

"I felt the branches of it looking at me' and he is to blame

"Is this the place we used to love?" he asking this question because he cant believe....how bad things got

"Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?" another question because, this is not how he want this to go....

"And if you have a minute, why don't we go' (the metaphor ends) he's trying to talk to her

"Talk about it somewhere only we know?" he asking her to meet in a place where they use to go, to bring back happy memories to her

'This could be the end of everything' he believe this is the last chance to get her back( maybe she is getting married to someone else)

This is my point of view and i can see the story in my head.... i write music and songs...... thats the understanding i get from this song

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."

The song is about nostalgia. It’s because of nostalgia that he is talking to someone he was once in love with. But, it can be applied to anyone; someone you’ve had some sort of relationship with.

He has a desire for a simple moment where this person takes him somewhere only they know. In order to let him in, and talk about where their lives are going. To face the facts the life is flying, they are getting old, and though they’ve ventured with or without each other; enjoying all the pleasures of life. Now is the time to get real and realize that they both need something to rely on.

Whether if it’s on each other, their friendship, their love, their past, a moment, a gesture, anything, something. But, whatever it is, it has to be new beginning. They can’t end their relationship after everything that has already happened.

This is where the nostalgia really plays in, because things just aren’t the way they are. He wishes everything could stay the same, but that would only mean the end of everything. It would be an empty land that you could easily map like he could map the back of his hand. So, he wants to rely on something, some new beginning. And, he wants this new spark to begin somewhere…somewhere, where the first one began. “Somewhere only they know”. Maybe not the exact same place, but somewhere only they know.

To me, this song has nothing to do with love. It makes me think of the world around me, and about how much the world has changed. He is reminising about how the world used to be before life became such a hectic place. "Oh simple thing where have you gone I'm getting old and I need something to rely on" This could be talking about how since everything changes so fast it is hard to trust that the things you love most (in this case possibly the nature around him) will be there tomorrow; realizing that nothing in our world is simple anymore.

this is a great song! i wonder why nobody posts... anyway, for me this song is about loneliness. it's like they've broken up for a long time already. but, he's at the point in his life where he doesn't know where to go, what to do. so, he turns to this girl, his ex, and still thinks they have a chance. it's pretty suttle though.

To me the song is about talking to the inner child inside. The endless soul inside which is the “simple thing” he’s been walking this path of life a long time, this long life and he knows the path well but he’s getting old and needs something to rely on because things stop being so simple when your older. The tree also symbolizes youth. The tree has since fallen with branches scattered about but the tree was once young and that was a place he once loved..the place of youth doing simple things like climbing a tree or sitting under it with a friend. He feels like the ends coming and wants to ask the simple thing..his inner child, where did you go, can we meet in a place that we both know and remember those simpler times. That’s what this song says to me.

i think hes been in love with this girl. i think, theyve been having a platonic relationship, or the girl just doesnt want to commit.

so, this song is like, "heyyy, cmon lets go. lets move on to another level." cos hes 'getting old' and 'tired'.

and now, he feels like hes losing this girl. 'this could be the end of everything' and 'simple thing where have you gone?'

i guess, he wants everything back to normal and more. haha, this is my guess. =)

as a couple in love -- haven't you ever talked about where your spirits would meet after you die? that would be the "somewhere only we know". He's singing about reaching the end of his life, his "something to rely on" would be the promise they made to each other about where to meet.

So, I have what seems to be a completely different take on this song. To me, rather than this song being about a relationship that isn't working, I see it as a relationship that is getting deeper.

"I walked across an empty land I knew the pathway like the back of my hand I felt the earth beneath my feet Sat by the river and it made me complete"

The beginning is about being single and alone, which is a familiar place to this particular person. All they really needed was to be by themselves and "sit by the river" and think.

"Oh simple thing where have you gone I'm getting old and I need something to rely on"

Now, this person is in a relationship and they're kind of questioning about whether it's right. They're wondering if they should go back to the "simple thing" and be alone.

"So tell me when you're gonna let me in I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin"

After thinking about it, this person then asks their significant other whether or not they're going to let him/her in because they need to know that this relationship is worth it. They're tired of being alone but they need somewhere to start the relationship.

"I came across a fallen tree I felt the branches of it looking at me"

At this point, I feel that the person has decided to commit to the relationship. I picture the "fallen tree" to be the only tree in the area at all, meaning that the person finally gave up the security of being alone and that the "branches" looking at him/her are trying to tell this person what they are leaving behind since the future with someone else is uncertain.

"Is this the place we used to love? Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?"

Now both people in the relationship are looking back and thinking to themselves "Did I really like being alone?" And they're realizing that the place that they've been dreaming of is with each other.

"And if you have a minute why don't we go Talk about it somewhere only we know? This could be the end of everything So why don't we go Somewhere only we know?"

Finally, they decide to go talk about their feelings about the relationship. By admitting their real feelings for each other, it will be the end of the loneliness that was all they ever knew. Kind of like in P.S. I Love You where they're talking about the "end of life as you know it." Admitting their love for each other is the pivotal moment of their lives where nothing will ever be the same. And that "somewhere only we know," to me, is just the completely unique love that they share.

I know it's not what everybody thinks but that is what the song means to me. Everybody has their own interpretation. :)

this song reminds me about my at-one-time best friend, who was in fact a boy. he was two years older then me and we were next door neighbors. for about two years we were practically inseparable. i moved (although i was in the same town) when i was in 8th grade and he was a sophomore. what might have started out as a plutonic friendship was now taking on the shape of something that might have been more then just mere friendship. there was a woodsy area behind my old house (equipped with a little creek and a fallen tree) that was basically "our" place. eventually, we lost touch, and i found out some time later he's moved to a different state. thing song reminds me of him because he's pretty much the last best friend and only tie to my childhood i have left. i would really like to rekindle the friendship we once had, but i think it's too late for that...