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Do I Wanna Know? Lyrics

Have you got color in your cheeks?
Do you ever get that fear that you can't shift the types
That sticks around like something in your teeth
Are there some aces up your sleeve
Have you no idea that you're in deep
I dreamt about you nearly every night this week
How many secrets can you keep?
'Cause there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow
And I play it on repeat
Until I fall asleep
Spilling drinks on my settee

(Do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways
(Sad to see you go)
Was sorta hoping that you'd stay
(Baby we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying
Things that you can't say tomorrow day

Crawlin' back to you

Ever thought of calling when you've had a few?
'Cause I always do
Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new
Now I've thought it through

Crawling back to you

So have you got the guts?
Been wondering if your heart's still open and
If so I wanna know what time it shuts
Simmer down and pucker up
I'm sorry to interrupt it's just I'm constantly
On the cusp of trying to kiss you
I don't know if you feel the same as I do
But we could be together, if you wanted to

(Do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways
(Sad to see you go)
Was sorta hoping that you'd stay
(Baby we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying
Things that you can't say tomorrow day

Crawling back to you

Ever thought of calling when you've had a few? (calling when you've had a few)
'Cause I always do ('cause I always do)
Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new
Now I've thought it through

Crawling back to you, (do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways
(Sad to see you go)
Was sorta hoping that you'd stay
(Baby we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying
Things that you can't say tomorrow day

(Do I wanna know?)
Too busy being yours to fall
(Sad to see you go)
Ever thought of calling darling?
(Do I wanna know)
Do you want me crawling back to you?
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Sony/atv Music Publishing Llc
Writer
Alex Turner
Duration
4:41
Producer
James Ford, Ross Orton
Release date
2013-06-18
Sentiment
Positive
Submitted by
gemmalouise89 On May 29, 2013
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49 Meanings

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Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

This song absolutely kills me- every line is laced with such pure desire and longing. He is infatuated, almost in a lust-filled fever: 'I dreamt about you nearly every night this week' or 'there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat until I fall asleep'. He just can't get her out of his head.

I don't think they were ever together exclusively. Maybe they were on the verge of something more, and they'd say stuff to each other ('baby we both know that the nights were mainly made for things you can't say tomorrow day…') At one point he knew she liked him back ('been wondering if your heart's STILL open..')

Something happened though, but he's still stuck on her. She is all he can think of, sober or drunk, and he just wants to know if she feels the same way.

Often with this type of obsession you turn the other person into something they are not or something they can never live up to. That's why he asks 'do I wanna know if this feeling goes both ways?' Does he face getting his feelings turned down? Or even worse, might he realise that she is not the person he has made her to be in his head?

There is a sick, exquisite kind of pain that comes with loving or lusting after someone you can't have. this song perfectly encapsulates that.

My Interpretation

great interpretation.

I was in a situation exactly like this and the song perfectly describes how I felt. You hit it right on the head.

@ashlove I totally agree. I think she has a tendency to come-on to him when shes out partying or drunk.

Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

this is such a sexy song, i love it.

honestly, i think the meaning's pretty simple... it's basically about pure infatuation with a person, almost obsession. you know when you get those crushes on people and you just cannot get them out your head and you feel like they've taken over your life? it's a song about that...and i agree with what someone posted previously...that he doesnt know whether he'd rather act on his feelings so he can move on or pursue it or just not know the answer and continue with the infatuation, thus torturing himself about it essentially.

very, very sexy song. and one of those songs that each listener can interpret how they like...

My Interpretation

This is the BEST definition of the song. Infatuation, that's the word. He doesn't want to know if it's infatuation or is real love (althought he knows that he knows it), and that's in part why he doesn't want to find another person, because he's not sure. This song's message is very powerful and clear. As you said, infatuation.

I had the same interpretation. Especially because I am feeling these exact things. It's almost as if I had written it, except if I actually had it would be awful, and not this amazingly sexy song, as you said, and I concur!

Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

"Do I Wanna Know?" is the writer's question to himself. Would he rather be told that the feeling isn't mutual or would he rather continue his torture, unable to move either forwards with this person he loves or onwards with someone new?

"Have you got the guts?" – a self-question. Has he got the guts to tell her straight and face rejection?

The theme is similar to that of 2007's "Do me a favour"...the difference is that in this song he begs her to put him out of his misery: "Do me a favour / break my nose / tell me to go away .. and to tear apart the ties that bind, perhaps f- off might be to kind" ...

I think there's no satisfactory answer. In the "best" case for the writer–just imagine if she were to reciprocate. 2.2 kids and everyone lives happily ever after? Good luck to them if they can manage it. But maybe the point is, the essence of attraction is to be attracted to whatever is just slightly out of reach. You can either torture yourself with that, or just accept it as one of the paradoxes of being human, being alive and being true to your nature.

My Interpretation

This is exactly what I thought when I listened to it too. I think your interpretation is the one closest to mine.

My Opinion
Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

Yes, this is a song about wanting someone back. But not like that. This is a heartbroken person, but he's finally ready to move on without baggage.

He was hurt, and you get the feeling that he tried to move on with someone, but it did not end well because of his post-heartbreak hang-ups ("Do you ever get the fear that you can't shift the tide that sticks around like something's in your teeth?"). Maybe this time he broke the heart of this rebound girl, who he is now actually genuinely longing for. That's what this song's about.+

She was hoping for more; he was just trying to fill the hole his broken heart left, and that selfishness hurt her in the process. But he wants her for real now, and he's hoping that she still wants him ("So have you got the guts? Been wondering if your hearts still open..").

The song gives too many hints that the person he wants to crawl back to isn't the one who originally broke his heart. Why would he ask the old lover if her heart is still open? Why would he flirt with her ("simmer down and pucker up.") And mostly: why would he say "we could be together if you wanted to"? He's asking the new girl this, not the old lover.

I love how the whole song is a clever way of him begging her to give him another chance. It's very coy. He says "was sort of hoping that you'd stay" and in this confession he admits that "the night's were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow." He's not trying to make excuses, but he regrets how he originally treated her. He wants only her now! "...maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new. Now I've thought it through."

  • the sexiest arctic monkeys song ever created.

Also, I think he actually says "so have you got the goods?" Not guts, lol. With his amazing accent though, it's kind of hard to tell. My god. The song is barely a day old and I am addicted. Why.

I really like this interpretation. I have another, a bit more, I don't know, sinuous, explanation, with the basis on yours.

Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

I think this is a tale of a person who broke up with someone they figured they'd move on easily from only to realise the grass wasn't greener. Now it's the question if its possible to get the ex back but is terrified the obvious answer will be no so he/she wonders if its even worth knowing.

"Have you got colour in your cheeks?" - is the ex in love with someone new (blushing red cheeks for newly smitten) "You ever get that fear........something in your teeth?" - does the ex ever think they can't move on cause you're missing the old relationship "Are there some aces up your sleeve?" - is the ex a different person, have they moved on? (perhaps assumes initially when breaking up the ex would have a tough time coming to terms with it but is doing much better than he/she is)

"Crawling back to you" - acting in desperation for forgiveness "Do you want me crawling back to you" - is that what it takes for a second chance "Have you got the guts?" - is the ex brave enough to give that person a 2nd chance after last time (never go back as they say) "If your hearts still open?" - are they still in that place before he/she left them "What time it shuts" - is there time to convince them they should get back together if the ex still has them feelings "Have you no idea that you're in deep?" - does the ex realise how much they are missed "How many secrets can you keep?" - suppressed feelings they've for the ex which he/she hasn't shared with any of his/hers friends/family

I think his/her regret has been on their mind for sometime but reaches breaking point at some sort of coincidental rendezvous with the ex

"Tune I've found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat" - stays up late thinking of the ex" "Sad to see you go, sorta hoping you'd stay" - the ex is not phased by the encounter but he/she is desperate to talk to them "Constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss you" - a surge of old feelings, nostalgic of being able to kiss the ex when ever you wanted "The night was made for saying things we can't say tomorrow day" - kinda reflects the coincidental encounter, won't have this opportunity tomorrow

My Interpretation
Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

I could be going off a bit too much with this one, but it seems to me to be a bit deeper than people take it.

On the surface, it's a song of "I have feelings for you, but you may or may not have feelings for me. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. I'd probably be better off without this, so do I really want to know if you do?"

To me it goes something like this: "I love you. I shouldn't, but I do. For X reason we can't be together, so do I really want to know whether or not you feel the same way? If you do, it'll just cause trouble. If you don't, well, that sucks. I'm too caught up in loving you that I'm finding it hard to love anyone else like that, but with X reason in the way, I can't do anything."

X reason could be anything. Maybe they're together casually, with one cheating on their partner to sometimes be with them (been wondering if your heart's STILL open). Maybe one has screwed up relationships in the past and for the other to be in a relationship with them, it could be problematic. (We could be together, if you wanted to).

But anyway, that's just my thoughts.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

Everyone sees it in their own way... For me, this is about a guy who's attracted to someone he can't have. He's been with her once or twice but is unsure that she wants him as much as he wants her. He's wondering if her "heart's still open" - none of them are ready to get too involved, yet he's considering it, while unsure that she would allow him to. The chemistry between them is there, yet she's not showing any signs of emotional involvement, even though he's been "hoping that she'd stay". Maybe she's with somebody else, or he's the one who is already in a relationship. Whatever has been in the past was meant to be just a passing, physical thing, a way to release the tension... yet for him, it wasn't enough. He never stopped wanting to see more of her. The uncertainty that she may or may not feel "the same as he does" is killing him.

My Interpretation

I think you hit it perfectly! It's funny I'm actually going through this exact situation myself

and that girl is full of surprises when it says "How many secrets can you keep? "

Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

First, I'd like to agree that this is definitely the sexiest Arctic Monkey's song. With that being said, I think this is mainly about a physical relationship. It's about someone who he's very attracted to, they might have hooked up before, or they could have just came close. But he can't stop thinking about her. It seems with some of the lyrics like "And if so I wanna know what time it shuts Simmer down and pucker up I'm sorry to interrupt It's just I'm constantly on the cusp Of trying to kiss you" That he just wants something physical with her, but he also recognizes that he can't stop thinking about her, and wonders if maybe that's why it hasn't worked out with any one else... There's a reason why he keeps coming back to her. He wants her, kind of like addiction, a temptation, lust in its true definition. He wants her so much that, he'd be even willing to try for something real, if that's what she wanted. He'll take her any way he can.

But that's just my take on it. I think definitely with the music and the lyrics, its definitely about wanting something or someone bad. Whether you interpret it in a love way or a lustful way.

He'll take her in any way he can ( PS How many secrets can you keep? meaning she has more than two secrets and this thing happening seems to be a secret too for her and many secrets...

Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

I REALLY love this song. This is one of those songs that everybody can inerpret in their own way. I think it's about 2 people who are in love and one of them (let's say the girl) doesn't want to admit her feelings and the boy tries to tempt her.

Have you got colour in your cheeks? Do you ever get the fear that you can't shift the type that sticks around like summat in your teeth? Are there some aces up your sleeve? Have you no idea that you're in deep? I dreamt about you nearly every night this week How many secrets can you keep? Cause there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat Until I fall asleep Spilling drinks on my settee

  • He's telling her that he alredy knows that she's in love with him and he's trying to convince her with "pretty words" (even in a very lustful way).

    Do I wanna know if this feeling flows both ways? Sad to see you go Was sorta hoping that you'd stay Baby we both know That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day.

  • But she has hidden her feelings so much that he isn't sure if what she feels is real so he doesn't know if he wants to know the answer to all of his questions anymore.

Crawlin' back to you Ever thought of calling when you've had a few Cos I always do Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new Now I've thought it through Crawlin' back to you *He's complaining because she never does anything to show her feelings and he's asking if what she wants is to watch him fall for her when maybe she isn't really interested.

So have you got the guts? Been wondering if your hearts still open And if so I wanna know what time it shuts Simmer down and pucker up I'm sorry to interrupt It's just I'm constantly on the cusp Of trying to kiss you I don't know if you feel the same as I do But we could be together if you wanted to *He's being impudent with her and asking if she is brave enoungh to tell the truth about her feelings. He still tempting her.

And the rest repeats. This song is very very or maybe too sexy. And that's why I like it, cause it's sexy but it isn't dirty at any time like most of the songs in this times. That's maybe why it's so horny, because the sex nowadays is a very common thing in the music world but this song makes it look like something different.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Do I Wanna Know? lyrics by Arctic Monkeys

This is obviously a song open for interpretation (as seen by previous opposing opinions), therefore I feel obliged to give my own opinion.

This is song about a man, clearly obsessed with his ex-girlfriend whom he broke up with and is thus metaphorically "crawling back to you". He broke up with her for reasons unknown and thought he could get over her with ease; however, soon learnt that it was easier said than done. He realises his regret a little while after the break up, after he sees that she is living life in far better condition than he his but, possibly true or in a delusive state, he believes that the feeling could be mutual ("does this feeling flow both ways").

He is also feeling guilty for breaking up with her and so he suppressors his feelings to the extent that this love is driving him crazy, so he envisions his own situation in songs he hears. This suppression is what makes him finally ask himself if it's time to unbottle his emotions and ask her how she feels; however, he feels humiliated and embarrassed that he is now the smaller, weaker individual in the situation. I've also thought that perhaps she really has moved on to someone else, which is what's causing his embarrassment and fear of rejection.

Wow, on a side note this song really hit home. Just like the song writer, i too imagine my situation when hearing songs, and it just coincidently is this one, which is perhaps why i interpret this song in this fashion.

Cheers