High life
When in motion
While it's frozen
Talks in circles
And Greek
He's into epiphany
He's into philosophy
He's into methyl amphetamines
He's into science
But he's lost his way
Oh oh
He is not the real me
But I can hear I can hear I can hear I can hear him
From my future
Show show show show me
Show show show show me
You got to show me the way
You got to show me the way
Oh the present
A super impulse
He has seen this
Before
He's into conspiracy
He's into the?
He's into phenomenology
He's into deeds
He don't mix his words
Oh oh
He is not the real me
But I can hear I can hear I can hear I can hear him
From my future
Show show show show me
Show show show show me
You gotta show me the way
While it's frozen
Talks in circles
And Greek
He's into epiphany
He's into philosophy
He's into methyl amphetamines
He's into science
But he's lost his way
Oh oh
He is not the real me
But I can hear I can hear I can hear I can hear him
From my future
Show show show show me
Show show show show me
You got to show me the way
You got to show me the way
Oh the present
A super impulse
He has seen this
Before
He's into conspiracy
He's into the?
He's into phenomenology
He's into deeds
He don't mix his words
Oh oh
He is not the real me
But I can hear I can hear I can hear I can hear him
From my future
Show show show show me
Show show show show me
You gotta show me the way
Lyrics submitted by coloursallofthetime, edited by PartlyBloc, ScottBITW
V.A.L.I.S. Lyrics as written by Kele Okereke Gordon Moakes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
For the record (taken from Wikipedia):
"VALIS is a 1981 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Dick's gnostic vision of one aspect of God."
Now...interpret away!
Official lyrics
When in motion World is frozen Talks in circles and Greek He’s into epiphany He’s into philosophy He’s into methyl amphetamines He’s into science But he’s lost his way He’s not the real me, but I can hear I can hear, I can hear him From my future
Show, show, show show me You gotta show me the way
Past and present Are superimposed He has seen this before He’s into conspiracy He’s into theophany He’s into phenomenology He’s into deeds He don’t mix his words He’s not the real me, but I can hear I can hear, I can hear him From my future
Show, show, show show me You gotta show me the way
Seeing as Philip K. Dick himself was addicted to meth, I'm pretty sure this song is about him
Something to do with Philip K. Dick, because V.A.L.I.S is the name of one of his books
He's into the? = Theophany
I think it's about how a lot of us try to show/claim we're into things that are highbrow or popular, but really we're just organic beings that have very basic desires and needs(the 'real' me).
Or maybe it's just Kele's interpretation of how Philip K. Dick really felt.