the last time

fixations are hard to resist.

the first thing i did when i came online was google keane. as usual i found the links to the official sites and these really good fansites, and i stumbled upon the keane faq (currently hosted at http://www.keane.at/faq.html#special because of some website problems).

here's the lowdown on my current favorite song. i copied it from the actual message posted on the keane messageboard by tim rice-oxley (the keyboardist and apparently the main songwriter).

TITLT is indeed a confusing song, which is actually something i regret, but the meaning is hard to explain quickly and simply. here's my attempt.

it's mainly about regret. i was thinking about how you can have a huge amount of affection for someone and yet not have that magic spark that makes you feel like you're in love. whenever i hear the song i feel it's a snapshot of the moment of two people saying their goodbyes...i can actually see them stood facing each other. what a rotten moment that is eh.

anyway so you have a bond with someone but you don't want to stay with them forever. so you decide to go. but you're not saying 'i hate you and i'm leaving'...you're trying to say 'i think you're great but i've seen that there's something more perfect and magical out there for me and i need to find it. but i will always be your friend if you need me.' does that make sense? so the bridge ('something i wasn't sure of...etc') is about the sense that there's something more magical to be found. making that decision to leave something comfortable to search for something perfect is difficult, so the alternating lines of the chorus are almost a debate going on in your head...you're saying 'this is the last time we'll share these intimate moments, time will make things better, and of course you can turn to me whenever you want to, i don't mind.' if you split the chorus into two parts using alternate lines it makes sense! i guess the feeling of conflict within yourself and the difficulty of making that decision is what the song is really about. it's not sarcastic or anything but it is certainly confusing. sorry!

i like trying to write about confusion and grey areas because life is not normally very clear-cut and simple, especially when it comes to the way people interact. hence the album's title. how many songs are there at the moment about how you're not good enough for me so **** you? the eamonn/frankee nonsense being an obvious example but look at any number of recent hits. how often is life really that simple? i guess that's why 'dry your eyes' was such a popular song...it talks about the confusion and mess of breaking up, and that's a reality that people recognise.

anyway that's enough from me. tim

PS the line 'one last tender lie' is one of my favourite keane lyrics and i guess it's just about telling white lies to make people feel better. maybe the whole song is a tender lie...or something...better stop before i get confused too! bye.

PPS thanks for asking the question in the first place! it's great that you guys are interested in the details of the songs...the words are what really matters i think.

now i know why i'm so fixated on the song. it's because it's what i feel at the moment. i know, that thing has hardly even begun. but every time i think about it, it always feels like i'm on the way out or something. not a good omen for a relationship that isn't even a relationship in the first place. a friend of mine kept telling me to go for it, but at some point he always throws me a curve ball, something like "maybe he's not the right guy". i'm tired. i want to move on. and i've been wanting to move on for the past year or so. sometimes i think i've got it, finally, but i guess i haven't. and this song captures that mood, how i want to stay and follow the path to wherever it takes me, but i'm not being given the chance and i don't see a future in it and i want to leave it behind.

this is how it was almost a year ago: http://politicsaside.blog-city.com/read/738409.htm. sad to say, i haven't made much progress from that.