This is probably my favorite Against Me! song. Pure greatness, I think the lyrics are absolutely amazing and they really show Tom's talent when it comes to songwriting. I can't listen to it without feeling some kind of emotion. I like how the lyrics tell a story but also leave room for interpretation.
What are your thoughts on the song?


We drank bottled water together and talked business, I think I played the right moves,
You were looking over my shoulder, as I went through the motions of another night.
And it was alright, because I thought I knew who everybody was just by looking at them.
My heart is anywhere but here.
And how tired I was from the past couple weeks, from the past couple years, well it hit me all at once.
On a balcony overlooking nothing, with snow falling all around, I called just to say good-night.
And you hadn't done anything wrong, really, it's me not you.
I can't believe how naive I was to think things could ever be so simple.

And can you live with what you know about yourself, when you're all alone,
behind closed doors, the things we never said but we always knew were right there.
It's got me on my knees in a bathroom, praying to a god I don't even believe in,
"Dear jesus...are you listening?"
If this is the one chance that really matters, don't let me fuck this up.
If you had told me about all this when I was fifteen, I never would have believed it.

This song is definetly one of the best ones. And it gives me emotion too when i listen to it. As corny as it sounds, makes me think of how good life is. I dont know why. I can't believe a band like this could make me think so much. I love this song, alot. Im not 100% on what it means. But i could listen to this song over and over. It is pure amazing.

One of my favourites too. On the face of it, it's about only putting 35% effort into a relationship and then discovering later, after it's over, what you're missing out on... And praying for a second chance at it.

You've probably seen this one on here sooo many times,
but ive only been on here a few weeks and 35%, dont kid me wrong,
is an amazing song. I am kinda oblivious to what this song means.
I have some ideas but its not clear to me.
i was wondering what is tom talking about in this song,
if its something personal or what.
i dont really have a clue.

help?

There's already a thread on this song, I'll move it.

oops, thought i opened a new thread

This is an awesome song! I feel like it is about only giving 35% in a realtionship because the other 65% is dedicated to the band, music, traveling, etc. He is mad at himself for pushing the other person away. It is his fault they can't be together. It is too late to fix everything that has happened no matter how bad he wants it.

I created an account on this forum JUST so I could argue with you people about the meaning of this song. It is obviously not about a relationship.

"We drank bottled water..." is a reference to the "business" side of music. He is in meetings with record executives trying to sign his band, and he is hoping that his amateurish negotiation tactics (made the right moves) are working. Of course, this whole business thing isn't what his band is about (bottled water?) and it is making him uncomfortable knowing that his actions are being scrutinized (looking over his shoulder), and so his performance is lacking (went through the motions). He expresses fears that his band is changing, because the audience now has an ulterior motive (thought I knew who everyone was; he's in denial).

The stress of this situation is impacting his personal life - the band is taking over his life (he has to phone to say goodnight) and changing his personality (it's me, not you). Making music is what he wants to do, but now he can't just play music for fun (naive, so simple).

There are philosophic stressors involved in making music your career, and this is upsetting him. You have to be able to morally justify your actions (live with what you know about yourself), and in his anarcho life schema, a record deal is hard to agree with. The stress and fear of compromising his morals is terrifying, to the point that he feels physically ill and goes to the bathroom to vomit and pray for guidance (on my knees, praying, obviously). This is a decision that will unalterably change his life (if this is the one chance... fuck it up).

He started making music because he liked it, now he's making music as a business - he wouldn't have believed it if you'd told him this would happen (told me this at 16).

I can't for the life of me understand how one could read this song any other way. I'm thankful I got to see the band perform this song as an encore at a show in 2007. I was doing promo photos for Fake Problems on two shows, one in Calgary and one in my home town of Winnipeg, and they played this at the Calgary show. It was amazing.

That actually makes a lot, lot more sense. I had wondered a little bit about the "bottled water" thing, and the rest of it clicks nicely into place. Cheers for that.

Zedeff wrote:

I can't for the life of me understand how one could read this song any other way.

That's fair enough, but considering several others (myself included) here thought it was about a relationship, it's obviously a touch ambiguous.

Zedeff, you described it exactly as I imagined it, but you put it much, much better than I could have. That was awesome, have some points.

It's cool man, it's cool. It's difficult to understand what people really mean over the internet at times

Hahahaha I remember Dan and I used to cover this song over and over and over again when he used to come over to my house, in fact I think all we ever covered was Against Me!