Song Meaning
This track paints a hazy, almost dreamlike picture of someone navigating a difficult emotional space. The repeated "shoulder as I'm trying to go on" and "trying to go home" suggests a struggle, a weariness in moving forward or returning to a place of comfort. The "sleepy ones" and "soft and floaty" offer a sense of gentle escape, a yearning for peace amidst this internal friction. It’s a quiet plea for respite, a moment of surrender to the comforting oblivion of sleep.
The core tension seems to lie between the desire to move forward and the overwhelming pull of inertia or exhaustion. The narrator is "trying to go on" but also "trying to go home," indicating a conflict between progress and a longing for a familiar, perhaps safer, state. The imagery of "stars wasted jam on" and "stars all dance away" further emphasizes this ephemeral, fleeting nature of moments of clarity or joy, leaving a sense of something lost or unattainable.
The lyrics play with a sense of disorientation and self-doubt, particularly with the lines "Collar's around my neck be wrong, be wrong, be wrong" and "Takes some dreaming alive get it wrong." This suggests a feeling of being trapped or confined by external expectations or internal missteps. The contrast between "bruised in December" and "still dreaming alive" highlights a persistent, almost defiant, spark of hope or imagination that endures even through harsh, cold periods.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics comes from their evocative, impressionistic quality. The fragmented thoughts and recurring phrases create an atmosphere of introspective vulnerability. The narrator appears to be wrestling with a profound sense of being "wrong" while clinging to the act of "dreaming alive," finding a strange solace in the very act of internal resistance and the quiet promise that "the sweet's within."