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Reptilia
The Strokes Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"

I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town

Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough

Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"

I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town

Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Strokes' "Reptilia" are a conversation between two people. The first person seems impressed by the way the second person entered the scene and asks them to tell a story since they are not boring. The second person fears that they might seem uninteresting but is told to take something to calm down and just tell the story.


The second part of the song sees the second person asking the first one not to slow them down if they are going too fast. They are in a strange part of town and the night is not over yet, they should try harder. The lyrics also hint towards a sense of exhaustion, with the second person feeling like they are drowning fast enough.


Overall, "Reptilia" is a song that expresses a sense of competitiveness and anxiety in a social setting. It speaks to the pressure to impress, to be interesting and exciting, and the fear of being considered boring. The lyrics are open to different interpretations, and it is possible that they are referring to the music industry and the pressure to stay relevant and come up with new material.


Line by Line Meaning

He seemed impressed by the way you came in
He appeared to be taken aback by the confidence in which you walked in


"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
Please share with us a narrative, as I believe you have an interesting one to tell


I was afraid that you would not insist
I worried you wouldn't persist in engaging with me


"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
You seem uninterested, here's something to occupy you, but please go away


I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly


You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with


Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it


Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble


The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control


You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough


Now every time that I look at myself
Each occasion that I gaze upon myself


"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
I believe I mentioned that this planet isn't suited for you


The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
The space is erupting as she adjusts her hairstyle


"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
You appear upset, but please relax, you found me


I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly


You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with


Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it


Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble


The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control


You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Julian Casablancas

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@UnluckyWednesday

He seemed impressed by the way you came in,
"Tell us a story
I know you're not boring"

I was afraid that you would not insist.
"You sound so sleepy
Just take this, now leave me"

I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town

Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.

Now every time that I look at myself
"I though I told you
This world is not for you"

The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry
Just calm down, you found me"

I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town

Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.



@Darkopolypse98

[LYRICS]
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough



@비정한세상

He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"

I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town

Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough

Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"



@nataliagonzalez3534

He seemed impressed by the way you came in,
"tell us a story
i know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist.
"you sound so sleepy
just take this, now leave me"
I said please don't slow me down
if i'm going too fast
you're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
you're not trying hard enough,
our lives are changing lanes
you ran me off the road,
the wait is over
i'm now taking over,
you're no longer laughing
i'm not drowning fast enough.
Now everytime that i look at myself
"i though i told you
this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"you sound so angry
just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down
if i'm going too fast
you're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
you're not trying hard enough,
our lives are changing lanes
you ran me off the road,
the wait is over
i'm now taking over,
you're no longer laughing
i'm not drowning fast enough.



All comments from YouTube:

@mercutiobates3367

Holy sh*t y'all, I've had this song in my head for literal months, but only the opening part, absolutely none of the lyrics so I couldn't google it (it was just the intro dunun du du dun repeating guitar riff) but the only place I've ever heard this song was in a music history class my freshman year of high school (so like 2017), and I was so desperate to find out what song it was I emailed that teacher, and even he wasn't sure what song it was, but I told him that it was rock music and that the artist was male (I also vaguely remembered something about it reminded me of lizards, but my brain makes really weird connections and associations so this was not considered a vital piece of information), so he told me a few artists that we studied that fit the criteria, but when each artist has possibly hundreds of songs it was impossible to narrow it down enough to even entertain the idea of finding it, so I gave up.

It's a few weeks later now, I'm supposed to be asleep, but I was just thinking about lizards, idk why I just like lizards, and somehow the word reptilia floated into focus just enough for me to, without meaning to, go "hey thats a song title" which I literally have no clue how I even remembered that, but oh my god was it the fastest I've ever gotten out of bed. I'd consider this the most important revelation I've had during quarantine. I absolutely cannot believe I found this song.

Edit: Mom I'm famous

@monkey4hire

god this was quite the read

@trashoclock9339

thank u for sharing fr

@godlesspothead6258

Congrats are for people who can't spell congrarculitonstuis

@mlsslhmn7

Truly a rollercoaster. Any way you find julian casablancas is a good way.

@drawdrawfruit6243

lol listen to some of there other music too. There’s lots of great stuff

305 More Replies...

@guitarjam2178

The Strokes are one of those bands that really make you want to start your own

@Jokaa656

Never wanted to learn how to play guitar so badly as i want when i listen to the strokes😂

@aida.6771

No wonder they influenced so many bands during early '00s.

@j.c985

They are at a level that most people will never be able to reach, they are all uber talented but definitely galvanising

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