Tidal
Imogen Heap [www.musikaki.blog.br] Lyrics


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Before electric light,
You paddled through the soup of darkness as a crocodile,
Cherry picking in the river,
I would leave crisp note footprints at the bankside

Watch it closely you will see it begin to move
Watch it closely you see it begin to flicker
While we're here, let's see what happens
What we got, got, got to loose (what we got to loose)
While we're tidal and flexed on a full moon
It'd be a sure, sure shame to not to

In every wonder what you are
I've blurted everything I know just for a piece of it
Flash frozen, patch worked and fallow
I sprung up in hearts and arrow superhighways

Watch it closely you will see it begin to move
Watch it closely you see it begin to flicker

While we're here, let's see what happens
What we got, got, got to loose (what we got to loose)
While we're tidal and flexed on a full moon
It'd be a sure, sure shame to not to

Do what you feel just how you like
Nobody has to know
Nobody has to know

Do what you feel just how you like
Nobody has to know

Watch, watch, watch, watch, watch,
What we got to loose

While we're here, let's see what happens
What we got, got, got to loose (what we got to loose)
While we're tidal and flexed on a full moon
It'd be a sure, sure shame to not to

Do it for England
Do it for love
Do it for us
Do it for goodness sake
Do it for all the times
We wished we had

Do what you want, just how you like
Nobody has to know




do what you want, just how you like
Nobody has to know.

Overall Meaning

Imogen Heap's song Tidal weaves together fragments of imagery that gradually come into focus as the listener moves through the song with her. In the opening verse, Imogen speaks to a pre-electric era, in which the darkness was total and one could only navigate through touch and sound. She herself is a crocodile, moving through the mud of a river and choosing carefully where to step as she goes. The crisp note footprints she leaves behind on the bank show that she has indeed achieved some level of mastery over the darkness.


As the song progresses, the mood shifts, and the idea that everything is in motion takes over. Watching closely, we can see that nothing remains still for long; everything flickers and turns. Imogen urges her listeners to take advantage of the moment while they have it, to seize the opportunity to experience life in all its wildness and unpredictability. She speaks of patchwork and heartbreak, of highways that lead to love and betrayal, all against a background of moonlit water and the ever-present threat of the tide.


Throughout, Imogen returns to the refrain: "Do what you want, just how you like / Nobody has to know." It's a repeated affirmation that speaks to the essential freedoms of human existence: we are all capable of creating our own stories, and nobody can take that away from us.


Line by Line Meaning

Before electric light,
Before the advent of electricity,


You paddled through the soup of darkness as a crocodile,
You navigated through the darkness like a crocodile in a murky soup of water,


Cherry picking in the river,
Selecting the best from the river,


I would leave crisp note footprints at the bankside
Leaving tangible evidence of my presence in the form of footprints on the river bank


Watch it closely you will see it begin to move
Observe attentively and you will notice movement


Watch it closely you see it begin to flicker
Pay close attention and notice a flickering effect


While we're here, let's see what happens
Let's not waste this opportunity and find out what we can achieve


What we got, got, got to loose (what we got to loose)
We have nothing to lose but everything to gain


While we're tidal and flexed on a full moon
Taking advantage of the tides and the full moon's influence on them to the fullest extent possible


It'd be a sure, sure shame to not to
It would be a great pity not to do so


In every wonder what you are
In every moment of wonder and awe when contemplating the universe and one's own existence


I've blurted everything I know just for a piece of it
I have expressed every knowledge and understanding I have gained in my curiosity for understanding the universe


Flash frozen, patch worked and fallow
The memories of the past are preserved like something that is frozen quickly, pieced together in certain areas, and neglected in other areas


I sprung up in hearts and arrow superhighways
I emerged and developed in the pathways and highways of emotions and desires


Do what you feel just how you like
Act freely and do what you want the way you want it


Nobody has to know
There doesn't have to be personal information shared with anyone else


Do it for England
A figure of speech that encourages you to pursue your beliefs, values and missions to the best of your abilities


Do it for love
Doing things for love brings joy and fulfillment to oneself and others,


Do it for us
Doing something not just for oneself but for one's community or society as a whole,


Do it for goodness sake
Do it for the sake of goodness, positive intentions, and altruism.


Do it for all the times
Do it for all situations faced before and the future.


We wished we had
Fulfillment of opportunities we didn't take up.


Do what you want, just how you like
Follow your heart and take your own path without constraints


Nobody has to know
It doesn't matter whether others know or not




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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