In 2001, the band regrouped, with guitarist James Valentine added to the line-up, and pursued a new direction under the name: Maroon 5. At this point, Jesse Carmichael switched to playing the keyboards and this has become his main instrument in the band (although he also plays rhythm guitar to this day). After these changes, Maroon 5 signed with Octone Records and released their debut album, "Songs About Jane", in June 2002. The album's lead single "Harder to Breathe", received heavy airplay, which helped the album to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005. For the next few years, the band toured extensively worldwide in support of Songs About Jane and produced two live recordings: 2004's "1.22.03.Acoustic" and 2005's "Live Friday the 13th". In 2006, Ryan Dusick officially left the band after suffering from serious wrist and shoulder injuries and was replaced by Matt Flynn. The band recorded their second album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" and released it in May 2007. The album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and the lead single, "Makes Me Wonder", became the band's first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100.
On September 21, 2010, the band released their third studio album entitled "Hands All Over". It was re-released in 2011 to include the single "Moves like Jagger" (featuring Christina Aguilera). While the original version of the album received mixed reviews, "Moves like Jagger" reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band released their next album, "Overexposed", on June 26, 2012. All four singles of the album were really successful on the charts - for example, the second single from Overexposed, "One More Night" (released on June 19, 2012), reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2014, the band signed with Interscope Records and released their fifth studio album, "V", with the very-first line-up of six official band members, as keyboardist and backing vocalist PJ Morton became an official member in 2012. The album debuted at top of the weekly Billboard 200 chart. Since its debut in 2002, the band has sold more than 15 million albums in the United States and over 100 million singles and 27 million albums worldwide.
Closer
Maroon 5 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You let me desecrate you
You let me complicate you
You let me penetrate you
(Ohhhhhhho)
Help me, I torn apart my insides
Help me, the only thing that works for me
Help me, get away from myself
I wanna fuck you like an animal
I wanna feel you from the inside
And I wanna fuck you like an animal
My whole existence is flawed
You bring me closer to God
You can't help my isolation, you can't help the hate it brings
You can't help my absent of faith
You can't help my everything
Help me, turn on my reason
Help me, sex I can smell
Help me, you make me perfect shape
Help me, think I'm somebody else
I wanna fuck you like an animal.
I wanna feel you from the inside
I wanna fuck you like an animal
My whole existence is flawed, you bring me closer to God
The Maroon 5 song "Closer" is actually a cover of the 1994 Nine Inch Nails song of the same name. The lyrics of the song detail a desire for an intense and raw sexual experience. The song opens with the lines "You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you." These lines suggest a level of consent in the sexual relationship, but also a willingness to be submissive and even degraded. The singer goes on to say "You let me penetrate you," indicating a desire for intimacy that goes beyond just physical pleasure. The repeated line "Help me" suggests a level of desperation and need for something outside of oneself.
The chorus of the song is the most explicit representation of the singer's desire: "I wanna fuck you like an animal, I wanna feel you from the inside." The use of the word "animal" again suggests a raw and primal desire for sexual connection. However, there is also a sense of spiritual longing in the lyrics, with the line "You bring me closer to God" suggesting that this intense sexual experience is also a kind of transcendent experience.
Line by Line Meaning
You let me violate you
You consented to me disregarding your boundaries
You let me desecrate you
You allowed me to disrespect you
You let me complicate you
You permitted me to add more confusion to your life
You let me penetrate you
You gave me access to the most intimate parts of yourself
Help me, I torn apart my insides
I need assistance because I am tearing myself apart internally
Help me, got no soul to sell
I am desperate for help and have nothing of value to trade
Help me, the only thing that works for me
The only solution that is effective for me is to seek help
Help me, get away from myself
I need to distance myself from my current state
I wanna fuck you like an animal
I want to engage in rough, animalistic sex with you
I wanna feel you from the inside
I want to experience every part of you, emotionally and physically
My whole existence is flawed
I am inherently flawed as a human being
You bring me closer to God
Your presence and influence have a positive impact on my life
You can't help my isolation, you can't help the hate it brings
You are unable to alleviate the loneliness and negativity I experience
You can't help my absent of faith
You are unable to restore my lack of faith or belief
You can't help my everything
You are unable to solve all of my problems and fulfill my every need
Help me, turn on my reason
I need assistance in finding logical solutions to my problems
Help me, sex I can smell
I am attracted to you sexually and desire physical intimacy
Help me, you make me perfect shape
Your presence and influence make me feel complete and whole
Help me, think I'm somebody else
I need to escape my current sense of self and identity
Contributed by Colton I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gyrbae
Didn't know it was physically possible to remove balls from a song but Maroon 5 managed to do that.
ThisIsWhy
Yeah, and I love Maroon 5 - a lot. But yes, they castrated this song. It’s a nutless mess.
FullyF
Ya'll this cover actually has a use. If we could somehow capture Trent and make him listen to this cover for 12 hours, he would immediately go into the studio and come up with an album that would make Pretty Hate Machine sound like something by Kenny G,
Erik Lucas
They did this exact cover at Jimmy Kimmel live in 2003.. when they were not mega stars yet. I loved it, I was in the audience as a paid extra cuz the show wasn’t getting enough audience members
ravenofroses
bless their hearts, they tried. and given the instruments they had and the crazy shift in style they had to work with, this isn't too bad.
NexVultuosus
I'm impressed. The vibration when he goes into the chorus was great. I'm a devout NIN fan, and the classic is definitely one of the greatest songs ever written, and this cover did a wonderful job taking a new spin on it.
Lisa Anneliese Theron
I don't not really a fan of maroon 5, but I appreciate the fact that they made it their own, it sounds like them, but nothing beats NIN and the original will always be the best!
Megan Smith
Going to listen to the REAL version now to make myself happy.
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I actually really like this cover. It has such a different sound to it...brings it to another level really. I will forever love the original, but this one is very good too. Sounds good to the ear.
a a
ok im totally digging how Closer just became an additional genre