A Substitute
Monta Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

you are a substitute

leaving when everyone is gone




Overall Meaning

Monta's song "A Substitute" talks about someone who is unable to hold onto lasting connections with others. The lyrics, "you are a substitute, leaving when everyone is gone," suggest that the person is just a temporary replacement in people's lives, not someone who is integral to their long-term well-being. The person is unable to form deep, meaningful relationships with others, and is instead always on the move, seeking new acquaintances but unable to hold on to any of them.


The sense of disconnection is evident in the sparse, haunting arrangement of the track, which emphasizes the emptiness at the core of the person's life. The lyrics also suggest a certain sadness, as the person is unable to truly connect with anyone, and is left lonely and unfulfilled. The song hints that perhaps the person has not found their true purpose in life, and is instead just drifting aimlessly, always looking for something that they cannot find.


Overall, "A Substitute" is a poignant reflection on the sadness and isolation that can come with being disconnected from others, and the sense of emptiness that can arise when one is unable to form lasting bonds with the people around them.


Line by Line Meaning

you are a substitute
You are a replacement, a temporary stand-in for someone or something else.


leaving when everyone is gone
Your tendency is to leave when there's no one else around. You don't want to be a part of the group, you're only there to take the place of someone who's missing.




Contributed by Lucas P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

oughts sought

Steph's rookie year was my first year of retirement, and I watched almost every Dubs game that year.
Ellis also wouldn't slap hands after Steph's free throws, and didn't seem to want to pass Steph the ball, no matter how open.
It was kinda conspicuous; since everyone touching hands after a teammates free throw is so standard it seems mandatory.
Ellis just wouldn't; and the camera crews started cutting away to something else so as not to show the conspicuous omission.
But once it became clear they were cutting away every time (you'd see the guys in the lane bump fists or slap hand then cut away before you could notice whether Ellis had or not, which I noticed specifically becuz I was watching to see if Ellis ever did) that in itself became conspicuous.
Steph showed how team oriented he was by, after this had gone on for months, getting out of the way of the offensive action.
He spent a lot of time hanging in corners when Ellis was dominating the ball, so as not to get in the way of what the others did.

This video doesn't mention what I felt was a key aspect of how that came about.
During the We Believe year, when Monte was a rookie, Baron Davis was The Man.
There was an attitude at that time, you'd hear it over and over and over from journalists, announcers and players, that at crunch time you ride your Go To Guy. Possession after possession thru the final minutes.
When the Dubs beat the Mavs that year, Baron Davis was that guy, but Monte made his contributions with key baskets. In the second round Ellis was clearly gaining confidence and in one game he had a particularly strong finish that took over the game when Davis wasn't hitting his shots that 4th Q. I really felt they might have won that second series if they'd rode Ellis's hot hand more, but later in the series in the Win Or Go Home games they reverted to that Go To The Man mentality and they paid the price. There was a key game where Ellis clearly had a hot hand but they rode Davis anyway in final minutes and it cost them the game. I'd point out here that MJ didn't start winning titles until he learned to make use of Paxton and then Kerr's outside range for game winning shots after MJ had taken it to the D so many times and ways that they were double and triple teaming him when it came to the last minute of the game.
By Steph's rookie year, Monte Ellis was that Go To Guy, doing what Baron Davis had done to him, which everybody treated as The Way It Is.
Personally I hated it because teams that work together to get open shots are a lot more fun to watch, and Steph's court vision had made me a fan of his during his NCAA tourney run. So I was watching all that becuz I was focused on Steph Curry right from the start of year 1.

When I heard about the Monte Ellis trade I was jumping for joy. No dislike or disrespect for Monte Ellis. But I thought then and still think it is the best trade the Dubs have made since the '70s, and I say since the '70s only becuz I don't remember the trades they made in the '60s w/ greats like Wilt and Nate Thurmond. As I saw it we traded Monte Ellis for Andrew Bogut, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry; even tho' Klay and Steph were already on our roster. Then there was that painful scene at the ceremony to retire Chris Mullin's # when 19,000 season ticket holders wouldn't stop booing Joe Lacob. I've often wondered how many appreciative apology letters Joe Lacob has received from Dubs season ticket holders who were booing him that night.  

This ownership team is the best we've had since the Franklin Meuli days, by far. And I'm just as glad that that Go To Guy has to take every shot at crunch time concept is mostly in our collective rear view mirror. While agreeing with what seems to be a consensus among hired wise pro talking heads re: the 5 man race of deserving MVP candidates; there's part of me wants to argue that this year's MVP race is a runaway, with the Dubs front office group having lapped the field just by putting this roster together. What a great collection of skill sets, attitudes, energy and synergy. And Nellie must be having more fun just watching this offense than he ever had coaching.

Just one man's mouthy opinion; but there it is.



All comments from YouTube:

Stunted Growth

One of the most underrated guards of his time. Truly an all star snub. Was he wrong to to want to play with Steph Curry?

Max Azzopardi

No he wasn't. He was good. Monta never helped the Warriors win a playoff series. Steph helped us win 3 titles. Don't act like Monta is Steph. That's a joke

Amari Jackson

Absolutely. Basketball is a team sport, he had an opportunity to be a part of Steph's come up and didn't.

Vivian Pangilinan

@Samuel Wells monte was wrong..and arrogant..he should be humble because he is not as good as jordan...he was not even a superstar...

kurry

For real fans. We respected him because he carried the team to our first finals in like 50 years. He was underated because warriors was a small market team that only locals appreciated. While Celtics and Lakers took all the spotlight. What a lot of train hoppers don't know too is that Monte Ellis's wife called out his attitude a bit before he was traded and Monte apologized and started to get along with curry, he was probably just taking out his frustrations on the wrong person. The man will still always be a Legend for real fans.

P D

@Young Tobbie The Evidence says otherwise, because if it was HIS Team, HE wouldn’t have drafted Steph.

I think the person whose team it was, knew better than him But his ego wouldn’t allow him to accept it.

18 More Replies...

Domeo

Can’t win with players that have a hateful heart like that. Even if he didn’t believe the experiment would work, you don’t take that out on Curry

wade wilson

@Mali Kali steph curry fans are typically very sensitive

Mali Kali

Hateful heart?

P D

Facts!!! Steph’s Ability to Shoot the ball is a Superpower for the Whole Team, unless you care more about your accomplishments than the Team’s accomplishments.
Two of the smoothest Shooters ever and you can’t make that work, it’s you.

More Comments

More Versions