The band gained recognition in the United Kingdom and United States during 2006 and 2007 due to the success of their single "Young Folks", whilst staying virtually unknown in their homeland, Sweden.
Down Like Me
Peter Bjorn and John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I've seen, you drop your poison
You compromise the steal
Telling people how you feel
Though it's not a bit for real
But the dollar it gives you wills
And you're longing to be free
But no one brings me down, like me
Have you heard? When greed meets hunger
How absurd, the weak is stronger
Cause when they are satisfied
They sigh and wipe their mouth
And they sleep til they awake
But for you there's too much at stake
You have to plan the next big break
You rest when you are dead like me
Rest when you are dead, like me
Down like me
Down like me
No one brings me down down down
Down like me
Down like me
Down like me
Down like me
Down like me
The song Down Like Me by Peter Bjorn & John speaks about a certain individual who lives in a war zone and drops poison, which is taken metaphorically to represent his negative attitude and energy towards others. The individual is also described as someone who compromises values and beliefs in exchange for material gain, which is likely a reference to corporate greed and corruption. Despite this, the song acknowledges the individual’s longing for freedom, which could be interpreted as a desire to escape from his own self-destructive habits and behaviors.
The second verse of the song introduces the concept of the weak becoming stronger when driven by greed and hunger. This is ironic because greed is usually associated with those who are already powerful, yet the song implies that the weak are more likely to succumb to it. Meanwhile, the individual in question is portrayed as someone who can never rest because there is always "too much at stake," which could be interpreted either as a representation of an unquenchable thirst for success or as a reference to addiction. The song concludes by reiterating the idea that "no one brings me down like me," indicating that the only one who has the power to cause their own downfall is the individual themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
I have been, inside your war zone
I have been in your life when you went through many difficult situations
And I've seen, you drop your poison
And I've seen you hurt people by saying or doing harmful things
You compromise the steal
You do not have consistent or good values, causing you to make bad decisions
Telling people how you feel
You tend to speak your mind loudly enabling people to get hurt
Though it's not a bit for real
Although you do not mean the things that you say or do to be genuine or true
But the dollar it gives you wills
But the money or material gain it brings is highly appealing, although temporary
And you're longing to be free
And you want to be free from this situation or personality, to be different
But no one brings me down, like me
But the way you act or the things you say always end up hurting yourself the most
Have you heard? When greed meets hunger
Have you ever heard the saying that greed and hunger meet and become more powerful harmfully
How absurd, the weak is stronger
How strange that the less dominant or less powerful person becomes the stronger one due to greed and hunger
Cause when they are satisfied
Because when they have got what they want
They sigh and wipe their mouth
They let out a deep breath, feeling accomplished, and wipe their mouth clean
And they sleep til they awake
And they sleep comfortably until they're awake again
But for you there's too much at stake
But for you, there's still a lot to lose if you stop trying to keep gaining
You have to plan the next big break
You always have to plan on the next big move, since you depend on it to survive
You rest when you are dead like me
You will only stop when you die or things worsen a lot
Down like me
Going down or failing is just like me
No one brings me down down down
There's no one who can make me fail as much as I can myself
Down like me
Failing and deteriorating is what I am comfortable with
Down like me
Failing is what I know better than anything else
Down like me
Failing is what I am used to the most
Down like me
I am good at bringing myself down
Down like me
Depression is what I am familiar with
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BJ�RN YTTLING, JOHN ERIKSSON, PETER MOREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AYRYZIGER
Great riff!
@AmbroseCadwell
Such an awesome song
@rickmartinez7386
Where you from?