Past Life
Tame Impala Lyrics

I was picking up a suit from the dry cleaners
The singer was running errands and picking up their suit from the dry cleaners.

Which was standard for me
This was a regular task that the singer would perform.

Thursday, 12:30, I gotta pretty solid routine these days
The singer had a consistent routine that they followed, and it was currently Thursday at 12:30.

I don't know it just works for me
The routine was beneficial for the artist, but they didn't know why.

Anyway, I was leaving I was getting in my car
As the artist finished their errand, they got into their car.

And I went to adjust the rear view mirror, but in its reflection
The singer looked into the rearview mirror of their car.

Just for a second, I saw a figure, started to trigger
In that brief moment, the singer saw something that started to trigger a memory.

Memories of what I had learned, stopped me in my tracks
The memory stopped the artist from continuing with their routine and made them pause to reflect.

Who was that? It was my lover, my lover, from a past life
The figure the artist saw in the reflection was someone they knew in a past life and considered to be a lover.

From a past life (feel like I saw a ghost)
The encounter felt eerie and surreal, like seeing a ghost from the past.

From a past life (not what I expected)
The singer didn't expect to see this person and was surprised by the encounter.

From a past life (it's transfixed)
The artist was transfixed by the memory and the encounter.

From a past life
The singer is reflecting on their past life and the memories associated with it.

Well somewhere between a lover and a friend
The relationship between the singer and the person from their past is somewhere in between a lover and a friend.

It was different back then, surreal
The singer reflects on how the relationship was different in the past and describes it as surreal.

Poetic so I'd say, like a bizarre shape or a confusing image
The artist tries to describe the relationship using poetic language, comparing it to a confusing image or shape.

But I shot it down, closed it off
The artist suppressed their memories and emotions associated with the past relationship and closed it off.

The sounds and smells I made myself forget
The singer actively tried to forget sensory details associated with the relationship.

A cheap solution to block out a friend, but it was real
By forgetting about the relationship, the singer was able to block out a friend, but they acknowledge that the relationship was real and meaningful.

It just feels like a past life
The artist reflects on how the relationship now feels like something from a past life, something that is distant and removed from their current reality.

From a past life (crazy)
The artist acknowledges that the situation is crazy and unexpected.

From a past life (it takes a lot to trip me out)
The artist is not easily surprised or taken off guard, but this situation has tripped them out.

In the long time
The singer reflects on the passage of time and how the past relationship feels very distant now.

So I go about my day as normal
The artist tries to continue with their day-to-day routine, ignoring the encounter with their past lover.

But I can't seem to pass it off as just a random event
The singer is unable to stop thinking about the encounter and doesn't believe it was just a random event.

It consumes me, I thought I was moving on
The memory of the past relationship consumes the singer, and they thought they had moved on from it.

But I guess I was just switching off
The singer realizes that they weren't moving on from the past relationship but were rather just ignoring it and shutting it off.

And now I see my life as the banal slog it suddenly became
The artist reflects on how their life now seems monotonous and unfulfilling compared to the memories of their past relationship.

And I don't know if I can go on the same
The artist is questioning whether they can continue to live their life the same way after this encounter has resurfaced all of these past memories and emotions.

But I don't wanna dig up old bones
The singer doesn't want to revisit the past relationship and the emotions associated with it.

I mean, I don't even know if she has the same phone number
The singer doubts they will be able to reconnect with their past lover, as they don't even know if they have the same phone number.

Who knows? Maybe she does
The artist still considers the possibility of reconnecting with their past lover.

Hello?
The song ends with the simple statement 'hello?', which is left open for interpretation and could signify the artist trying to reach out to their past lover.