There is more than one band with this name.

(1) The Hippos were a th… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one band with this name.

(1) The Hippos were a third wave ska-punk band from Southern California. Unlike other typical bands of the genre, The Hippos employed heavy use of a Moog synthesizer.
The Hippos’s first full album release was Forget the World, released in 1996. Interestingly, many of the songs on Forget The World were written when Ariel Rechstaid, the band’s primary songwriter, was only 15 years old. This album employed traditional ska-punk songwriting, including upbeat tempos and heavy brass instrumentation. Additionally, various percussion instruments were used, such as bongos and wood blocks. The next album was Heads Are Gonna Roll, released in 1999. A transitional album, a balance of horns and synthesizers is found on this album. Commercially, this album was the band’s most successful; it is the only album to be fully produced by a large record label and thus is assumedly the most circulated and heard of the three albums.
The Hippos, a self titled final release, was released in 2003 after the band’s break-up. This album completed the gradual transition from traditional ska-punk to the unique, orginal synthpop sound exhibited here. Ties to the ska-punk scene from which they began had been all but completely severed. In fact, only one track from this album uses horns at all, an essential element of ska. Much of the Hippos’s fanbase was initially reluctant at such a different sound, but for the most part, this reluctance gave way to admiration. To many fans, the Hippos’s final album was their best written and most enjoyable, despite its limited commercial success.

(2) The Hippos are a blues band from Sydney, Australia. They enjoyed modest chart success with Dark Age in 1988, from the album Hippocracy.

All alone
The Hippos Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm all alone, but my heart is full
I'm a sunken stone, I'm thinking you're the pool
I'm lost in space, but I'm on the ground
You can find my heart in the lost and found

Because you are not like all the rest
A girl who puts me to the test
So why must you be oh so rude

Giving me that attitude

Please don't take that tone with me
Please don't take that tone with me
I understand the way you see
You think you're different just like me

I'm center stage as you rant and rave
It's the final scene of a tragic play
The curtains close and I take a bow
I play this role until my youth runs out

'Cause you are not like all the rest
A girl who puts me to the test
So why must you be oh so rude
Giving me that attitude

Please don't take that tone with me
Please don't take that tone with me
I understand the way you see
You think you're different just like me

I'm all alone but my heart is full
I'm a sunken stone, I'm thinking you're the pool
I want a girl who's just like you
Giving me that attitude
Giving me that attitude

Please don't take that tone with me
Please don't take that tone with me

I'm not just another one you see,
I'm the one for you and you're my destiny

Overall Meaning

All Alone by The Hippos is a song about being in love with someone who is different from all the rest, but is also rude and gives attitude. The singer of the song is lost and alone, but his heart is full because he has found someone who puts him to the test. He sees himself in the girl, who is different just like him. However, he is often on the receiving end of her attitude, and it frustrates him. He hopes that she will see that he is not like the others and that they were meant to be together.

The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but one interpretation is that the singer is a performer, and the girl is his audience. He is center stage, performing the final scene of a tragic play while the girl is ranting and raving in the audience. He takes a bow when the curtains close, playing his role until his youth runs out. The girl is the one he wants, and he hopes that she will be the one to give him her attitude.

The song highlights the complexities of relationships and how even though someone might be different from us, we can still find love in their differences. The chorus repeats the phrase "Please don't take that tone with me," showing that even though there are disagreements, both parties need to communicate and treat each other with respect.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm all alone, but my heart is full
Although I am alone, my heart is filled with love and readiness to give it away.

I'm a sunken stone, I'm thinking you're the pool
I feel down and lost, but I have a strong attraction towards you, like a sunken stone is drawn to the reflecting pool.

I'm lost in space, but I'm on the ground
I feel like I am drifting aimlessly in the vastness of space, yet I still have a clear mind and direction down here on earth.

You can find my heart in the lost and found
I may have lost my heart, but I have faith that it will be returned to me, just like a lost item in a lost and found.

'Cause you are not like all the rest A girl who puts me to the test So why must you be oh so rude Giving me that attitude
You stand out from the rest because you challenge me in a way others have not, yet sometimes you are harsh with me and I do not understand why.

Please don't take that tone with me Please don't take that tone with me I understand the way you see You think you're different just like me
I am hurt by your abrasive tone, but I recognize that you are unique, just like me, and I want to understand your perspective.

I'm center stage as you rant and rave It's the final scene of a tragic play The curtains close and I take a bow I play this role until my youth runs out
I feel as though I am the main character in a tragic drama, where you are passionately speaking your mind. When the scene is over, I accept my role in life and continue acting until I am old.

I want a girl who's just like you Giving me that attitude Giving me that attitude
Despite the difficulties, I desire a girl who is like you and challenges me, even if that means enduring your blunt attitude.

Please don't take that tone with me Please don't take that tone with me I'm not just another one you see, I'm the one for you and you're my destiny
I am not just any ordinary person, but someone destined to be with you. Please do not treat me like anyone else, and let us embrace our shared fate.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ariel Rechtshaid, James Bairian, Louis Castle

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS