The title "Reptilia" refers to the "Reptilian complex", the central part of one's brain that handles basic emotions such as love and hate.
The cover of the single features the artwork from the cabinet of the 1980 arcade game Centipede by Atari.
The music video for the song was their first that was not directed by Roman Coppola. Instead they chose Jake Scott to shoot the video, which features close shots of the band members' faces and hands while performing the song. At the end of the video, Julian Casablancas spits at the camera lens.
The song is a playable track in the video games Rock Band and in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The minor difference is that the overexposed effect on Casablancas' vocals is removed.
Reptilia
The Strokes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
The lyrics of The Strokes' "Reptilia" are a conversation between two people. The first person seems impressed by the way the second person entered the scene and asks them to tell a story since they are not boring. The second person fears that they might seem uninteresting but is told to take something to calm down and just tell the story.
The second part of the song sees the second person asking the first one not to slow them down if they are going too fast. They are in a strange part of town and the night is not over yet, they should try harder. The lyrics also hint towards a sense of exhaustion, with the second person feeling like they are drowning fast enough.
Overall, "Reptilia" is a song that expresses a sense of competitiveness and anxiety in a social setting. It speaks to the pressure to impress, to be interesting and exciting, and the fear of being considered boring. The lyrics are open to different interpretations, and it is possible that they are referring to the music industry and the pressure to stay relevant and come up with new material.
Line by Line Meaning
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
He appeared to be taken aback by the confidence in which you walked in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
Please share with us a narrative, as I believe you have an interesting one to tell
I was afraid that you would not insist
I worried you wouldn't persist in engaging with me
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
You seem uninterested, here's something to occupy you, but please go away
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly
You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough
Now every time that I look at myself
Each occasion that I gaze upon myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
I believe I mentioned that this planet isn't suited for you
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
The space is erupting as she adjusts her hairstyle
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
You appear upset, but please relax, you found me
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly
You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Julian Casablancas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Nicolasito.
Parecía impresionado por la forma en que entraste.
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Cuéntanos una historia, sé que no eres aburrido"
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
Tenía miedo de que no insistieras
I was afraid that you would not insist
"Suenas con mucho sueño, solo toma esto, ahora déjame"
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
Dije, por favor no me frenes si voy demasiado rápido
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Estás en una parte extraña de nuestra ciudad.
You're in a strange part of our town
Sí, la noche no ha terminado, no te estás esforzando lo suficiente
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Nuestras vidas están cambiando de carril, me sacaste del camino
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
La espera ha terminado, ahora me hago cargo
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
Ya no te ríes, no me estoy ahogando lo suficientemente rápido
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Ahora cada vez que me miro
Now every time that I look at myself
"Creí haberte dicho, este mundo no es para ti"
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
La habitación está en llamas mientras ella se arregla el cabello.
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"Suenas tan enojado, solo cálmate, me encontraste"
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
Dije por favor no me frenes si voy demasiado rápido
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Estás en una parte extraña de nuestra ciudad.
You're in a strange part of our town
Sí, la noche no ha terminado, no te estás esforzando lo suficiente
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Nuestras vidas están cambiando de carril, me sacaste del camino
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
La espera ha terminado, ahora me hago cargo
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
Ya no te ríes, no me estoy ahogando lo suficientemente rápido
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@UnluckyWednesday
He seemed impressed by the way you came in,
"Tell us a story
I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist.
"You sound so sleepy
Just take this, now leave me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
Now every time that I look at myself
"I though I told you
This world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry
Just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
@Darkopolypse98
[LYRICS]
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@비정한세상
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
@slothy387pooh6
Lyrics
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@hernandoocampo9109
Lyrics:
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@--ghostygp6531
Lyrics: dale a cantar compa
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@andresdelavega3360
He seemed impressed by the way you came in.
"Tell us a story
I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist.
"You sound so sleepy
just take this, now leave me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you
this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"you sound so angry
just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
@femafe
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
Tell us a story, I know you're not boring
I was afraid that you would not insist
You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me
I said: Please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road
The wait is over
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
I thought I told you, this world is not for you
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me
I said: Please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road
The wait is over
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough
@sernoddicusthegallant6986
Everybody is talking about Julian but nobody seems to appreciate just how fucking on-point the bass is in this song.
@ava_daza
as a bassist, i fucking agree with ya
@aat556
No cap, the main reason I fell in love with this song was the sick bass line in the pre-chorus. Gets me every time
@monndei4741
i agree!
@alejandrovallejo6763
Very simple line but the tone has a lot of attitude
@sarahmorris5932
i do💛
@guitarjam2178
The Strokes are one of those bands that really make you want to start your own
@Jokaa656
Never wanted to learn how to play guitar so badly as i want when i listen to the strokes😂
@aida.6771
No wonder they influenced so many bands during early '00s.
@j.c985
They are at a level that most people will never be able to reach, they are all uber talented but definitely galvanising