Idlewild
Travis Lyrics

Once upon a row of houses
This is the beginning of a story about a group of people who lived in a row of houses

Tight skirts and baggy trousers
This line paints a picture of the fashion of the people in the row of houses.

Grey men in cheap disguises
The people in the row of houses have resorted to cheap disguises to mask their identities.

High hopes and higher rises
The people in the row of houses have aspirations for better lives, despite living in towering buildings.

Here lived a girl who was on a mission
A determined young girl lived in one of the houses with a mission in mind.

Here lived a boy who was under suspicion
A young boy lived in one of the houses under scrutiny.

Tried hard to stay beside her
The boy attempted to stay by the side of the girl despite the odds.

Until the devil put his seed inside her
The girl became pregnant by the devil, ultimately leading to their downfall.

How?
This line is likely a question, but its true meaning is unclear.

You know how
The answer to the previous question could be known or inferred.

Sleep too long and the sand runs out
When time is taken for granted, the inevitable end will come quickly.

So close to midnight
The end is near, with little time left.

Time to fly
It is time to leave or flee.

Do or die
There is no other option at this point besides success or failure.

Stung in the headlights
Caught off guard with sudden and intense exposure.

Here we lie
The characters in the story are not in a favorable position.

High and dry
They are abandoned and left to fend for themselves.

The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes
Without an awakened perspective, one's true potential will remain hidden from the world.

Say goodnight
Signaling the end of a chapter or relationship.

Kill the light
Ending things by turning off the lights.

The world will never hear you tonight
Your voice, ideas, or existence will not be acknowledged tonight.

Idlewild
A place where things are stagnant, unchanging, or uneventful.

For two years he tried to reach her
The boy made efforts to connect with the girl for two years.

Worshiped the ground beneath her
He held her in high esteem and admired her deeply.

She, she was always running
The girl was elusive and constantly moving or changing.

He, he saw the end was coming
The boy could sense that the relationship would come to an end.

But now the story takes a turn
The narrative of the story shifts direction.

She wakes up and her sheets are burning
The girl realizes something is wrong with a sudden sense of urgency.

Head down against the fire
She is trapped and unable to escape the flames, with her head lowered in defeat or submission.

Now, now, now the table turns
The dynamic of the relationship or story takes a sudden change in direction again.

She won't learn
The girl will not listen to advice or change her ways.

Sleep too long and your bed starts burning
Taking too long to address a problem can lead to a point of no return.

Idlewild, you don't know
Someone in Idlewild is oblivious or unaware of something.

You never need to
Whatever is happening doesn't require action or response.

I thought that we were good together
The singer believed that they were compatible with someone else.

I thought that we could weather the weather
The artist thought they could handle the difficulties of life with the other person.

Whether or not that wise is the word for us
There may be doubt as to whether it was a smart decision to pursue the relationship.

That high hopes are only there because, because
Optimism may have been misguided and unfounded.

Because I thought the only thing between us
The singer assumed that the only thing separating them from the other person was a surface-level issue.

Was something shallow, not a river so deep, we see it's
As the relationship progresses further, a much more serious issue arises.

Dredge up the wreckage our parents left us
Past traumas or issues caused by the artist's parents have resurfaced and affected their current relationship.

Lay it on the banks to rot and fester
These issues have been ignored and left to worsen over time.

Now a skeleton hanging like a death star
A metaphor for a past issue looming over the present like a threat or phantom.

And grim and green in dark Manchester
A description of the setting of the story, with negative connotations.

I don't want to hear it now
The artist does not want to deal with the consequences of their actions or past anymore.

Kill the light
Sometimes the only solution is to end something completely.

Idlewild
The place where the characters or narrator find themselves stuck or unable to move forward.

Kill the light
Repeating this line drives home the idea that ending things is a necessary step for moving on.