Sore Thumb
We Were Promised Jetpacks Lyrics

The lyrics to We Were Promised Jetpacks's song Sore Thumb are introspective, reflecting on a need to retrace one's steps and remember important things. The line " Retrace all my steps, which helps when I start to forget" is an admission of the singer's fallibility and forgetfulness, and his need to go back and rehash the past in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. The second line, "You said that to me, like the stories the thoughts never see," is more ambiguous, but may imply that the other person in the relationship has imparted some wisdom to the singer that he is finding hard to internalize or act upon.

As the song progresses, the lyrics become more abstract and poetic. Lines like "I pray my whole day, to see what disasters/ We live that could call out her name and then wait," suggest a deep desire for some sort of catalyst or change, but one that is tinged with a sense of dread or fear. It is unclear what "her name" refers to here, but it could be a metaphor for some sort of life-altering event or revelation. The final line, "Let's see what comes crawling back, and I recover" is a somewhat cryptic conclusion, but it could be interpreted as a willingness to accept whatever challenges or opportunities come the singer's way, no matter how unpalatable or difficult they may be.