Subway
Yeah Yeah Yeahs feat. Dr. Octagon Lyrics

The song “Subway” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a song about missing someone and trying to catch up with them. Karen O, the lead singer of the band, is conveying the urgency and frustration of trying to reach someone who has left you behind. The use of the subway as a metaphor for the journey adds to the feeling of longing and helplessness. The opening lines, “I lost you on a subway car, got caught without my metro card,” sets the tone for the rest of the song.

As the song progresses, Karen O describes waiting for the express train, hoping to catch up with the person she is missing. The repetition of the lines “I waited and I waited” emphasizes the sense of time dragging on and the futility of waiting. The description of the train itself, “metal on the mental,” adds to the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped on a subway train. However, within this confinement, Karen O discovers something deeper in her heart, represented by the lines “it was somethin’ in my heart.”

As the train journey continues, Karen O reflects on her own image within the subway car, “caught my reflection in the subway car, thought look at you whoever you are.” This line adds a sense of vulnerability and introspection to the song, as Karen O considers her own place and identity within the city. Finally, she reaches her destination and finds the person she has been searching for, “Well I got I got I got I got, got off got off on you.”

Overall, “Subway” is a powerful song that captures the complex emotions of longing, frustration, and hope. The use of the subway as a metaphor for the journey adds a sense of urgency and confinement, while the repetition of certain lines emphasizes the endless waiting and searching that can come with missing someone.