This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Who's the girl inside of the blue screen light?
The sun is just pouring out
And everything is out of sight
Turn around the room is just black and white
She's whispering, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na"
And it's not true
And it's not fair
And it's not you
And it's not California here
Later on you're breaking the boxes down
There's nobody out tonight
Nobody's hanging 'round
So you take the drive that used to be almost right
And now it's just empty lots around you
All these empty lots around you
And they don't know
What you hold dear
And they can't see
That it's not California here
Come a time when I may just walk away
The sun is just barely out
The sky is completely gray
But you're the one I wanna be with today
Let them say, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na
And I'm not strong
And you're not rich
And we're not lost
Where we don't live
And it's not true
And it's not fair
And they're not us
And it's not California here
I'm the one who wants to be with you tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
The sun is just pouring out
And everything is out of sight
Turn around the room is just black and white
She's whispering, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na"
And it's not true
And it's not fair
And it's not you
And it's not California here
Later on you're breaking the boxes down
There's nobody out tonight
Nobody's hanging 'round
So you take the drive that used to be almost right
And now it's just empty lots around you
All these empty lots around you
And they don't know
What you hold dear
And they can't see
That it's not California here
Come a time when I may just walk away
The sun is just barely out
The sky is completely gray
But you're the one I wanna be with today
Let them say, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na
And I'm not strong
And you're not rich
And we're not lost
Where we don't live
And it's not true
And it's not fair
And they're not us
And it's not California here
I'm the one who wants to be with you tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
And I'm the one who wants to be the one you're with tonight
Lyrics submitted by ArrestedDevelopment
Not California Lyrics as written by Gary L. Maurer Daniel R. Messe
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
i just moved to new jersey from california, and even though i like it, i absolutely love california. this song reminds me of home and really rings true to me about my situation. i love it, even though it makes me sad.
Yes! Someone commented. I didn't want to post on the lyrics I added, but this song is simply amazing. It's moving as hell and really strikes a chord with the listener.
I'm moving to California in a week and know it'll be a great change, but the things at home will be missed and there are some things from the Midwest that California will never be able to capture.
apparently, the song's about tv shows like the oc and Laguna beach, and how sally always claimed husband dan never wrote her any love songs. dan resents the way California it's portrayed on those shows, and wrote a 'sorta' love song about it to wife sally, who apparently watches it religiously.
I\'ve been listening to this song a lot the last few weeks. This morning Joni Mitchell\'s A Case of You came on Apple Music and I recognized the almost repeated line of "blue TV screen light" in A Case of You and "blue screen light" in this song. It clicked that both songs use the metaphor of missing home to speak about missing a lover (and the reverse) and that this must be a hat tip to Mitchell. Love it. And both songs. <3