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"
Well, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Oh, the dashboard melted
But we still have the radio
Oh, it should've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Well, you told me about nowhere
Well, it sounds like someplace I'd like to go
Oh, it could've been
Should've been worse than you would ever know
Well, the windshield was broken
But I love the fresh air ya know
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know, oh!
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, we talked about nothing
Which was more than I wanted you to know-oh-oh-oh-oh
Now here we go!
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than it had even gone
Well, the car was on blocks, but I was already where I want
(It was impossible, we ran it good, we ran it good)
Why should we ever even ever really even get to know?
(It was impossible, we ran it good, we ran it good)
Oh, if the world don't like us
It'll shake us just like we were a co-oh-oh-oh-old
Now here we go!
Well, we scheme, and we scheme, but we always blow it
We've yet to crash, but we still might as well enjoy it
Standing at a light switch to each east and west horizon
Every dawn you're surprising
And the evening was consoling
Saying, "See, it wasn't quite as bad as"
Well, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
I was patiently erasing and recording the wrong episodes
After you had proved my point wrong
It wasn't like I'd let it go, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
I just wanted to catch the last laugh of this show
Yeah, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio
(The dashboard melted, but we ran it good, we ran it good)
Hard-wired to conceive, so much we'd have to stow it
Even needs have needs, tiny giants made of tinier giants
Don't wear eyelids so I don't miss the last laugh of this show
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, we could've been
Should've been worse than you would ever know
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Well, you told me about nowhere
Well, it sounds like someplace I'd like to go-oh-oh-oh-oh
Now here we go!
Well, we scheme, and we scheme, but we always blow it
We've yet to crash, but we still might as well enjoy it
Standing at a light switch to each east and west horizon
Every dawn you're surprising
And the evening was consoling
Saying, "See, it wasn't quite as bad as"
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Oh, the dashboard melted
But we still have the radio
Oh, it should've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Well, you told me about nowhere
Well, it sounds like someplace I'd like to go
Oh, it could've been
Should've been worse than you would ever know
Well, the windshield was broken
But I love the fresh air ya know
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know, oh!
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, we talked about nothing
Which was more than I wanted you to know-oh-oh-oh-oh
Now here we go!
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than it had even gone
Well, the car was on blocks, but I was already where I want
(It was impossible, we ran it good, we ran it good)
Why should we ever even ever really even get to know?
(It was impossible, we ran it good, we ran it good)
Oh, if the world don't like us
It'll shake us just like we were a co-oh-oh-oh-old
Now here we go!
Well, we scheme, and we scheme, but we always blow it
We've yet to crash, but we still might as well enjoy it
Standing at a light switch to each east and west horizon
Every dawn you're surprising
And the evening was consoling
Saying, "See, it wasn't quite as bad as"
Well, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
I was patiently erasing and recording the wrong episodes
After you had proved my point wrong
It wasn't like I'd let it go, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
I just wanted to catch the last laugh of this show
Yeah, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio
(The dashboard melted, but we ran it good, we ran it good)
Hard-wired to conceive, so much we'd have to stow it
Even needs have needs, tiny giants made of tinier giants
Don't wear eyelids so I don't miss the last laugh of this show
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Oh, we could've been
Should've been worse than you would ever know
(The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio)
Well, you told me about nowhere
Well, it sounds like someplace I'd like to go-oh-oh-oh-oh
Now here we go!
Well, we scheme, and we scheme, but we always blow it
We've yet to crash, but we still might as well enjoy it
Standing at a light switch to each east and west horizon
Every dawn you're surprising
And the evening was consoling
Saying, "See, it wasn't quite as bad as"
Oh, it would've been
Could've been worse than you would ever know
Lyrics submitted by karlgetsalong, edited by TheDistantPanic, dodgerblue
Dashboard Lyrics as written by Isaac K. Brock Joe Plummer
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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great song, modest mouse giving the usual pessimistic outlook on the surface, but the underlying profound implication is actually positive, to me. I take it as "sh*t happens but hey! we still got the radio". look for good in bad...an unusual modest mouse message
I don't really think thats the message honestly.<br /> <br /> The message is actually realizing how self centered or unable to change people are.<br /> <br /> "The dash board melted but we still had the radio" Is just one of his thoughts he has jsut as many crappy nasty thoughts.
ur exactly right my friend dude this should be an idiom!!!
You lose all your material items etc. but you still have the things that make life fun to you, family, friends, music etc. as well as many other smaller meanings.
with that said, the quote ''they are still better than any other band out there.'' i find is talking down on modest's music and feel your not comfortable saying u enjoy there music. who gives a shit what 1st place prize modest mouse's music wins? who gives a shit if they take over the world with all the money they make? who gives a shit if there sound style changes? who really gives a rats ass if likeing one of there singles over all there older material makes you look like a poser!
NONE OF THIS MATTERS IF U ENJOY THE DESIRE IN YOUR HEART TO LISTEN TO ANY BANDS MUSIC. I LOVE MODEST MOUSE'S MUSIC. THIS SONG INCLUDED.
AND IF SOME KID LIKES FLOAT ON AND DOESNT NO THEY HAVE OTHER SONGS, WOO HOO, HE LIKES IT. THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. HE CAN BE THE BIGGEST POSER IN THE WORLD BUT IF HE TRULEY LIKES THE SONG IM HAPPY THAT HE HAS FOUND A PEICE OF MUSIC HE CAN RELATE TO. BIG DEAL FOLKS! AND BY THE WAY MUSIC CANT BE GRADED TO ALL THOSE MORONS OUT THERE, ITS BASED ON PERSONAL INTEREST. THATS THAT.
USE MORE CAPS
Dude Blewandowski_69 i totally agree with you and codrake is just pissed he couldnt articulate that by his lonesome.<br /> Ps Legalize it :0
Caps lock and spelling/grammar issues aside, you make a great point blewandowski_69. Love what you love, it's as simple as that.
dude. you said what should have been said. congrats.<br /> you made everyone shutup by saying the truth.<br />
@blewandowski_69 "You lose all your material items etc. but you still have the things that make life fun to you, family, friends, music etc. as well as many other smaller meanings." your interpretation here reminds me of the scene from The Shawshank Redemption after Andy Defresne is released from solitary confinement after playing the music over the intercom- when Andy says the music stayed with him while he was in solitary, not because they let him bring the record player, but because it's in his head and his heart and they can't take that away.
'These lyrics are seriously incomplete. Why bother putting them up?'
i got them from a live performance, different and incomplete from the current single. so they were complete at the time they were played
thats why, dickhead
I think the song is just about the brighter side of things, it could be worse.
"Well, the windshield was broken but I love the fresh air you know"
Each incident in the song I think is meant to be open to interpretation but I think the overall message is that things could be worse. I think the message makes itself clear at the end of the song when this is said:
Every dawn you're surprising, and in the evening one's consoling Saying "See it wasn't quite as bad as"
Oh it would've been, could've been worse than you would ever know.
Stop fucking crying when a band gets popular. If a band really is good, that's what happens. If you actually like the band, quit complaining. They're moving up in the world. If you honestly don't like the way the new stuff sounds, don't listen to it. Stick to the old stuff. If you think that somebody who likes Float On or Good News for People Who Love Bad News at all dont really like Modest Mouse, this is for you: FUCK OFF.
Both are a part of Modest Mouse and saying that they ruined them is trashy. They put it out for a reason. Your shitty tastes dont need to be the standard for anybody who wants to listen to Modest Mouse. This band has the whiniest fan base ever.
ALL IN ALL: if youre going to cry about a band becoming popular, of a band putting a song (or album) out that you dont like, or people you dont like listening to that band, you're better off just not listening to music. And for FUCK'S sake, if you listen to a band because nobody else knows about them, and then say they suck when people do, you are an ass hat.
Couldn't agree more, if somebody is a fan a small band then that band suddenly starts to gain more and more popularity the REAL fans should be happy for them.<br /> They're finally getting what they deserve, and the thing is, that band likely wanted that from the start...
i'm sorry, but if you think this song is like "the beginning of the end" for modest mouse, then you are the worst kind of fan. just because your favourite obscure band gets signed by a big label and takes a different approach to their music you get all pissy about it.
grow the fuck up. music is more like living thing than you could ever know. all genres inevitably change, and for a band to spend the entirety of their professional lives playing the same style, people would get bored.
i've only recently discovered modest mouse, thanks to rock band, which i know will get me insulted, but they are my new favourite band. for me, songs like "Bukowski," "Fire it up," "Float on" and "Florida" are all brilliant, and their range of styles within an album are unparalleled.
These lyrics are seriously incomplete. Why bother putting them up?
<br /> 4 hr 15 min ago<br /> <br /> Rated 0 <br /> rate down<br /> rate up<br /> I think this is by far the best MM song, by far! The older stuff is really honest and you will connect with it but compared to a song like this, its not even close.<br /> <br /> The old stuff is boring and old... sure they get a pretty killer point across but im sick of hearing songs like that, they have sooooo been done a million times before, just the way the song is layed out, you don't even have to really think about it for it to make sense to you, the lyrics of the old songs are simple to understand I only need to listen to them once to completely understand what they are saying BORING. I think a lot of people don't even know how to listen to Dashboard and they can't understand the real message or even what the song is talking about half the time.<br /> <br /> Dashboard is a total different type of song than pretty much anything ive heard from them before. Dashboard honestly has a pretty good message but thats not even why the song is my favorite in the world. Why is everyone so convinced a great song even needs a message at all? Remember this is just music, just caus a song isn't sad and serious and comforting doesn't mean it can't be a great song. Don't get me wrong, its not even the beat or the mainstream sound that dashboard has that makes me like it. The reason dashboard is the best song ive ever heard is caus you could listen to it a million times and still not understand the story they are telling, It really takes a lot of effort and concentration to truly understand every aspect of the song dashboard.<br />
The only people who don't like this song are probably people who are so used to hearing music where they don't even have to think to feel it... Most music is like that these days, People just care about how sad and how touching it is, and thats all music will ever be to them. Lazy people I say, A lot of people don't get dashboard cause if they listen as hard as they can to every word in dashboard, it will just sound like hes rambling a million different ideas at once, Really its one giant epic song. You can't listen to every word he says literaly as if its part of the story... He reapetes almost the same line like 10 times just caus you need to be thinking about what it means and by the time you get what the songs really about it will make some since,.... tells a very linear story if you don't keep mixing up with "Well it would have been, could have been, worse than you would ever know." every time he says that line honestly you only need to listen to that the first time he says it, then try and understand what he means. If you ever do truly understand this song and get it, "Well it would have been, could have been, worse than you would ever know." will sound sweeter everytime you hear it.<br /> <br />
this song rules
Isaac is singing about how life is goes nowhere.
Still waiting for the rest of the CD :(
you pretentious fans make me sick, heaven forbid this band gains popularity and makes money!! oh, if more than a thousand ppl listen to it then it sucks right? wake up and enjoy music for what it is. just because something becomes popular doesn't mean the quality degrades. if it wasn't for modest having a float on video i would've never bought a single cd, now i own every one they have put out, if that doesn't mean something then i don't know what does, get off your high horse and sit back and listen to the music you assholes, just because something is reaching beyond your group of ten friends doesn't mean it's bad music. you people act like these guys should stay obscure the rest of their lives, everybody wants to get paid, at least they make it sound good while they do it. stop bitching and give up your 12 bucks and enjoy it with the rest of us and let's toast the mouse and their new found (and well deserved) #1 album
ps to you "indie rock and rollers, if you think you're special, please realize that you are not, and stop berating the people that enjoy good music, no matter how popular it is, the trolls that condemn new mouse fans are the same people that force listeners to keep focusing on fergie and stefani, give it a rest and embrace the newfound fans you miserable bastards