Well the future's got me worried
Such awful thoughts
My head's a carousel of pictures
The spinning never stops
I just want someone to walk in front
And I'll follow the leader

Like when I fell under the weight
Of a schoolboy crush
Started carrying her books
And doing lots of drugs
I almost forgot who I was
But I came to my senses

Now I'm trying to be assertive
I'm making plans
Going to rise to the occasion, yeah
Meet all their demands
But all I do is just lay in bed
And hide under the covers

Yeah, I know I should be brave
But I'm just too afraid of all this change

And it's too hard to focus
Through all this doubt
I keep making these to-do lists
But nothing gets crossed out
Working on the record seems pointless now
When the world ends, who's gonna hear it?

But I'm trying to take some comfort
In written words
Yeah, Tim, I heard your album
And it's better than good
When we get off tour I think we should
Hang and black out together

Because I been feeling sentimental
For days gone by
All the summers singing, drinking, my friend
Wasting our time
Remember all the songs and the way we smiled
In those basements made of music

But now I've got to crawl to get anywhere at all
I'm not as strong as I thought

So when I'm lost in a crowd
I hope that you'll pick me out
How I long to be found
The grass grew high, I laid down
Now I'm waiting for a hand
To lift me up, help me stand
I've been laying so low
Don't want to lay here no more

Don't want to lay here no more
Don't want to lay here no more
Don't want to lay here no more

Everything that happens
Is supposed to be
And it's all predetermined
Can't change your destiny
Guess I'll just keep moving
Someday maybe I'll get to where I'm going



Lyrics submitted by PLANES

Track duration: 04:34


Nothing Gets Crossed Out song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:I am not as strong as i thought.
    Flag ICURAQT2426on February 16, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:what i got from this song in a lyrical form :),

    They always told me i got be anything i wanted to be,
    But we're all fixed to fate, you see,
    You can't change your destiny,
    It's still possible to make your life glow,
    Just gotta' smile at all those people you don't know.
    Flag teabeanon January 08, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song has a lot of meaning to it. i simply love conor oberst, he is a genius, and no one could or will compare to him. i could listen to this song ovver and over again, because you can somewhat relate to it, because he write alot of songs based on "life experiences" not dumb stuff like most popular artist do.
    "Everything that happens
    Is supposed to be
    And it's all predetermined
    Can't change your destiny
    Guess I'll just keep moving
    Someday maybe I'll get to where I'm going"

    those lines, basically tells the truth, you can't really change what is going to come along your path. and for whatever does, you simply have to deal with it and just keep moving on, and perhaps get to where you want to be. <3
    Flag priscillajennon September 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Although he would never state it explicitly in a song, I think it's likely Conor has a lot of experience with depression. This song is probably the closest depiction to the feelings and thoughts of a depressive phase that I've heard.

    "Well the future's got me worried
    Such awful thoughts"

    One symptom of depression is excessive doubt and deflated self-esteem.

    "My head's a carousel of pictures
    The spinning never stops"

    Depression often makes it difficult to formulate cogent thoughts. It can cause very muddled thinking, hence the carousel.

    "Like when I fell under the weight
    Of a schoolboy crush
    Started carrying her books
    And doing lots of drugs"

    It's common to lose one's own discretions in a depressive phase. I think the official diagnosis says something about a higher likelihood of drug use and higher likelihood of risky sexual encounters.

    "But all I do is just lay in bed
    And hide under the covers"

    Depression leads to excessive sleep.

    "And it's too hard to focus
    Through all this doubt"

    Once again the difficulty to formulate thoughts.

    "I keep making these to-do lists
    But nothing gets crossed out
    Working on the record seems pointless now"

    A lot of diagnostic tests ask if you make lists to try to accomplish simple tasks. I have personal experience with this.

    "But now I've got to crawl to get anywhere at all
    I'm not as strong as I thought"

    I've felt exactly likely this when I had depressive phases. It's difficult to accomplish very simple daily things.

    "I've been laying so low
    Don't want to lay here no more
    Don't want to lay here no more
    Don't want to lay here no more
    Don't want to lay here no more"

    Once again, it can be difficult to even get out of bed.

    He seems to hint at depression in a lot of his songs. Of course, you can never be certain with subtext in lyrics, but here some other songs that seem to hint at it: Bowl of Oranges; Lua; Waste of Paint; Laura Laurent; and Sunrise, Sunset (this one explicitly mentions manic depression and the title probably refers to it).
    Flag HartleyHon March 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The lyrics just blow me away.
    I remember in 7th grade I was listening to this and I loved it more than anything!
    I woner if Conor knows how talented he is?



    "Everything that happens
    Is supposed to be
    And it's all predetermined
    Can't change your destiny
    Guess I'll just keep moving
    Someday maybe I'll get to where I'm going " - like he's explaing how he feels he has no say in life, or he feels not knowing what will happen is the same as not having a say really. earlier when he says "don't wanna lay here no more" - he wants to know where he is headed in life
    Flag tayloristallon December 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The last part means the most to me. Especially the last line. This song to me talks about not wanting to be alone.. to be brave and come out of your comfort zone. But the last part, it says that you don't always get what you want, but everything happens for a reason.
    Flag lla07on November 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the girl's voice is pretty but it doesn't really fit the song for the first few verses. then it gets better as the song goes on.
    on a side-note, i love this song!
    Flag othatzsokewlon August 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"When we get off tour I think we should
    Hang and black out together"

    Those lines just hit me hard.
    Flag walkintotheseaon August 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I always go "urgh>_<" when listening to this song.
    Yet I listen to it again and again.
    Why the heck is it so addictive.
    Flag happyfauston May 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:SUCH good lyrics. Especially the last lines.
    Flag missmeon March 15, 2009   Link

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