In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I listen to you for hours, I'll listen all day
Just keep hitting me the right way
Sing your song in the shower
Cause you got a way
To say what I can never say right, right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong
I won't say your name
But you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
You don't get played on the radio
That's not the game you play
Well I don't care anyway
I glued your tape in the stereo
So I know every word, every note
And every chord is right, right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong feel like nothing's wrong
I won't say your name
You know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say thank you for playing the
Way you play
Did you know you're why I go
And waste my time
At a rock and roll show
You let me know I'm not alone
You make me feel strong, make me feel strong,
Feel like nothing's wrong
I won't say your name, you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Just keep hitting me the right way
Sing your song in the shower
Cause you got a way
To say what I can never say right, right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong
I won't say your name
But you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
You don't get played on the radio
That's not the game you play
Well I don't care anyway
I glued your tape in the stereo
So I know every word, every note
And every chord is right, right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong feel like nothing's wrong
I won't say your name
You know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say thank you for playing the
Way you play
Did you know you're why I go
And waste my time
At a rock and roll show
You let me know I'm not alone
You make me feel strong, make me feel strong,
Feel like nothing's wrong
I won't say your name, you know who you are
I'll never be the same again now, no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Lyrics submitted by x_melancholy_x
Thank You Lyrics as written by Chris Harford Barry Stringfellow
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
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.
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.
This song is obviously not a metaphor of any kind. Listen to any other Descendents song, they always use clear and concise up front thoughts. Never do they try to hide meanings behind complicated words. This song is about a band that had more influence on him than on any other. I love this song.
I was just thinking along the same lines... because for me, this song is about the Descendents.
alot of people get into music just because of one person who inspired them. I'm betting this was written about someone who really inspired him. I know there are musicians I feel this way about, so I'm not sure there's any further meaning that needs found. Milo's fairly straightforward almost always.
It's about a lot of bands. Any band that inspires, really. Karl wrote it and used to yell out different band names when they would play "Thank You." A few of the bands names mentioned were The Last, X, and Black Flag among others. I figure it's just a general shout out to the feeling you get when you really love a band.
anyone know who karl wrote this about?
i think its just about how punk rock kids feel about punk rock bands. like they speak for them and stuff. that's how i feel. fuck yeah. thank you for playing the way you play.
how do you know they didnt write it about a band they heard? who did they write this about?
A love song in two ways. The obvious one is about music. Listening to your favorite band or song and wanting to thank whoever wrote it because of the joy it brings you. The other is about a girl, only told through the metaphor or music. "Thank you for playing the way you play" could be about a girl who pushes all of your buttons in all of the right ways and makes you feel teriffic. Just listen to it and you can see it both ways.
This has to be one of the best songs ever. I love it.
That's a great thought, the whole song being a metaphor for a girl, Tupac style. I always thought it was about a song/band that is really personal to him and he can totally relate to, we all have those bands. For me it's The*Ataris and has been for years, if I were to write a song about them this would be it, "Cause you got a way To say what I can never say right - right on" He's just said the exact thing I'd say for this song!