Everything is quiet, Since you're not around,
And I live in the numbness now.
In the background.
I do the things we did before,
I walk Haight Street to the store,
And they say where's that crazy girl?

You don't get drunk on red wine, and fight no more,
'Cause I don't see you anymore,
Since the hospital,
But the plans I make still have you in them,
Then you come swimming into view,
And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do,
The words they use so lightly, I only feel for you,
I only know this because I carry you around,
In the background.

Words they come and memories all repeat,
I lift your head while,
They change the hospital sheets,
I would never lie to you, No
I would never lie to you, No
I felt you long after we were through.
And the plans I make still have you in them,
Cause you come swimming into view,
And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do,
The words they use so lightly, I only feel for you,
I only know this because I carry you around,
In the background.



Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget

Track duration: 04:57

"The Background" as written by Stephan/cadogan Jenkins

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


The Background song meanings
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93 Comments

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  • 0
    Song Meaning:In a recent interview with Stephan Jenkins, he mentions that most of the album is about the same girl...and yes, she had problems...alcohol, drugs, etc. But to clear up the "hospital" part, that everyone is talking about, the girl was actually in there because she was raped is what Jenkins said. He wouldn't and didn't want to disclose the name of girl that has affected him so much.
    Flag tobeytyleron January 22, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:instead of relating, i just really appreciate the sounds and the story telling. Makes me think of saving someone. I adore this song. This song is happy (my opinion) i think it tells of a story of just how great it is to impact a person's life. The backround to me represents a special relationship... full of history and good times, bad experiences. You come swimming into view.... such a sweet line... Subtly making a positive impression on someone who you relate to! All I can do is think of people who pop in and out of your life... Best part is the background.
    Flag Ahourstoryon October 16, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i didnt even re read these lyrics because i know this song and it really makes my heart just hurt. it brings back a time when i lost someone and didnt know what to do with myself.. this song just straight up says i miss u and im haunted by your love.. i do the things we used to do but now i do it alone. i cant see you anymore but somehow i still feel you here even though your gone. this person just carries someone they loved with them everywhere they go....even though hes singing about someone in a hospital at a certain part its still easy to relate to. i saw these guys in concert last summer up in ohio... theyre more amazing live than audio!! <3
    Flag dlareme1112on April 08, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about loving someone so much that you plan your whole life around the fact that you will always be with them. Your lives are so intertwined that if they leave you, you don't really know how to cope or fully come to terms with the notion that they will no longer be involved in your plans or decisions. You can't even think about loving someone else, and so all of the things you've planned-kids, owning a house, traveling, even daily activities-you still think about doing with this person.

    The most beautiful line in this song is "the words they use so lightly, I only feel for you." It gets me every time.
    Flag jxnxax3dxveon April 06, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song reminds me of a friend i have. he was truly in love with this girl. they had a great relationship. they are both great people. then she got sick, to the point where being in and out of the hospital started to become a regular occurrence. he didn't mind, as long as he was with her. she got a little better, but started changing her attitude for some reason.

    they broke up, but he never stopped loving her. he went through this self-destructive phase. after a year or so, they started talking again. they were starting to get closer to each other. then she died. he was heartbroken, and will always think of her. she is always in the background.
    Flag genomanxon November 12, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I definitely agree with the whole "girl being dead/ in a coma" theory, especially "I lift your head, while they change the hospital sheets/ I don't see you anymore/ Since the hospital" part. This is one of the stand-out songs on the album for me, and probably my favorite non-single. I love 3eb!
    Flag NirvanaKOLStrokesfantasticon July 14, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Memory:When I first started listening to 3EB a lot I kind of skipped over this song for some reason, but when I finally really listened to it I realized how great it is. At the time I was going through a really rough patch, and these lines touched me the most; this song still makes me tear up when I listen to it closely.

    And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do
    The words they use so lightly
    I only feel for you
    I only know because I, carry you around in the background

    To me this song is about someone important to you leaving and not realizing at all just how much their actions and words affect you.

    The plans I make still have you in them
    'Cause you come swimming into view
    And I'm hanging on your words like I always used to do

    Even after a long time has passed, you still miss them, and when they do happen to show up every now and then it's like the wound reopens, and they don't even realize they're hurting you.

    That's just what I get out of this song. I know I might be taking the parts that matched with my life out of context, but it's still an amazingly powerful song.
    Flag savvysmileson June 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Honestly, I'm of the mind that 3EB song meanings aren't what's merely on the surface. I personally think it's a botched relationship, with the hospital reference either being about a child they lost en-utero through either drug use or accident, causing her to leave abruptly, or about the more metaphorical meaning of the hospital being where ailments are cured or where they fester unto death, with THAT being representative of their relationship dying and her vanishing without a trace. The lines saying that he knew it was over before they were through kinda portends to them breaking up while both parties were there, alive and well. I almost see this as where the song Blinded leaves off, and their story of one messed up relationship finally ends.
    Flag Obscureintentionson June 04, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Here's my take. Obviously about a guy and the girl he lost. But my difference is that they were in love and broke up, probably over something stupid. THEN...something happens to her bad enough to be in the hospital and i think she is in a coma. This brings him back to her and he feels the sting of having someone that he loves in such shape knowing she probably won't make it and that he should never have left her in the first place. he is probably feeling guilty, wanting to change the past and now all he has are memories. the ones that play over and over in your mind as you carry on with the rest of your life. hence, in the background.
    Flag wankmanon November 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I have always thought of this song as being inspired by the same situation that inspired "Wounded" (making Wounded a squeal). Both songs seem to be about some sort of sudden trauma happening to the women that throws the relationship with the narrator into doubt. I'm not sure why I connected these two songs so strongly before examining the lyrics, but I did from the first time I heard "Wounded", long before learning the women in that song is a recovering rape victim.

    In spite of my emotional response to connect both songs, common themes tie them together as well. Common elements in both songs include indirect references to some sort of traumatic event, third parties inquiring as to the absence of the women, and a general sense of two formerly close people who's lives are drifting away from each other due to circumstances outside their control.

    So, while there's a lot of room to interpret individual lyrics of this song, my money is on this being inspired by the same real life events as "Wounded."
    Flag akagoldfishon August 13, 2010   Link

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