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Once divided...nothing left to subtract...
Some words when spoken...can't be taken back...
Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking...
Future's above...but in the past he's slow and sinking...
Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
She once believed...in every story he had to tell...
One day she stiffened...took the other side...
Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell...
One just escapes...one's left inside the well...
And he who forgets...will be destined to remember...oh...oh...oh...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
Oh, she don't want him...
Oh, she won't feed him...after he's flown away...
Oh, into the sun...ah, into the sun...
Burn...burn...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
Nothingman... (2x)
Coulda' been something...
Nothingman...
Oh...ohh...ohh...
Some words when spoken...can't be taken back...
Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking...
Future's above...but in the past he's slow and sinking...
Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
She once believed...in every story he had to tell...
One day she stiffened...took the other side...
Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell...
One just escapes...one's left inside the well...
And he who forgets...will be destined to remember...oh...oh...oh...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
Oh, she don't want him...
Oh, she won't feed him...after he's flown away...
Oh, into the sun...ah, into the sun...
Burn...burn...
Nothingman... (2x)
Isn't it something?
Nothingman...
Nothingman... (2x)
Coulda' been something...
Nothingman...
Oh...ohh...ohh...
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I have recently just cut off all contact with a man who almost succeeded in breaking me down and gaining control over me. When I first met him he was amazing and adored me. I have dated many men and I knew there was something special about him. He had the potential and capacity to love and cherish another and in there somewhere there still is that man. I was the one who initiated our relationship. I knew he was interested but I am confident enough to be the one to get the ball rolling and he knew that. I know he was flattered and happy because he didn't have the confidence to do it himself. He told me how much he admired me and that I was a beautiful person inside and out. I know he meant what he said and he was genuine but over time I started seeing him change. He got to where he would put me down and insult me and try to change me into his inferior and he could be the superior. He would accuse me of bizarre things that didn't make sense and lash out for no reason and blame me for it. He broke me down over time and strung me along like a love sick puppy dog. He would manipulate me and when I would stand up for myself he twisted his insults into constructive criticism and assured me he wouldn't tell me this stuff if he didn't care and to take it from someone I was "romantically involved" with. This made me believe him. Then he said all we had was a friendship and it really hurt me more than anything he had ever said or done to me. He talked to me like I was his enemy and I didn't understand why he would be so mean to me but demand he still wanted to see me. He told me to give him space because he was going through some stuff right now so I did. Shortly after that he liked some of my stuff I posted on fb and was having a lot more activity than usual and I saw it all. I was so hurt over the fact that he seemed happier without talking to me that I assumed he had moved on and deleted my account. Now that I have had some time to get my head clear, the rose colored glasses are slowly coming off and I realize what he was doing. He was intimidated by my confidence and was afraid of losing all control to me. His love of power overcame his power of love. I now have control over my life and took it away from him so I'm not sure what he thinks right now but I know I feel better.
This song explains my situation perfectly in my mind.
"Once divided and nothing left to subtract. Some words when spoken can't be taken back."
-He divided us as a bluff to get me to come crawling back to him so he could have control but I took that division and ran with it and set myself free, now there's nothing left he can take away from me. -The harsh words he said to me trying to break me down and make me feel as insecure as he is can't be taken back esp since he stated how he meant what he said and I started to believe him.
"Walks on his own with thoughts he can't help thinking. Future's above but in the past he's slow and sinking."
-He can finish his journey alone and reflect on how he lost something good and it's his entire fault. He has a future and he can make it better if he chooses but he can't let go of his past and it's destroying him from the inside out.
"Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go."
This is my favorite lyric of the whole song. I know many ppl on here have referred to this line as a man who had a great girl but wwere stupid enough to let her go and now he regrets it, and I agree because I feel that I am that bolt of lightning. I also agree with the comment below me. Yes, he had me, the bolt of lightning, an impossible catch because girls like me don't come along very often, and he let it go because he took me for granted and someday he will curse himself if he hasn't already. But he has let go of many things that could've made his future better.
"She once believed every story he had to tell. One day she stiffened she took the other side."
-I believed him when he told he cared abt me and that he was telling me these hurtful things to help make me into a better person because that is what he said. Soon I caught on and realized he was trying to break me down and control me and pull me down where he was, in his prison of his own petty insecurities and no sense of self worth. I hardened my feelings for him and took my side instead of his.
"Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell. One just escapes one's left inside the well."
-He pulled me into his prison with him and intended to keep me there so I could be just as miserable as he is, if not more. The distance he put between us in his own prison was in vain and we moved to the opposite sides, staring blankly at each other and I could see the emptiness behind his eyes when they were once full of life. I was finally able to escape and he is still down there alone.
"And he who forgets will be destined to remember."
-He lost sight of what was good and forgot how to love. His intentions became cruel and now he will one day be destined to remember the love he could have had and that he should have let himself love me back instead of letting his fear turn his heart cold.
"Oh she don't want him. Oh she won't feed him. Now that he's flown away."
-I don't want him back and I won't feed his hunger for power. I won't take him back and I won't give him the love I once did because he doesn't deserve it. He was the one who put the distance there and wouldn't let me get close because he was afraid and I thought he had moved on so I cut him off. Really, his insecurities are his chains that keep him from spreading his wings and setting himself free from his prison.
"Oh into the sun ah into the sun."
-I see that the song has this line paired with the line "now that he's flown away" but I hear it differently. In my case he hasn't flown away. He is stuck in his prison cell and I am the one who escaped and flew away. Now I am free and headed towards the sun. The future for me is bright.
He is nothingman and he could've been something, could've had something great and worthwhile but now he is empty handed. He could have been loved unconditionally because I did and he knew that but instead of nurturing me with love and kindness in return, he beat me down and tried to cage me up. He tried to make it to where I wouldn't realize how shitty he is and leave him. Little did he know that I saw that he had some issues that needed to be dealt with and I saw his insecurities, but I saw the man I fell for and I knew he was still in there somewhere. Instead of using his insecurities against him like he did to me, I turned them positive and would make him feel good about himself because by him feeling good it made me feel good. He just used mine and made me feel bad because the love of power made him feel better, but it is an empty feeling that is backed up by nothing. His love of power overcame his power of love. He is nothingman.
I know this was long but I wanted to express what this song means to me and for ppl to understand and maybe to relate to someone else. Thank you for reading.
"Caught a bolt of lightning, cursed the day he let it go"
While the consensus of the entire song is correct re: loss, relationships, et al...Most comments about that lyric point to the "bolt of lightning" as "the girl who got away".
The lightning is not the woman. The lightning is our song's hero - his own life's promise and potential.
Just a humble musing from a dude on a true piece of art. -Phoenix-
Like some other interpretations here, my immediate thought upon listening to this song back in the day was that it and Betterman were two sides of the same coin: a dead relationship described from the perspective of the wife who can't/won't leave (Better Man) and the husband/man long after the relationship ended and he belatedly realises he is left with nothing worthwhile (Nothingman).
Moreover I always suspected this one might've been written from the POV of Eddie's detested step-father - but now realise it's just as likely a song of SELF-loathing and regret along the lines of another great PJ song, I Got Sh*t.
PJ bootleg junkies... check out the version on the monkeywrench radio broadcast bootleg... the album take is awesome of course but the radio bootleg is so heartfelt
Most powerful lyric I have ever heard. Whenever I listen to this song and that line starts, I hold my arm up with my fish clenched, but when Eddie gets to "let it go..." I open my fist up and spread my hand. This song is so heartfelt and beautiful.
This song is about the regret of leaving someone for nothing. I was in a long term relationship
through college and soon after we graduated, I let her go. I wanted to experience new things, new people. I cant help but sometimes think about what happen. She was very upset though she found resolution and moved on...I walked away without looking back but I look back now.. and I will always carry that burden. which is unresolved. "he who forgets is destined to remember"
"Once divided...nothing left to subtract"
-Once broken up there is nothing left
"Some words when spoken...can't be taken back
Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking"
-The regret
"Future's above...but in the past he's slow and sinking"
-The decision
"Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go"
-The mistake
"She once believed...in every story he had to tell"
-She admired him so
"One day she stiffened...took the other side
Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell
One just escapes...one's left inside the well"
-He left her without remorse, without even looking back. Left her there
"And he who forgets...will be destined to remember"
-But his actions now haunt him. The guilt and regret is eternal. The remorse is forever.
"Oh, she don't want him...
Oh, she won't feed him...after he's flown away"
-She wont come back. she has moved on.
And he realises it is he who is nothingman. Has nothing. Could have been something. Nothingman.