Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Change
Everything you are
And everything you were
Your number has been called
Fights, battles have begun
Revenge will surely come
Your hard times are ahead
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Change
Everything you are
And everything you were
Your number has been called
Fights and battles have begun
Revenge will surely come
Your hard times are ahead
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Don't
Let yourself down
Don't let yourself go
Your last chance has arrived
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Everything you are
And everything you were
Your number has been called
Fights, battles have begun
Revenge will surely come
Your hard times are ahead
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Change
Everything you are
And everything you were
Your number has been called
Fights and battles have begun
Revenge will surely come
Your hard times are ahead
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Don't
Let yourself down
Don't let yourself go
Your last chance has arrived
Best
You've got to be the best
You've got to change the world
And you use this chance to be heard
Your time is now (your time is now)
Lyrics submitted by Willowbear
Butterflies and Hurricanes Lyrics as written by Matthew James Bellamy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
You know the guitar before the piano? That is the Chaos. The Hurricanes. The piano beats out the guitar, right? The piano is Hope. The Butterflies. This is Muse's optimistic view on the matter. We must work together and bond so the world doesn't go down in flames. Put our races, culture, our differences aside or the guitar will win over the piano. Chaos over Hope. Hurricanes and Butterflies. Not Butterflies and Hurricanes. Know the difference. Live the difference.
@missymuse totally disagree!!! The guitar is the butterfly, the hope, the free spirit; so beautiful. the piano comes in with a force of the hurricane, the chaos that kicks ass! and then the butterfly waits for it to pass and brings peace to the world again "your time is now"
I think this song is more pessimistic than motivational. I think the "change everything you are" parts mean that the only way you can do well is if you change yourself. He says "you've got to be the best, you've got to change the world", which I think shows the pressure people are put under, of others or even themselves telling them they've got to be the best. It's like the narrator is taunting the person, or is their internal monologue, telling them they've got to change themself and they've got to be better, which suggests they're not good enough as they are. "Your time is now" and "your number has been called" could show how short life is and how everyone feels the need to "change the world" but they don't have enough time to do it. "Don't let yourself down, don't let yourself go", is saying that even though they have to change to be successful, they still have to be true to themself, which is a contradiction and shows how it's impossible to take everything on your shoulders and ry to change the world. I think this song is abou having such wild ambitions and putting yourself under so much pressure to rach unattainable goals.
You've got the right idea, great analysis :)
@frostiron thank you!
@frostiron i dont know if pessimistic, but a wake up call for us, to be ourselves, to love what and who we want, to do what we want and choose our path. we have to accept the differences of each other, they complete us. there is a saying that one butterfly can create a hurricane with its wings in the other side of the planet, the good needs the bad in order we will appreciate it. <br /> I loved reading what U wrote.
@frostiron i dont know if pessimistic, but a wake up call for us, to be ourselves, to love what and who we want, to do what we want and choose our path. we have to accept the differences of each other, they complete us. there is a saying that one butterfly can create a hurricane with its wings in the other side of the planet, the good needs the bad in order we will appreciate it. <br /> I loved reading what U wrote.
@frostiron i dont know if pessimistic, but a wake up call for us, to be ourselves, to love what and who we want, to do what we want and choose our path. we have to accept the differences of each other, they complete us. there is a saying that one butterfly can create a hurricane with its wings in the other side of the planet, the good needs the bad in order we will appreciate it. <br /> I loved reading what U wrote.
So Damn powerful, i listen and feel such an urgent sense of need. it inspires so much hope in me, that we're not all crazed killers or rapists or shameless advertisers, it gives me hope in the human race, and soon we'll change thing's.
Ah, yes. If only more bands could know how to read too. This band is part of a dying race.
You got that right!
Absolute(y) see what I dd there...however much I agree, don't rule out Radiohead for literacy, they are on a par
This song is about taking action to be better, NOW. Whatever you need to change, CHANGE IT, even if it means changing everything you are. It also asks you to change who you were, dont let your past keep you from being who you can be. JUST CHANGE...break any chains. You've got to be the best version of you that you can dream of.
The title Butterflies and Hurricanes refers to the famous quote "when a butterfly flaps its wings in one place, it can create a hurricane in another part of the world".
Every action causes a reaction and that reaction causes another reaction. Each and everyone of us, can change. And maybe the one thing you change in your self, can start a chain of events that in the end changes the world and saves it. Maybe a small change you make in your life inspires someone to make a bigger change and so forth. One small change can have so many unplanned for repercussions and can make all the difference. Just such an inspiring idea full of hope and faith in each of us.. MUSE sing the whole song to YOU.
Change everything your are Dont let yourself down You've got to change the world Your time is NOW.
I made an account just to reply to this post, haha. I see how this song could be interpreted in several ways and that's part of its greatness. However agree with your interpretation 100%! It feels great to see the song made some else feel the same way
This song is everything
Its like a head-on collision between burbling electronics, techno space rock operatics, a behemothic string colossus with a monstrous Rachmaninovian piano interlude.
To me it's the music of the future, it's asking questions about the universe, it's translating the language of chaos so humans can understand that this is our chance to change the world, that tiny insignificant events (like the repeated D at the beginning of the song) can flourish into the phenomenal hugeness of the beautiful piano solo and the song's massive conclusion.
It's all about casuation and change, it's apocalyptic and terrible, but at the same time it's giving us a chance. This is our time, our time is NOW.
"Your number has been called" It's like you've been chosen to fight in this epic and final battle, it's filmic and heroic, but maybe its suggesting a future society where we will all have numbers, and will have to struggle against each other to "be the best."
It forecasts a huge and climatic end to everything, but far from conveying gloominess it's fantastic and heart-attack inducing. I saw this live at Earls Court. At the end, we all fell over. -:-
"...but maybe its suggesting a future society where we will all have numbers, and will have to struggle against each other to 'be the best.'"<br /> <br /> I'm pretty sure that's right now in a US capitalist society at least (odds are in the UK too). We've got social security numbers. A number that is our identity on all official forms, basically.
Would it be wrong to say that Matt is GOD?!? The piano interlude is one of the most breathtaking things that I've heard. He is so incredibly talented...GAH. It's so hott. I just love how they incorperate the classical piano into thier music. Georgous. Really. I go into a wierdo trippy trance when I listen to this song.
Lol. for the first time, a Radiohead fan who appreciates Muse. You rock!
To me this song is about achieving a grand personal goal. But it's kind of mocking it somehow... I don't know, it's just like when he sings "best, you've got to be the best, you've got to change the world" the music makes me feel like it's more about the anxiety of not being the best and telling yourself that you HAVE TO be the Best. "Your hard times are ahead" also has a lot of anxiety in it. Not to mention "Don't let yourself down Don't let yourself go Your last chance has arrived" It's scary thoughts. In some situations they're true.
I agree with chaos theory thing. But, I don't know why, but I associate this song with a kind of heaven. Where angels or whatever you want to call it are about to be borned in this world. So, the lyrics would be like the last words you are going to receive of that place.
Especially this part.
"Change everything you are And everything you were Your number has been called
Fights and battles have begun Revenge will surely come Your hard times are ahead"
After like 2 years, still my guilty pleasure song!
@roohollah1 why guilty?