when your mind is a mess
so is mine
i can't sleep
cause it hurts when i think
my thoughts aren't at peace
with the plans that we make
chances we take
they're not yours and not mine
there's waves that can break
all the words that we said
and the words that we mean
words can fall short
can't see the unseen
cause the world is awake
for somebody's sake now
please close your eyes
won't you please get some sleep?

and know that if i knew
all of the answers i would
not hold them from you
know all the things that i'd know
cause we told each other
there is no other way

well too much silence can be misleading
you're drifting, i can hear it
in the way that your breathing
we don't really need to find reason
cause out the same door
that it came, well it's leaving
leaving like a day that's done
and part of a season
resolve is just a concept
that's as dead as the leaves
but at least we can sleep
its all that we need
when we wake we will find
our minds will be free to go to sleep



Lyrics submitted by AllStarMe, edited by shadow064

Track duration: 03:10


No Other Way song meanings
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47 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:I feel like it's just about a long distance relationship. Maybe they're drifting away because every day they have less and less to talk about because they're so far apart. Drifting as a couple is something you can't really change from far away. Maybe they just couldn't take it anymore and there was no other way but to end things.

    ..Although couldn't tell you what the end of the song means.
    Flag bamorse1on August 19, 2011   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:I can seriously chillax to this motherfucker all day long!!! Great song!!
    Flag FreezeSukkaon March 26, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:Seems like everyone sees this differently and it'd sure be nice to know what Jack really meant by it.
    To me, it has ultimate relavence to those hours I spend lying awake in bed thinking about life and the world and why things are how they are. Seems like words always fall short of what I mean in my mind, which is another thing that crosses my mind at night. As for the part about the woman, he could be just sharing this with his significant other because she might understand. And it seems like even after all of the thinking at night and going over things in my head, in the morning, everythings renewed and it's back to the daily routine somewhat until those moments when I really analyze things and try to make sense of it all.
    Flag trednugon November 29, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:Jack Johnson plays such chill and relaxing music, but i don't think his lyrics mean anything. He is not a lyrical genius, but very relaxing music.
    Flag drumersruleon June 16, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:because of the line "resolve is a concept thats as dead as the leaves", he means that when things go too wrong, there is no way for a resolve to be truly reached, cause those things that went wrong will always have gone wrong. he then says "but then we can sleep" meaning even though we will always have to know that weve had some problems before, it is still possible to reach a resolve allowing us to live/but forget the past problems
    Flag halleluyahon July 09, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I read an interview with Jack Johnson and this is what he sid the song was about :::: "I was up real late one night, picked up the guitar. I was just playing real quietly and trying not to wake anyone up. It's about when you're having trouble sleeping just because there's too much on your mind. I just couldn't go to bed. So I picked up the guitar and wrote that song all in one night. It's basically about it being impossible to find resolve. Sometimes you want to resolve these thoughts in your head. And for me at least, it's best just to go to sleep sometimes. You wake up in the morning and everything seems better even though your whole world seems like it was dark and in a bad place the night before. It's probably my favorite song on the record. We might've done two or three takes on that one, but we used the first take because it had a real natural feel to it."
    Flag stepho914on April 14, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:It is so beautiful reading all of the meanings this song has to everyone! A good artist puts together artwork that means something to them but is expressed in a way that everyone can relate to, you are all right in what the song is about. It's about love, death, birth, re-birth. It has to be a good song to touch so many people in so many ways! I just discovered Jack Johnson about a year ago and I fell in love instantly! He is so eloquent with his words and the music is perfectly placed to add the right element of emotion to the song. I love his stuff! I did a bit of research though and the song is actually about two people who are in love but can't make thier relationship work, he says just take comfort in knowing that I care so much that if I did have the answers I would make this work but I don't and it's not either of our's fault, so rest easy we're still okay. So they are breaking up but remaining friends, I think it's awesome and it shows a huge amount of emotional maturity to have that level of understanding about humaness. Jack knows that humans are limited to their brains limits and thier emotional limits, he can't solve everything, but he can make a choice not to be resentful and bitter, and still care about her, what an amazing guy, good music and a good boyfriend, breaking up or not. But still it is wonderful to know that so many people are effected by this song because it is so powerful, it is a song about transition from the old to the knew and unknown and that is what everyone is writing about, just beautiful!
    Flag jenmiller0106on March 18, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I can listen to this song forever. And it really hits home because it's about me and my ex boyfriend.

    It's about a couple that drifted apart. They were very much in love, and still are but things can't work out at the present moment.. and there is no other way.

    The couple has just separated. They're lying in bed and their head is a mess because they are wondering if they made the right decision to break up. They're reflecting upon the promises made but are no longer going to happen.. they're just words in the past.

    If either knew life's answer to be happy.. they would share it with each other. This shows how they still love each other and deeply care for one another.

    In the end, they can't pinpoint it on any specific thing... they just know in their hearts that its over.

    However, time heals and there will be a day where both can once again go to sleep without their thoughts keeping them awake.

    "but at least we can sleep
    its all that we need
    when we wake we will find
    our minds will be free to go to sleep"

    ='(
    Flag LLnumber3on February 28, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I recently rediscovered this song after a couple years, and it has taken on a whole new meaning for me now. Jack Johnson's songs have always been special to my husband and I, and now this one seems to be describing the divorce that we're currently going through.

    "All the words that we said and the words that we mean
    Words can fall short, can't see the unseen..."

    Like all the promises we made to each other that seem to be falling short.

    "We don't really need to find a reason
    Cause out the same door that it came, well it's leaving
    It's leaving. Leaving like a day that's done..."

    I am inclined to agree with the others who think that this song describes the inevitable end of a deep relationship. Like us, it sounds like the couple in the song love each other very much but feel that at this point there's no other way.
    Flag askyouranalyston February 23, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:To me, the real focus of this song isn't on the person he is talking to; rather, its the message he's getting across. In a nutshell, I think he's relating that people think themselves silly struggling to find and/or apply meaning and reason to everything, and he's using the situation described in the song to get this across. Sometimes, we just don't need to think so much (go to sleep), and instead maybe relax a little and enjoy life because we never really know anything for sure.
    Flag MasonCon October 11, 2007   Link

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