1
I want to live alone in the desert
I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Michael Jackson in Disneyland
Don't have to share it with nobody else
Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand
And lead me through the World of Self
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Don't want to wake up with no one beside me
Don't want to take up with nobody new
Don't want nobody coming by without calling first
Don't want nothing to do with you
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows
Lying down in the dark to dream
I don't want to see their faces
I don't want to hear them scream
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe
I want to live on the Upper East Side
And never go down in the street
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Michael Jackson in Disneyland
Don't have to share it with nobody else
Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand
And lead me through the World of Self
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Don't want to wake up with no one beside me
Don't want to take up with nobody new
Don't want nobody coming by without calling first
Don't want nothing to do with you
I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows
Lying down in the dark to dream
I don't want to see their faces
I don't want to hear them scream
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
Splendid Isolation
I don't need no one
Splendid Isolation
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!
chisb1, I respectully disagree: The whole song, to me, sounds like he's speaking to the woman he misses, telling her that he doesn't miss her (but obviously does).
He says he wants to be all alone and away from everyone, but he's speaking to someone ("Don't want nothing to do with you") - why would he talk to someone, if he didn't want to be around them?
In fact, that whole verse sounds to me as if he'd just broken up with someone and is trying to convince himself that he doesn't need anyone.
And the Disneyland verse...Who goes to Disneyland by themselves (besides MJ, of course)? I think he's trying to learn how to be alone (like MJ, in that verse).
This was originally written by the late, brilliant Warren Zevon of "Werewolves of London" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money" fame. It's about that feeling of wanting to be left alone. I believe Zevon went through a depression at one point in his life, and actually holed up in his room for a long time, eventually writing this about the experience. We've all felt that way at some point in our lives...just wanting to "lie down in the dark to dream".
To me this song is very much about a woman. At first it wasn't, but after listening to it many times it eventually clicked. To me it is as though he is attempting to tell himself that he wants to be by himself, but if he really wanted to be alone he wouldn't have to repeat it to himself over and over again in different ways. He wishes that he could enjoy solidarity, but he's a social animal and needs companionship. Furthermore the "Don't want nothing to do with you" shows that there is "you" making him want to hide from the world. <br /> <br /> "I want to live alone in the desert" is my favorite opening line to any song.
@bauble exactly. He's been dumped and the song is satire. Not sure why the downvotes.