I love "If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd take you where nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn"...I'm still trying to figure out what it means.

I also think that "we both pull the tricks out of our sleeves" is the most powerful line in the song. And what I got from that is that we both do sly things in relationships. It's not really all ones fault when theres a breakup

I read through the first two pages before giving up to see if someone had posted this. But to me, "if i could take the fire out from the wire" evokes the image of a bomb, with the fire burning through the wire before an explosion. Someone way early on said (though they heard "water") it sounded like if he could get rid of his shyness, which was basically right on line with what I take from this. Maybe more to do with anxiety than just shyness, but yeah, thought I'd share that.

Who made the first one? Sunset or Wolf?

Who made the first one? Sunset or Wolf?

I see this song as talking about the selfishness of love. He wants to take her where no one else gets to see her beauty.
I'd take you where nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn
Said nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn

Its evident in the music video about a colonial era duelist who feels the need to kill anyone he sees with a girl he wants.

I really think this is just a cynical rant about society. Everyone's so apathetic about the other 6 billion people around them on the planet. Some people will just believe anything to make some money or satisfy their selfish needs: religious fundamentalists, closed minded voters, closed minded people in general, ignorant westerners, etc etc, everyone. pretty much nobody "gives a damn".

"And now I'll believe in anything
You'll believe in anything
Because nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn anyway"

Beautiful.

The part of the song that really struck me was this. It feels like he's talking to a loved one who's beaten down from tattered self-esteem from what other people think and has turned to drugs/alcohol to escape her depression.


And I could take another hit for you
(He's willing to take the "hit" from the mental/physical abuse from the outside world)
And I could take away your trips from you
(Maybe drug trips?, get her to step away)
And I could take away the salt from your eyes
(Wiping away her tears)
And take away the spitting salt in you
(make her stop yelling and being angry at the rest of the world)
And I could give you my apologies
(He apologizes for what other people have done to her in the past, so she won't have anything to be angry about anymore)
By handing over my neologies
(Giving her a new start, or more optimistic view on things)
And I could take away the shaking knees
(From anger, from drugs, from everything)
And I could give you all the olive trees
(Olive trees are typically a symbol of happiness and peacefulness, he's trying to help her find peace in her tumultuous life)
Oh look at the trees and look at my face
And look at a place far away from here
(He's telling her to look at him and this new world around her for hope, and they can start over somewhere new)

Best song!

I think the wire in "If I could take the fire out from the wire" refers to his relationships with other people - friends, family etc. At the moment he can't run away with his lover because they are attached to this wire.
Also, I guess the fire in the wire is the emotions and feelings he has for these people and these are what are keeping attached to the wire. If only he could get rid of the fire, he and his lover could break free of the wire and share a life together - where "nobody knows you and knowbody gives a damn"

However, the more I look at it, the more meanings it could have. It could simply be about someone who wants to hide away with someone they love or, as Joancaroline says, protect and heal someone who is damaged in some way. Either way I believe the central theme is love

sounds like 10th grade<3

(nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn)

<3

Best song!!!! hehe

Best song!!!! hehe

Has anyone else thought that in the first half of the song he is saying
"I'll believe anything
you'll believe in anything"

and at the end he changes it to
"I'll believe in anything
you'll believe in anything"

I actually created an account to post my interpretation of this song, because I think this song is so touching because it's deeper than the superficial "boy loves girl" interpretation it seems to be receiving.

As depressing as it is, I interpret the entire song as a liberating cry of escape for someone who is terminally ill in a hospital. From the start, if anyone has ever been with a patient under those circumstances, the opening electronic melody sounds exactly like an EKG machine, measuring someone's erratic heartbeat. There are a number of references throughout to suffering from a debilitating disease, including the knees, being able to bravely walk around on both legs, etc.

"Give me your eyes, I need sunshine, Your blood, your bones, your voice, and your ghost" I think is spoken by whomever is laying in the hospital bed, a plea for the singer to stay with them because essentially all hope is lost at this point. The singer's healthy blood, bones, voice and ghost all bring the patient 'sunshine."

"Look at the trees, look at my face, look at a place far away from here..." "Where nobody knows you, and nobody gives a damn." For someone suffering from a terminal illness, they can start to feel defined by the hospital, by the healthcare, by the pity and the sadness of what's wrong with them. The speaker in the song is basically saying that he wants to take the patient away from the suffering and the hospital in which they've been trapped so that they can live the rest of what life they have free of oppressing worry.

"If I could take the fire out from the wire, I'd share a life and you'd share a life" - I think the narrator is basically saying that he'd give up half his life if only that'd help the patient live, who is probably on life support at this point, which could be creatively described by "fire" in a "wire."

The line "I'll believe in anything, if you'll believe in anything" is easily the most heartwrenching in the entire song. To me, it is indicative of the last hope they share of being able to find some kind of miracle cure, when they both know that's not going to happen. It's like when you say ironically "Anything's possible, I suppose..." This interpretation is further supported by the "Wait for the scary day, We both pull the tricks out of our sleeves" line... I can't see "Wait for the scary day" being interpreted as anything BUT the day the patient will die. The patient's 'trick' will be death and the singer's trick will be trying to cope.

It's a heartbreaking song, and one that touches me and brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. It might actually be one of my favorite songs of all time, because although it focuses on an extremely depressing topic, it offers the liberating hope of reconciliation in the knowledge that both the singer and the patient can find happiness and freedom in those last moments, though they are too aware of impending tragedy.

i love the fact that it sounds an awful like pow wow music :)

If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd share a life and you'd share a life
If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd share a life and you'd share a life
If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd take you where nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn
I said nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn

this part right here reminds me a lot of the postal service's brand new colony:

I want to take you far
From the cynics in this town
And kiss you on the mouth
We'll cut our bodies free
From the tethers of this scene
Start a brand new colony
Where everything will change
We'll give ourselves new names
(Identities erased)
The sun will heat the ground
Under our bare feet
In this brand new colony

i think in both of these songs they are portraying how strongly they feel about someone and how they wish they could just get away from everyone and all of their judgement, and to start a new life together.

i think both songs are unbelievably romantic.

I think the song is just about a very strong young love. They are nieve so they believe anything they hear. When he says "give me your eyes, i need sunshine" maybe she is more nieve than he is and wants to see how much brighter and happier things seem to her. He just wants everything about her in the way of love, and also because of her view. the "if i could take the fir out from the wire" thing, wire is all around of for forms of comunication with the rest of the world, so maybe it means he want to take away all the painful things that are said between people,althought i cant exactly figure out how that relates to the sharing life. and just the part about taking them somewhere where no one knows you and know one gives a damn is about getting away from it all and just being there in the presant together without any disturbances of the outside world

The song may be about how an ex-lover is trying to get back together with their TRUE love. He/she messed up and he/she changed and the lover should believe them, although they've said this before. POWERful.

I think this song is a good example of all the art that can be interpreted in so many ways depending on its audience. The more ambiguous pieces can be left up to interpretation and that can be ultimately more touching to the consumer.

I've always heard this song as a bitter-sweet love song.

Olive branches are typically an emblem of peace. To give someone all the olive trees sounds like a desperate attempt at peace-making.

I've also always heard (and read) "If I could take the fire out from the water" not "from the wire" like most people seem to hear. But both can be explained similarly, from what I understand the song to mean:
Taking fire from water sounds pretty difficult, if not impossible, considering the two elements are opposites. The singer sounds like he is giving this impossible condition as if it were an actual option. Again, he seems to be grasping for any idea in an act of desperation.
If one considers the "fire" to be the same as electricity in the "wire", on the other hand, to take the fire out would render it useless, or at least not "live" in the sense that it could do any (more?) damage.

So when considering my above interpretations and adding a few other details (below) this song really sounds like a desperate attempt to get a firm grip on something that keeps dribbling between the singer's fingers.

"And I could take away the salt from your eyes" - sounds like making someone cry (that's how the salt comes out, right?)

"And take away the spitting salt in you" - "in you" means it's not yet out

"And I could give you my apologies" - either expecting to fail or apologizing for all the past failures


Finally, taking someone away to a place where "nobody gives a damn" implies there's some sort of history there worth running away from.



Whatever the actual meaning of the song is, it is powerful and I'm so glad to see other people are as in love with it as I am.

the lyric is

" and i could give you my apologies
by handing over all the olive trees"

i wish it was by handing over ideologies because i like it more, and i dont like rhyming words with the same word, but if you listen to the version of ill believe in anything by sunset rubdown, which predates this one, there are two olive tree lines at the same part of the song, so i think it must be:

"by handing over all the olive trees"

if you listen closely theres no "n" sound, so it isnt neologies, and theres no d sound either.

in the sunset rubdown song the lyric is:

" and i could take away your shaky knees
and i could give you all the olive trees
i could give you all the olive trees
i could take away your shaky knees"

im thankful to everyone who commented. Its awesome to see explanations about such an awesome song.
at some parts this is probably the most divine sounding song i've ever listened to.


1 Reply

I've read over some of the other comments and I just thought to add my perspective on this song. Sorry if I repeat anything that anyone else has mentioned.

I don't think this song is about love. I think it's about living in a crazy world where the rules don't make much sense but the speaker and the person he is referring to accept it and are both barely getting through life.

"Give me your eyes
I need sunshine
Give me your eyes
I need sunshine
Your blood, your bones
Your voice, and your ghost"
I'm not too sure on this part. I think that he's asking for a different perspective on his world where there isn't much to look forward to ('sunshine').


"We've both been very brave
Walk around with both legs
Wait for the scary day
We both pull the tricks out of our sleeves"

The speaker and the person he's talking to both face the world head on. When a challenge approaches them they 'pull the trick out of their sleeves' and manage to get out. I guess by "pulling tricks out of our sleeves" he means that they don't actually confront the scary day but avoid it (a temporary solution).


"But I'll believe in anything
And you'll believe in anything
Said I'll believe in anything
And you'll believe in anything"

Even though the speaker knows the world is crazy and the person knows the world is crazy they continue to live on, accepting it. The music video illustrates this by showing 16th century England and how 'honour' goes above all and one must confront the other in a duel if that honour is breached. When the main character in the video disrespected the other men (by taking their girl or trashing the place) the others were forced into duels that resulted in one of their deaths. It's a stupid way to die but they believe in it.


"If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd share a life and you'd share a life
If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd share a life and you'd share a life
If I could take the fire out from the wire
I'd take you where nobody knows you
And nobody gives a damn"

I think "take the fire out from the wire" is a metaphor for a spark on a fuse. If he could stop the aggression and tension by stopping the spark on the wire then there wouldn't be a need for the senseless killing. Both of them could coexist ("I'd share a life and you'd share a life"). The "I'd take you where... nobody gives a dam" is a continuation of that thought.

The bridge where he goes on saying "And I could take another hit for you...look at a place far away from here" I think is a continuation from "I'd take you where nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn". This is because he starts off the sentence with "And". Also, if it stood on its own the bridge would contradict the verse because here he is stating all sorts of control has on the world where as before he said they were barely getting by. The "I could take away the trips from you" part could be a reference to going off to war and I'm pretty sure its referring to the 'scary days'. So it is saying that he could stop the violence in his world and make it perfect if there wasn't any aggression.



Things i don't get:
- Again, the part that asks for blood, bones and ghost.
- Where he says "nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn". I have a feeling he's just continuing the "if I could take the fire out of the wire" part but I'm not sure if he's actually saying nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn.



Kay that's just my point of view on the song. lol and i don't expect you to read all that but i'd feel honoured if you did anyways.

"If I could take the fire out from the wire, I'd share a life and you'd share a life"

I think that the meaning of this line is pretty clear once you see it from a certain point of view.

The "wire" is the nerve cells in his brain. The "fire" is the pulses of electricity that compose his soul/self/ego etc in his brain. He is talking about trying to achieve a disembodied state so that he can actually inhabit the same physical space as his beloved. Of course, this also has the undertones of suicidal thoughts.

i think this song is about a guy who's in love with a girl who is about to become a human sacrifice. everyone knows her and her name bc she's going to save the tribe with her death. he needs her blood and her bones more than the tribe does. i think the lyric is actually `if i could take the fire out from the *water*`, something that sounds miraculous and thus could convince the tribe to spare her life. he wants to take her somewhere where nobody knows her and nobody gives a damn so she won't get sacrificed. of course, the `scary day` is the day of the ceremony.

i am thinking this song is about a guy who's in love with a girl who's going to become a human sacrifice.

* he is asking for her blood and bones because he loves her, as opposed to the tribe, who want her blood and bones to appease their gods.
* being brave & waiting for the scary day is waiting for the day of the ceremony
* the tricks from their sleeves are their ideas for escape
* believing in anything is a punny double-entendre referring to the beliefs of the tribe, as well as their own foolish hopes for escape
* i think he's saying `if i could take the fire from the water', a reference to something miraculous that could appease the tribesmen and thus save her life, thus enabling them to share their lives together. Everyone knows her because the human to be sacrificed was greatly revered and respected.

admittedly i'd have to think some to figure out the best part of the song (`i could take another hit for you...') but i think it works. and its way more interesting than drug addicts or whatever.

It's a love song to somebody who for whatever reason the narrator isn't along to publicly be with, so he's suggesting they forget all their connections there and just run away together. Seems simple enough, despite the 100+ comments. I think the scary day is when the two of them finally admit they're in love. Other than that, every line seems to say "I'll make sure bad stuff goes away, baby, let's get outta here, grrrrl."