I think this song is about seeing that someone you used to love when you're with someone new. You never really get over that past love, you just move on with your life.

"You're smaller than my wife imagined,
Surprised, you were human." - You talk about your past loves with your new one and that person builds them up in their mind, but when they finally met them they're like, "Oh, ok,."

Well, today my father in law passed away, and I just listened to this song again because a lot of what happened made me think of these lyrics. He died suddenly, and my wife and I woke up early from phone calls. The only real problem has been his labored breathing. It's a beautiful, sunny day, and the world hasn't stopped turning. We all still have jobs, and life will need to go on. I definitely don't feel the loss as strongly my wife and her family, but I couldn't help but find comfort in the song. It explains losing a loved one exactly.

I've always thought the song was about an estranged parent or sibling. "You're smaller than my wife imagined" refers to the way he had always described the person he lost to his wife. When we drift away from family, they become almost mythical in stature, and when we talk about them as if they were larger than life- they're either perfect or pure evil... so his wife was surprised at the funeral to see a normal human being in the casket.

Man, that verse about the weather and work needed to be done is so true. You think the world will stop, and it doesn't.

I read a rumor that this song is really about the death of the lead singer's therapist. The album is dedicated to Dr. George Kamen. Perhaps the lead singer saw Kamen on a regular basis? I don' t know if there's any truth to the rumor, but even so. The song really could be about losing a therapist.


I wish that we could talk about it,
But there, that's the problem.
With someone new I couldn't start it,
Too late, for beginnings.
The little things that made me nervous,
Are gone, in a moment.
I miss the way we used to argue,
(This whole paragraph really describes what it would be like to lose a therapist. I was nervous, therefore, my thoughts were irrational and you used to "argue" with me about how to fix them)
Locked, in your basement. (don't know about this)

I wake up and the phone is ringing,
Surprised, as it's early.
And that should be the perfect warning,
That something's, a problem.
To tell the truth I saw it coming,
The way, you were breathing.
But nothing can prepare you for it, (nothing could prepare you for the death)
The voice, on the other, end.

The worst is all the lovely weather,
I'm stunned, it's not raining.
The coffee isn't even bitter,
Because, what's the difference? (He was seeing a therapist for a reason...negativity. Now that the therapist is gone, he realizes that all the stuff he worried about doesn't matter)
There's all the work that needs to be done,


I wish that we could talk about it,
But there, that's the problem.
With someone new I could have started,
Too late, for beginnings.
(he doesn't feel as if he could connect to another therapist)
You're smaller than my wife imagined,
Surprised, you were human.
(he used to talk to his wife about the therapist. And it's surprising that a person who helped you so much is such a small person.)
There shouldn't be this ring of silence,
(he doesn't have a therapist to talk to about his anxiety anymore)
But what, are the options?



It may not be about losing a therapist at all. But it would make sense if it were.

It's about a death, and possibly about how it affects a relationship between two people that knew the person. The line about seeing it coming is the moment when somebody gets a phonecall at night and can already tell that something's wrong, so the specific death of the person is not necessarily anticipated. "You're smaller than my wife expected" = seeing the body at a funeral.

I don't see how any of you think this is about death... Are you strictly going by "when someone great is gone"? Cuz that doesn't mean they're dead. How can that person be dead when they're the one calling him - "the way you were breathing." The song is about meeting someone great - perhaps better than his wife - but because he's already married, there's nothing he can do about it especially when it's over

i have to agree with the people thinking it's about the death of dr george kamen rather than a breakup, not only because of the dedication, but because i think it really does fit.

'i wish that we could talk about it, but there thats the problem' ..the one person he would have/would have wanted to talk to about the loss is gone...that's the problem

'there shouldn't be this ring of silence' ...you would sit in a ring shape in group therapy..what that guy was known for, so maybe this is a description of the first session without him...

i think the rest fits for death generally, and even more so for having lost someone you felt understood you more than anyone...i get a vibe of loneliness listening to it...an individual grieving, like theres no vibe that he can really grieve with anyone else, or that he is

might be looking too deeply but incredible song

When my ex-wife and I first got married, we ended up getting pregnant a month after. After our ultrasounds we found out something was wrong with the baby and we had to decide whether or not we would keep it or not. We argued about it a bit and finally decided to abort. By the time we got to the abortion time, she was 5 and a half months pregnant and had to go through the whole birthing process.

After she was done, we got to hold our baby and she fit slightly bigger than our hands. She was someone great. So I can see how it could be about that in away... Only,

The breathing part is kind of ambiguous to this idea...

There was a night when I was walking with my ex-wife and we seen my best-friend/cousin drive by in his truck and thought how great he was doing, how much life he had in him and how wonderful things were, because he was someone who was doing what he wanted even though he didnt finish highschool etc...

That night I woke up with a sudden surge of energy through my body which lifted me off my bed, and I lay there suspended in time, listening to my wife breath as she slept, terrified... A few hours after I got back to sleep, I was wakened by the sound of the phone ringing...I heard my mother in law at the time say to the voice on the other end, "ok, just wait, i will get him." I was not suprised or shocked, but was still unprepared for it. My sister was on the other end to tell me that my cousin died in a car crash.

When we went to go see my aunt at the hospital, she was gone already, but my uncle was still there, standing in the room where my cousin lay. It was unexpected how peaceful and un mangled he was, he was human... That night/week (as we hung out on christmas eve that year) he was larger than life.

If it is a break up then these lyrics are referring to him.

I wish that we could talk about it,
But there, that's the problem.
With someone new I could have started,
Too late, for beginnings.
You're smaller than my wife imagined,
Surprised, you were human.
There shouldn't be this ring of silence,
But what, are the options?

In relationships, we see our spouses as super heroes for the most part... dont we? but when in break-ups, we see ourselves more like humans, something smaller than what we imagined before.

There is always that tell tail sign that warns you it is over the way we breathe and react to what we say. Maybe when the phone rings it is the actual moment he realises it is actually over? The phonecall is a metephor for the dialogue that goes on in your head trying to make sense of it all.

When you have to think about having to start over, it is impossible to think of starting new with someone else, your ex is the only thing you've known for the length of time you've been with her.

Stylus Magazine has a good article about the meaning of this song:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/seconds/lcd-soundsystem-someone-great.htm

My impressions of this song are that he is talking about his wife who died during childbirth. The lyrics: "You're smaller than my wife imagined, surprised you were human" could refer to the newly born child who the mother sacrificed her life for.

I believe this song may be about a past love/relationship. Life goes on but memories will haunt us and at times make it difficult to work or enjoy a beautiful day. What makes me question if the lyrics are about a past love is this:
I wake up and the phone is ringing,
Surprised, as it's early.
And that should be the perfect warning,
That something's, a problem.
To tell the truth I saw it coming,
The way, you were breathing.
But nothing can prepare you for it,
The voice, on the other, end.

This makes me wonder if it's about a current relationship or possibly getting caught having an affair and it's his current love/wife calling/finding out.

I also can't figure out the last words of the song...we're safe for the moment, saved for the moment. If it is about an affair, it makes sense, if not, then what does this mean?

The therapist connection other people have discussed also makes sense to me now, since I made my assumptions about this song before reading how others interpreted the song. Beautiful and sad song regardless of the interpretation.

I definitely think this song is about a death rather than the end of a relationship, the line about the phone ringing early seems to be more fitting with this idea.
I always interpreted it as the death of someone who he was having an affair with,
"with someone new I could have started" is refering to how he could have left his wife to be with this person. The lines about arguing with his wife seem to fit in with the idea that he wasn't happily married.
"You're smaller than my wife imagined
surprised you were human" for some reason the surprised you were human part always suggests to me the idea of an affair.

It's either about breaking up with an ex and then meeting her later on with his wife or the death of Kamen.

Yes, SOME lines work with a friend dying or a new born but the song is more than a couple lines long. How can he argue with his new born baby in the basement? Think people. If it was a friend dying, why would it be too late for beginnings? He could make new friends anytime.

Either the love of his life (to that point) leaves him or his therapist passed on. He wants to mope and mourn but life doesn't care and isn't convenient and "it keeps coming." He has deadlines and bills to worry about that don't care about his loss.

Also, he didn't say that the person was breathing on the phone, he could have just noticed Kamen's poor breathing at a regular meeting and noticed how bad it was getting.