Feel, damn you, feel
like you're alive again
take ten broken limbs
and make it alright for them
and I needed you more,
more than you'll ever notice
but I need to do more
if you're to ever know this

or you won't care at all
no, you won't care at all
for you won't care at all
no, you won't care at all

dance puppet boy
if you do a good job
then they'll want you again,
give it all that you've got
show them the joy and the pain and the ending
then do it again, and we'll all stop pretending
they'll pay more attention to what's before mentioned
as you bob your head
'cause you're not even listening
a very small few of you even give meanings
but laugh, clown boy, laugh
'cause it's always so pleasing

feel, damn you, feel
like you're alive again
I needed to know,
needed a show of hands
for all this couldn't be sure
as we see a lot of them
and i traded it all,
could i make a difference
at all?

I met a woman,
she was wonderful,
everything perfect,
we both had the world
but I filled up my senses
with thoughts from the ghost
and i spent her life savings
left no room for
both of us
crying and trying
and screaming aloud,
I barely can see her tumultuous crowds
are careful to hide her and sing much too loud
see, you don't even know what i'm talking about

feel, damn you, feel
like you're alive again
I needed you more,
than you would ever've noticed
Et Al
Couldn't be sure
that you would ever notice
but i gave it my all
did i make a difference at all?



Lyrics submitted by foolish-hippie

Track duration: 05:22


Et Al song meanings
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22 Comments

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  • 0
    Lyric Correction:A lot of the lyrics are wrong here...first as a couple people mentioned, It's "Et al" not "At all"
    Second, "Before mentioned" In the stanza with "Dance puppet boy" Is "Aforementioned"

    If you listen to Hurt, you'll see that they do this a lot. I don't remember what it's called, but I know lots of bands do it, where they'll choose words that sound like something else....it still makes sense, but it adds more meaning to the song when you can look into it from all different directions. Hurt also loves to play with their lyrics and make it a game. This was proven when I received my copy of "The Crux." The CD is heat sensitive and reveals a the decoding for a code they had put in their record. They like to keep their fans entertained. Which is why they hold the spot in my heart for my favorite band.
    Flag AielSeasaon June 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:dance puppet boy
    if you do a good job
    then they'll want you again,
    give it all that you've got
    show them the joy and the pain and the ending
    then do it again, and we'll all stop pretending
    they'll pay more attention to what's before mentioned
    as you bob your head
    'cause you're not even listening
    a very small few of you even give meanings
    but laugh, clown boy, laugh
    'cause it's always so pleasing

    ^Yours^

    dance puppet boy
    if you do a good job
    then they'll want you again,
    give it all that you've got.
    Show them the joy and the pain and the ending
    then do it again, and we'll all stop pretending
    to pay more attention to what's aforementioned
    as you bob your head
    'cause you're not even listening
    a very small few of you even get meanings
    but laugh, clown boy, laugh
    'cause it's always so pleasing

    ^mine^

    not that much difference, but it's what I'm hearing from it. =)

    Also:
    see, you don't even know what i'm talking about
    to this-> So they don't even know what I'm talking about.

    just my 2 cents
    Flag nick22490on December 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this songs about someone he loved dearly and to him they meant everything. “Et al.’ is a scholarly abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alia, which means “and others.” It is commonly used when you don’t want to name all the people or things in a list, and works in roughly the same way as “etc.”
    Flag greenskull13on June 02, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the lyrics "a very small few of you ever give meanings" is actually "GET meanings", meaning that only a few of the fans even understand what his songs are about.
    Flag detroitbasson March 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that this song is about how people don't care about the 'why' anymore, they only care about the product. But how can you understand the product if you don't know how it came about? Dance puppet boy, accept what someone else is telling you without even bothering to understand why they are telling you this, give them the reaction that they want, and if you do a good job accepting their bulls**t then they will have something similar for you soon. Just bob your head as you are senselessly brainwashed by society into accepting everything at face value without reading into it. Feel, think, act like your a human being again capable of personal rational thought.

    Also instead of society it could be directly linked to the music/entertainment culture and how people just like senseless entertainment that keeps them occupied rather that thoughtful entertainment, and when a think-piece does come along you are so used to the senseless entertainment that you don't even bother to look for a meaning.

    I would definitely say it is not about the relationship idea since at the end of that verse he says, "see, you don't even know what I'm talking about." I think that this whole verse was just put in there to see how many people would try to interpret that verse because its more along the lines of what they want to hear, and easier to interpret since it can be taken at face value (a relationship gone bad), than the message he is trying to convey. Though due to the fact that hurt does likes to use relationship issues to talk about different aspects of life, this might be completely wrong.

    Just my opinion could be way off of what hurt wanted to say, this is just the way that I took the song.
    Flag btc46on March 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:In the above lyrics
    Everytime it says "At all" in the choruses
    The booklet for the CD says "et al".
    All 'cept the last two times when the song is winding down.
    Flag Stixnroxon December 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the lyrics are right like this:
    Then do it again and we'll all start pretending to pay more attention to what's aforementioned. Then the other part a very small few of you even get meanings. Then it's but I spent OUR life savings and instead of see it's so they don't even know what I'm talking about. I'm needing a show of hands FOR IT we couldn't be sure cause we see a lot of them but I traded it all did I make a differnece et al? I agree with pudink about the et al I've always seen it as meaning at all, just a nicer title to write it et el. and I do think the lyrics at the end are no you won't care at all he repeats that three times after he repeats et all five times.
    Flag NutzyPixeon October 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i agree absolutely with njcollins and cjbystarlight.
    dont you remember what j said when they asked why the band is named under HURT.he said when you listen you will get why we named the band HURT.
    they f###ing rock,and there is sense in it they just want us to get he meaning ,make a difference in our lives maybe,and not just listen.i thought he said
    And you won't care at all
    No you won't care at all
    in the end you should add it to lyrics.
    imo et al could be the another way of writing at all
    Flag pudinkon July 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"they'll pay more attention to what's before mentioned"

    I think it's actually:
    "they'll pay more attention to what's aforementioned"

    ~G
    Flag garywconneron July 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song could also be a song to "fans". As in the song Thank You For Listening, J is saying thank you to fans for sticking with him and listening to his music. he also talks about how the feedback has made him feel again and how it makes him feel like he's not alone.
    With this being said, this song is also to the fans but its pretty much the opposite. Et Al=with others, so he's talking about is he making a difference in the life of his fans. If people listen to his music, but don't try to find out the meanings, but rather just hear, then j feels like he's wasting his time. he puts emotion and time into his music and he wants people to appreciate it.
    I however could see how it could be a reply to Danse Russe. J has said that Danse Russe is about a 2 day fling he had with someone, and this could be a direct connection to it. the song could be how he is hurt that it didn't work out with this person and that how he fell in love with her so fast but now she doesn't want him. He's may be talking about how he's hurt that the relationship didn't work out and this is his question to her, did I (J) make a difference at all? was he just another person to him or did he touch her at all?
    Any ideas anyone?
    Flag njcollinson February 20, 2008   Link

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