The Submarines – 1940

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  My Interpretation:I think that this song is the narrator speaking to a potential love interest. He's scared to enter a relationship with her ("Something's wrong when you regret things that haven't happened yet"), possibly because he's been hurt in the past ("You couldn't sleep for the awful fright that kept you up in bed last night"), but she's telling him that the past is in the past, that he should let go of it, and that he can be happy with her in the present ("So rise, and shine, now's the time to be alive, to stay awake with me a while, and smile"). The night/dark is a troubled past, and the bright morning is the beginning of a happier future. Just my take.

  Flag fieldtooshon February 23, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:It's another obscure song about WW2, this time the Germans bombing London during The Blitz. The German bombers came in just after dark, blowing shit up and making everybody terrified. Nobody wanted to sleep, so those that did and woke up the next day alive where pretty damn grateful they survived the night.

  Flag mastacreon November 04, 2012   Link

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• +1
  General Comment:I actually just experienced what this song describes.
  
  Some people (like myself) are haunted by things in the hours before they fall asleep. That seems to be when doubt and worry become most difficult to bear.
  
  For me, it was knowing that I had set myself up to be hurt. It's so easy to just push out of mind during the day, but at night you can't avoid thoughts as easily. I'd dread going to bed because I knew I'd be tormented by my own thoughts.
  
  When I would wake up in the morning I'd feel great. I had plenty of distractions to keep me from thinking of my situation.
  
  While this may not be the same situation for the artist, I really feel like the idea of fearing your own thoughts was the motivation for this song.

  Flag tuanafetchieon September 28, 2011   Link

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• 0
  Song Meaning:This is my favorite song from The Submarines, I'm upset to see how it has so little comments. Anyways, I've dug down this a little bit, and I have a few meanings that I can see already.
  
  The narrator, the lead singer Blake, is singing to somebody who has awful paranoia and unnecessary fears.
  
  1) "Something's wrong when you regret, things that haven't happened yet" can be interpreted as "There's something wrong when you are worrying about things that haven't happened yet", which means that the person is afraid of the future or what is yet to come.
  
  2) "You couldn't sleep for the awful fright that kept you up in bed last night" can be looked at like "You couldn't sleep last night for the fear that lingers and keeps you awake." The person couldn't go to sleep since their fears are taking over them.
  
  3) "They vanish with the sunrise spark" is "The curious that shape shift in the dark vanish when the sunrise sparks", the "curious" (the fear) that shape shift (changes and adapts to the person) will vanish when the light comes up, i.e., at sunrise.
  
  4) FINALLY, then the chorus states that the person should "rise and shine", because "now is the time to be alive, to stay awake with me a while, and smile". Now is the time to be happy, to rise and shine, to live free and alive, to let go of all these fears and regrets that are just paranoia.
  
  I hope I'm correct :D
  

  Flag simonteodulfon July 30, 2010   Link

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    +1

    simonteodulf, I think you're dead on with your comments. Except, you left off the last words of the song... "Somethings wrong..."
    
    It's not over. It continues. Kind of saddens the song as it leaves you.

    Flag heknowsallon January 21, 2011  
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  General Comment:The beat to this song sounds like "Bathwater" by No Doubt.
  
  Doesn't make me love this song any less though. <3

  Flag SheenaIsAPunkRockeron April 22, 2010   Link

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• 0
  My Opinion:The first two lines are amazing.

  Flag BrittanyHOcakeon April 06, 2009   Link

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• 0
  General Comment::]

  Flagged Oubleion August 14, 2008   Link

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