About as subtle as an earthquake, I know
My mistakes were made for you

And in the back room of a bad dream, she came
And whisked me away, enthused

And it's solid as a rock rolling down a hill
The fact is that it probably will hit something
On the hazardous terrain

And were just following the flock, round
And the in between, before we smash to smithereens
Like they were, and we scrambled from the grain
And its the fame that put words in her mouth
She couldn't help, but spit em out
Innocence and arrogance intwined
In the filthiest of minds

She's was bitten on her birthday, and now
A face in the crowd, shes not
And i suspect that now, forever the shape
She came to escape, its forgot
And it's a lot to ask and not to sting1
Give her less than everything
Around your crooked conscious she will wind

Cos were just following the flock round
And the in-between
Before we smash to smithereens
Like they were, and we scramble from the grain
And it's the fame that put words in her mouth
She couldn't help, but spit em out
Around your crooked conscious she will wind
And it's a lot to ask and not to sting
Giver her less than everything
Innocence and arrogance intwined


Lyrics submitted by ,tAn-x

My Mistakes Were Made for You Lyrics as written by Miles Kane Alex Turner

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

My Mistakes Were Made for You song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

15 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +5
    General Comment

    I get this feeling from the song that he's speaking about meeting a girl when he was getting famous; his fame "put words in her mouth." Afterwards she started being known too ("a face in the crowd, she's not") and that's why a relationship that was powerful ("rock") rolled down the "hazardous terrain" of celebrity. She couldn't "not sting," she was "arrogance," and he couldn't "give her less than everything ("innocence"), so it was over.

    I absolutely love the title. I think that's what they would say to each other in the end; they got the fame they worked for, and it was a mistake from the relationship point of view, but it was a mistake they did for each other, trying to be perfect. They ended up "scrambling from the blame" in the public eye.

    Not sure, though, just the way it sounds to me. Amazing song!

    floodlineon September 06, 2008   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    I think that it's about 2 people who are very selfish..Especially the girl is very confident and independent and has a certain "attitude" that drives him crazy..He starts feeling inferior and jealous because that girl is so different..as a face in the crowd she's not...since she was born.He's thinking of breaking up because he thinks he cant handle all this love but he can't do that..He keeps giving her nothing less than everything...and her realising his weakness towards her makes her "sting" all the time...It's a vicious cycle ...A relationship full of trouble and fights that is probably going to end with both of them being hurt....they're going to smash into smitherins....... That's how I interpretate this song.....It's a piece of art.....about relationships including so strong emotions that will unavoidably end bad...........so true....

    vassilikion June 05, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Yeah this may be my favourite song of theirs along with their Bowie cover which is fecking awesome

    Batesy_predatoron April 30, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    i love it bloody amazing though im not too sure what it means

    arcticmonkeyrobynon May 07, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this is probably the best song in the album. I LOVE that song.

    Franky-sanon June 05, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think it's about someone who becomes famous really fast while they're still young so they're "innocence and arrogance entwined". and they just like follow the crowd and do whatever people tell them to because they're still pretty naive.

    spacecadet123on July 07, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    It's about a girl who gets famous and she starts to get into that celebrity mindset and she begins to think of herself as royalty.

    Chainsaw Armon August 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    im absolutely infatuated with this song, get ready for a long expliation of my interpritation of this Art.

    While listening to this song, im usually driving, and on my way home i was thinking to myself, "what if he's not talking about a girl, what its more of a thing, or a feeling." then i got goose bumps..Destiny, Fate...if u replace to all the "you"s, "she"s and "her"s with the word "Destiny" or "Choice"..so here is my inturpretation; right from the first line "about as subtle as an earthquake i know, my mistakes were made for you" its basically saying everything happens for a reason-even your mistakes.

    "and in the backroom of a bad dream she came and whisked me away enthused" Traslation=="sometimes i would be having a bad part of my life, then Destiny revals why it is im going thru such torture and it all works out"

    "And it's as solid as a rock rolling down a hill,The fact is that it probably will hit something, On the hazardous terrain" here i belive it means "Things may be going smoothly right at this moment, but if history is any indicator, im destin to hit bumps in the road"

    3rd verse---interpritation=== "we may choose to be around people until they crash and get into trouble, and when they doo crash, we scramble to get away from any blame or fault" "and the reason you chose to do this is for the Fame, but Destiny had other plans for u and she spits u out of those plans"

    4th verse----interpritation==="as soon as we r born, we have a destiny, a unique destiny, one that only we can fufill u cant escape it"

    "and its a lot to ask her not to sting, give her less than everything, innocence and arrogance entwined in the fithiest of minds"===traslation==="you cant always have it your way"

    sorry if im waaaay off the mark. but there is what i hear when i listen to it..perhaps if u listen to it the way i just explained, then it might sound like a whole new song ;)

    one love, J.Temptation (myspace.com/money_mann)

    JohnnyTemptationon August 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    @johnnytemptation - i like that interpretation, it fits the song perfectly, but i see it in another way although i may be completely wrong. i see it as though it is saying that some people who lie are oblivious to the fact it will come back to haunt them. my favourite line is the first line about as subtle as an earthquake i know, my mistake were made for you" < how i translate this. you usually feel earthquakes and they are usually very destructive. he is kinda saying that the way he tells his lies probably seem little and not a major deal but in actuall fact he knows how destructive it could be. i think the next lines show this aswell. especially "And it's as solid as a rock rolling down a hill, The fact is that it probably will hit something,On the hazardous terrain." i think here he is saying that his lies are slowly becoming apparent and people are taking notice of them. just like a rock going down the hill his lies will probably hit a point were they dont take affect anymore and just simply break up into nothing. the other bits about the girl, well maybe shes the one whos recognised them and starts playing on his conscieonce, telling his that if he doesnt stop others will notice it and if he doesnt give her something then she will sprag on him and get him into alot of trouble, hense the " And it's a lot to ask her not to sting.And give her less than everything"Around your crooked conscious she will wind" his crooked conscience is the lying part of him. cba to put owt else, thats how i see it

    jc9393on June 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is pure beatuy, and the whole album is inspiring. But I think Alex Turner is the only one who knows the true meaning of the lyrics. many of his lyrics seems to be small stories that he has in his head without really having a real in action relation to them.

    alaskablairon June 24, 2010   Link

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!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.