Lyrics for I've Got Friends as interpreted by cartoon violence

I've Got Friends Lyrics
dirty on the ground is what I need
I got another one to tell you and another one to make you believe

pity on the grass; I tried to be the one you needed
when I told you that you wanted something bigger than me

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

'cause you and I will ride
but when I need you
I need it quickly
in case you never know

I can't play where I'm not supposed to anyway
any way, anyways, any way, anyways...

dirty on the ground is what I see
I need another reason why I need another reason
tell me to breathe

the dirtier the sound, the best I breathe
I tried to do it all for you
it didn't do anything for me

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

and you and I will find
that when I need you
I need it quickly
in fact you'll never know

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

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ikickedagirl
11-19-2009

Rated 0 
Why does everyone think Manchester Orchestra's songs are about drugs?

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camcat97
09-29-2009

Rated 0 
bears dont kill people.
people in bearsuits kill people.

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lauraoldro
09-20-2009

Rated 0 
Obviously with any song it's open to interpretation, but for me, it's about sex, or being addicted to it. I just hear "dirty" and the dirtier something is, the better it is. If you think about it, it sounds like a very sexual song. To me, anyway. :]

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sympathyoffire
09-02-2009

Rated 0 
The first of this song sounds as if he is trying to use dirty on the ground as being bare or stripped from something, i.e a relationship that is not giving from both directions. I can agree with the chorus having the meaning of a friend telling him not to stay where he is. " Cause you and I will ride" sounds contradicting to his message as if he's having an after thought about how things could be. The dirty verse again seems as though he's still trying to look back but needs another reason to really stay. Also "tell me to breathe" sounds a lot like he is holding his breathe for someone when its not worth him waiting..He just wants her to tell him to breathe. Dirtier the sound...hmm that sounds almost like bad news but its relieving to know that he isn't waiting for something to not happen. The last verse before last chorus is him, well him in my opinion finishing it letting "her" know that when he needs her she wont be there anyways.

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jeffowns03
09-02-2009

Rated 0 
i think that both shizzleyeah and Zaloog91 have very good interpritations of the song

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boozer11
07-28-2009

Rated 0 
I believe this is about a relationship or more than one where he knows hes got good chemistry with his friends but he doesn't know how to really connect with them

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Ewarren1114
07-18-2009

Rated 0 
This song is about addiction whether it is to drugs or people or both (as they often go hand in hand). Its about being conscious of the disingenuous and fickle nature of addiction-- when someone doesn't have something they want they will do what ever it takes to get what they want quickly and satisfy the need. However, satisfaction is fleeting and all sensations eventually fade... fulfillment will never stay and the need comes back. The need driving someone to a place where they are not wanted and a place they know they should probably leave. Opposing forces -- Friends, need, want and knowing the dirty reality of being a part of it-- his own inner archetypes in conflict. And the vicious, awful cycle of doing something out of habit that does not do anything or fulfill any type of need.... "I tried to do it all for you and it didn't do anything for me" -- doing it all for something or someone else can leave a person empty.

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TheWazar
07-16-2009

Rated 0 
This song makes me understand why everyone's been freaking out about these guys lately.

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stevgard26
07-11-2009

Rated 0 
The whole album is about cocaine and love.

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JudgeHolden
06-20-2009

Rated 0 
i think its about a drug dealer who is also addicted to drugs.

he has friends in all the right places, knows everyone, but these people only want his drugs and not his friendship, thats why they dont want him to stay.

him and who ever 'rides', they do drugs together, and he needs it quickly when he needs but his companion does not understand because they are in it only for the drugs and dont care about him.

dirt stands for drugs. he needs another reason to live than just for drugs which is all he sees. 'the dirtier the sound, the best I breathe' the harder more illicit the drug, the better he feels about life, the higher he gets.

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rilestar
06-09-2009

Rated +2 
I reckon it's about a guy who's about to propose to his girlfriend, but who then gets eaten by a bear, and when his girlfriend visits him at the cemetery, she summons his ghost, but the bear comes back and chases both of them and also sings a little bit, and then the ghost-guy finally gets to beat the bear, revealing that it's just a guy wearing a bear-suit.
Actually, it makes more sense if it's written from the bear's point-of-view (especially if he just wants to be friends with the couple...)

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maymusicleadme
06-06-2009

Rated 0 
This is my first time writing this stuff, so Ima give it my best try.

"Dirty on the ground is what I see, I got another one to tell you and another one to make you believe."
- He can see the effects of the lies that he told the girl to make her believe he's the one for her.
"Pity on the grass, I tried to be the one you needed when I told you that you wanted something bigger than me."
- The girl gave him sympathy when he realized he wasnt right to tell her he wasnt the one for her.
"I've got friends in all the right places. I know what they want, and I know they don't want me to stay."
- He has friends that care about and try to help him through the pain instead of blamiing himself for the death of the girl.
"'Cause you are not alive, but when I need you I need it quickly, in case you never know."
- Since she's not with him, he takes either drugs or some type of pain killer whenever he thinks of her, and she might never know the pain he's going through.
"I can't play where I'm not suppososed to. Any way, anways..."
- He realizes he's not to blame.
"Dirty on the ground is what I see, I need another reason why. I need another reason, tell me to breathe."
- He's blaming himself again and asking for another reason why he shouldn't blame himself and wants somebody to help him to move on.
"The dirtier the sound, the best I breathe. I tried to do it all for you; it didnt do anything for me."
- The less clear the sound of her voice in his head, the better he can relax; when he tried to better himself for her, it didn't help him at all.
"...And you and I will find that when I need you, I need it quickly. In fact, you'll never know."
- Now she will never know of the pain he's gone through because he's finally moved on.


Comments would be much appreciated, thanks.


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MyOvenCanCookBitsOfOven
05-29-2009

Rated 0 
I like all these interpretations..I guess its just one of those songs lol
I think it was saying "you are not alive when I need you" not "you and I will ride"

I believe it is a song about someone who is rock bottom. Sometimes you thrive on the feeling of spiralling down "dirty on the ground in what i need""the dirtier the sound the best I breathe", especially in relation to a death, as it can feel like the worse state you are in, the more you loved that person. It about someone who lies (2nd line) and who has driven people away (3rd,4th line and chorus). These people may pity him but his depression makes them uncomfortable.

He needs a reason why this person has died, and he needs a reason to keep living. He needs this person to be with him very much. It may even refer to drinking/drug taking to dull the pain "when I need you, I need 'it' quickly".

I love the emotion in his voice on the line "I need another reason why, I need another reason tell me to breathe".

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redleopold
05-23-2009

Rated 0 
I believe this song to be about unrequited love, and all the bitterness and anger that comes of it. He's in love with a girl who doesn't feel the same way.

"pity on the grass; I tried to be the one you needed
when I told you that you wanted something bigger than me"
This part is a little unclear, but I took it as a statement to the nature of their relationship. She probably only considered him a friend and talked to him about her problems. He would try to make her feel better, and hoped she would one day realize that she needed him.

"I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay"
This part refers to his friends, who are all generally happy while he's miserable over this girl. They tell him to give up trying to get her to come around, but its easy for them to say because they're "in all the right places."

"'cause you and I will ride
but when I need you
I need it quickly
in case you never know"
He needs his beloved to care about him, but she may never know how much he actually needs her.

"I tried to do it all for you
it didn't do anything for me"
He tried his hardest to make his beloved feel the same may he did, but none of it worked, and he was left with a sense of bitterness because he treated her well and essentially got nothing in return.

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Zaloog91
05-13-2009

Rated 0 
I think the song has to do with drugs and his struggle with addiction as he explains it to those he loves.

"I've got friends in all the right places" (The friends are Dealers because they always seem to be where you need them)
"I know what they want" (He knows that the dealers want money.)
"and I know they don't want me to stay" (Once you hand over the money the dealer wants you to leave so they don't get caught.)

"dirty on the ground is what I need" (He's saying he needs a reality check dirt on the ground is something normal and real, he needs that realness to get through addiction.)
"I got another one to tell you and another one to make you believe"(He's telling his family and friends about his addiction, then he shows them the drugs so that they believe him.)

"dirty on the ground is what I see" (He's seeing the world for what it is instead of one clouded from the high.)
"I need another reason why I need another reason" (He's trying to find a reason to get clean.)
tell me to breathe (He wants his loved ones to give him that reason.)

So yeah I think this song is about drugs, addiction, and trying to get help from your real friends and family.

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ell0323
05-12-2009

Rated 0 
After seeing the video it seems like a song about a dead love and being at the tomb/ burial site reminiscing. And friends are happy that your always going there to see the dead person so they want you to leave or not be there or stay in the place of morning or Friends in the right places might be a religious term for Jesus I've heard that used before, having friends upstairs looking out or in the right places. But there's a better chance there is 3 completely different means, One is drugs, one is a current relationship, and a dead love.

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shizzleyeah
05-09-2009

Rated 0 
this song is about peer pressure and making ur own decisions. u can romantise it and it still works thats why its so strong lyrically. it is about u and ur peers 'friends' havin a different direction and use for u. i think hes tryin to say my peers may be nice ppl but they dont have my best interests at heart. only me and a very small core can have that. selfish lyrics for a selfless reason. obvisously too many ppl have used him and his talents to their benefits without any consideration for his own wellbeing and prosperity. and the dirt line is about his own low self esteem that most people wouldnt pick up. 'dirty on the ground' is his opinion of himself to the wider community, being his self esteem is dirt and the community is the 'ground' he plays in. and ' dirty on the ground' is the way he feels he feels he needs to view himself so he always strives for more. his friends not wanting him to stay is there own morality that he sees in them tho its very rarely visible. instead of thinkin there dark and pessimistic lyrics its more like he accepts the world and its ppl for their flaws of personal wants and chooses not to hate the world for that but navigate thru the bullshit as best he can. very inspirational and i think his own personal religious beliefs. not in god, but himself as some of the dirt that is part of the ground. great things come from the ground.

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iwascaught
04-30-2009

Rated 0 
this is just a really strange song to try to interpret. i feel like leaning toward drugs on this one but i kinda feel like it doesn't fit andys person. so i guess really all i can say is i think this is one of the best songs on the album and i'd love to find out from andy what it's about.

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LizardKingJM71
04-20-2009

Rated 0 
I kinda see it as him trying to live up to the high expectations he has and how he has friends in good places, but they may not really have his best intentions at heart, and just want to use him for his talent or whatever else.

"I know what they want, and I know they don't want me to stay" kinda sounds like they just want to use him and not help him or spend time with him.

Whatever it means, this song seriously rocks hard. I think its safe to say this song could become very popular very quickly.

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liamburke
04-20-2009

Rated 0 
It seems to me it's about losing people you love to death, and wanting to follow them there.

"dirt in the ground is what I see
I need another reason why
I need another reason, tell me to breathe"

The friends in right places are dead, I suppose he's imagining them calling him to them.

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mattisyourhero
04-20-2009

Rated -1 
I thought this song was quite obviously about his struggle with sexual immorality. Hence, the "friends in the right places" who are Christian brothers who "don't want him to stay" and are encouraging him to stay sexually pure.

The "need it quickly" I presume are to do with sexual urges, which are obviously quite overwhelming and strong.

I thought this was dead easy, but nobody here seems to think this. Maybe I'm alone in the universe... Or maybe this board is full of druggies and lonely hearts, ha ha.

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Sahrahng
04-13-2009

Rated 0 
I personally thought this song was about Andy and the band's struggle with the music industry/relationships at home due to their never ending tour schedule.

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briannespaceman
04-08-2009

Rated 0 
figure out what really matters*, not means, oops. i am too tired to be typing.

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briannespaceman
04-08-2009

Rated 0 
the line "dirt in the ground is all i need" kinda sounds like he's saying he either a) needs to get off his ego trip/figure out what really means/get back "down to earth" (hence "dirt in the ground") or b) needs this thing to be done, and over with; needs closure; needs it to be buried, like "dirt in the ground." does this make sense to anyone but me? hahaha. but yeah, that's what i gathered from it on first read of the lyrics.

the drug interpretation someone wrote up there was pretty clever, i must admit.

this band rules. they're playing near me the date of the cd release, but it's 18+ only ;(
boo @ being too young, hahaha.

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ParadiorthosisCryptomnesia
03-30-2009

Rated +1 
I think it's about drugs
I've got friends in all the right places (dealers)
I know what they want (money/drugs)
and I know they don't want me to stay (not real friends, they only want drugs)

dirt in the ground is what I see (death, buried)

'cause you are not alive (drugs again)
when I need you (dealers/love)
I need it quickly (drugs)
in case you never know (love)

it's about addiction i think
lovers who are both addicted
not only to drugs but to each other
it's almost like they're addicted to destruction

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