The Hold Steady – Soft in the Center

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Well, the hospital's gonna let you go
But the scene is gonna stick around
Yeah, sure the stars in the sky
But the money's still down on the ground

Man, if money didn't matter
Then I might tell you something new
You can't tell people what they want to hear
If you also want to tell the truth

And I'm just trying to tell the truth, kid
I'm just trying to tell the truth

You can't get every girl
You get the ones you love the best
You won't get every girl
You love the ones you get the best

Nobody's wanna freeze over
I'm from a place with lots of lakes
But sometimes they get soft in the center
And the center is a dangerous place

It's been a long, cold winter
And now you're standing on unsafe ice
But you can probably do anything
If you could just go and get yourself right

You gotta get yourself right, kid
I'm gonna give you some advice

You can't get every girl
You get the ones you love the best
You won't get every girl
You love the ones you get the best
Kid, you can't kiss every girl
You gotta trust me on this one
You gotta trust me on this one

I know what you're going through
I had to go through that, too
I know what you're going through
I had to go through that, too

You can't get every girl
You get the ones you love the best
You won't get every girl
You love the ones you get the best
You can't get every girl
You get the ones you love the best
You won't get every girl
You love the ones you get the best

I know what you're going through

Send "Soft in the Center" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by goodreverend

Track duration: 03:51


Soft in the Center song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:Good advice, Craig.
    Flag debaser__on September 21, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I feel like this song is a response to their other song "First Night". possibly another Holly song? she was the one in the hospital in that song. however, it could be about all of their usual characters being on thin ice, thanks to their lifestyle choices. and "the city's gonna stick around" could allude to the fact that regardless of the fact that a person gets help, the things that got them hospitalized in the first place are always going to be lurking about.
    Flag alittleclairvoyanceon May 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:The first line "Well, the hospital's gonna let you go
    But the scene is gonna stick around" should be "But the city's gonna stick around," which leads me to believe that whoever the narrator is talking to has had some medical/mental issues relating to whatever it is he's "going through," and while the character is no longer hospitalized, the "City" is going to stay involved with him, as in DMH or a social worker or something. My first guess is that the guy in the song is/was seriously depressed, maybe even suicidal - which goes along with the whole thin ice metaphor later on.
    Flag mdon06on July 03, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:One correction:
    "Nobody's wanna freeze over," should be "I know bodies of water freeze over."

    Seems relatively straight-forward (for a Hold Steady song).

    "Yeah, sure the stars in the sky
    But the money's still down on the ground"
    --It seems like he (whoever that may be, maybe Craig) is talking to someone who is a dreamer, who has their head in the clouds. He is sort of pulling them back to reality -- "You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell them the truth."

    The whole "you can't get every girl," philosophy falls in line with that.

    The analogy to being in the center of a melting lake basically would mean the kid is living in dangerous territory, but I'm not sure about the specifics.
    Flag SEofANon May 17, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Should be:

    Man if money didn't matter
    Then I might tell you something new.
    You can't tell people what they want to hear
    if you also want to tell the truth.
    Flag SisterCityon April 20, 2010   Link

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