Foo Fighters – I Should Have Known

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  General Comment:Just imagine how Pat feels, on top of Kurt he lost Darby back in Dec 1980.. And loosing Kurt may have brought all those emotions flooding back. From the doco Back and Forth both Pat and Dave seem to hold themselves partly responsible for Kurts suicide, as if they could of helped avoid it. Sadly I think it was inevitible one way or another.

  Flag Tricky1979on May 06, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Love that unmistakable tone of the Bass guitar... More please...

  Flag Tricky1979on May 01, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:Sounds most explicitly about Kurt. I see others here are pushing back on that, but it just fits. You can't forgive someone for taking their own life: it's the most selfish thing someone can do (particularly when you have a child).
  
  "Damn my heart gone deaf" Neither him nor Krist ever really thought he would actually go through with it, he had been depressed back and forth for quite some time, but I don't think they ever suspected it would ever reach the place it finally did. I think he was simply too screwed up from his upbringing (aren't we all?) to find his place, and all that god-forsaken fame didn't help things. Kurt failed to "see the light" of his life, and let the darkness and despair overtake him. It felt particularly tragic, not because of his incredible success (that was likely his primary downfall), but because of the loss of what might have been. I suspect he would have caved the angry, bitter music of Nirvana and went to a better, softer place. He never gave himself the chance though, and I think this song is about frustration more than anything else, frustration about so many things.

  Flag bernlin2000on December 24, 2012   Link

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    In the "Back and Forth" documentary from the band, with a lot of explanations about songswritten by D. Grohl, he was very clear on this song, he knew that everybody would think that it was a song about Kurt Cobain, but not at all, he spekas about another situation that he passed through in his life, something that of course he shoud have known! Nothing to do with the suicide of Kurt Cobain.

    Flag jap67on April 20, 2013  
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  General Comment:Oh god.
  I was going to give a meaning for this song. But I made the mistake of not listening to it much until recently.
  Last night, I fell asleep and this song was on repeat. I fell asleep before I turned it off, and now the song sounds slow and distorted when I try to play it because my brain is now used to how this song sounded while I was asleep.
  My poor brain.
  
  Anyway, I'll be spending the afternoon playing this even more, hoping the real sound comes back. Dave's singing sounds low and emotionless, and the instruments that once sounded so beautifully haunting and emotional now sound...haunting in a different way. They're slow and distorted so badly.
  
  I'll post my meaning when the song actually comes back to me.

  Flag remnicon May 19, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:This song makes me think it was inspired by heartbreak rather than death. To be more specific someone who has cheated if you have gone through it you would see this I think.
  
  Lay your hands in mine heal me one last time though I cannot forgive you yet - When you truly love someone with all your heart and they cheat on you, you still need that person and even though your still angry with them you know they are the only one who can help 'heal' you but you can't forgive them the pain they have caused is unforgivable but yet you still need them.
  
  I should have known - That you would have done this to me.
  
  Couldn't see the light - Had suspicions but didn't want to believe them.
  
  This song is beautiful and I see why people would relate it to death as it is so powerful and moving.

  Flag foonaticon March 08, 2012   Link

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    You hit the nail on my head, my friend. This song came out right as I was going through doubts about my partner. After weeks of thinking I was losing my mind and being accused of as much, I discovered he was cheating on me. He wants forgiveness and I want to forgive and this song is the only thing helping right now.

    Flag ellennakion November 14, 2012  

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    Good feeling!

    Flag jap67on April 20, 2013  
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  General Comment:It's got to be kind of annoying being Dave Grohl, and having every song you write be reduced to a Kurt tribute. When I heard this song though, I couldn't help but feel that he was feeding into that idea. Pretty obvious parallels in the lyrics even he can't deny

  Flag Marauder2IICon October 29, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:It's got to be kind of annoying being Dave Grohl, and having every song you write be reduced to a Kurt tribute. When I heard this song though, I couldn't help but feel that he was feeding into that idea. Pretty obvious parallels in the lyrics even he can't deny

  Flag Marauder2IICon October 29, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Not about Kurt, but "there are definitely connections":
  
  "At first I started writing it about someone specific, not Kurt," Grohl admits. "But then as I elaborated on it... I mean, I look at it and I think there are definitely connections. And I definitely felt that way before, especially in Nirvana, with Kurt where, you know, I was afraid this was going to happen. You know, I've had that feeling with more than one person in my life. And so to have Krist come down and play on that song was kind of a risky move, just because I have to answer these questions every time we do an interview. And I'm used to it, it's okay. But I never want us to subject Krist to that, to suck him into that fucking problem. And I explained to him, I said: 'You know, it's one of those songs that I'm sure people are going to think it's about Kurt'. And he basically said: 'Oh, fuck it! That's okay, you know'. You just have to say: 'What are you going to do?' Because that's the type of thing that would keep you from writing the song.
  
  -- Hot Press Interview, May 2011
  fooarchive.com/features/…

  Flag backgammonon July 27, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:The song is about "survivor's guilt". Maybe Dave wrote it when he felt guilty about the Foo Fighters' success, born from the ashes of Kurt's suicide or from successful songs inspired by lost loves. I doubt that only one person inspired it.

  Flag jedidivemasteron July 23, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:when dave was writing this song he wasn't talking about kurt or jimmy , in back and forth he said (not litteraly) "it's about a bad relationship i was involved in and in the end of the day i said to myself "i should have known that this would happen" ,however it's hard not to think about others ( e.g kurt and jimmy) when i listen to it (or sing it i'm not sure)"

  Flag hughtrblcon May 15, 2011   Link

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