Keane: Hopes and Fears
Breakout artist Keane, with Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, and Richard Hughes, brings soulful searching with its Hopes and Fears. Their lyrics explore the need for belonging, with the desire to know where we’ll end up, and even more deeply, what the point is. I wouldn’t give a ringing recommendation to the depth of the lyrics but I have to admit that the questions are worth asking.
Starting off with “Somewhere Only We Know,� the band sings of their desire for the past, wondering how to get back to the previous location that held security and peace. While most of the songs contain elements of romance and human relationships, the presence of the eternal pushes for spiritual meaning as well. Is this previous location a past relationship or can we look back farther to Eden? Many firsts and lasts are mentioned by Keane, and the “Bend and Break� options implied by Chaplin seek to hold onto the past, regardless of how far the band looks back. He sings, “I don’t bend and break/I’ll meet you on the other side/I’ll meet you in the light.� The promise for the future is that the past will be remembered—in a future full of light.
“We Might As Well Be Strangers� implies that a break is occurring but the singer wants the past to be remembered. Once again, the break between a dating couple or the relationship that we have with God could be the subject of this song. Chaplin compares the situation to strangers in different towns or possibly even living on different worlds—the relationship components still exist but the divide is too great to be overcome. This separation remains in “Everybody’s Changing,� as the wandering of “Somewhere� continues; everyone is changing and he doesn’t understand. As with the moves in chess, Chaplin is “trying to make a move just to stay in the game.� He fears losing his identity but the other is “fading into the beautiful light� [heaven, death,???]
The voice in “Your Eyes Open� knows the pain of being disowned, put aside, possibly even betrayed. Chaplin sings, “Morning comes/And you don’t want to know me anymore…For a moment your eyes open and you know/All the things I ever wanted you to know.� In one of my favorite interpretations, I have to question whether or not Keane has taken on the voice of God. Granted, this could be a lover scorned, but having checked out Song of Solomon, the images of God/Israel or Christ/Church are often displayed as that of lovers. We often don’t last longer than it takes to get what we want from God, and then we want to push Him away—but that doesn’t stop us from knowing in our hearts how much God has done.
Switching voices, Chaplin is the self-centered one who pushes aside the needs of everyone else in “Can’t Stop Now.� “I can’t stop now/I’ve got troubles of my own/Because I’m short on time/I’m lonely and I’m too tired to talk,� he sings. How often do we present these (and many more) excuses for why we can’t help someone close to us or someone a world away? He says he would be true, but the world is turning and he’s missing things. I have to believe that signing this song means that Keane knows the irony of betraying others to serve oneself, and this song’s effects carry responsibility and consequences.
My last note comes from “Sunshine,� Keane asks, “Can anybody find their home?� If you’ll follow my rabbit hole to Eden, then the answer is no one can. The relationship between God and humanity, or between lovers warring, cannot be restored without grace from one side. I’ll bring in the voice of God again here, “I hold you in cupped hands/And shield you from a storm/Where only some dumb idiot would let you go/But if I’m one thing then that’s the only thing.� I like the humor that would be implied if this were God (okay, I’m stretching but HUMOR me), as He would be saying, ‘I’m NOT an idiot, so I know I won’t let you (and you, and you…) go because I can protect you from the storm.’ That’s a compassionate God to me. My thoughts on Keane are a stretch, I’ll grant you that, but exploring the lyrics still reminds me that God isn’t far away, no matter how much I might have pushed. And that drives away my hopes and fears.
Starting off with “Somewhere Only We Know,� the band sings of their desire for the past, wondering how to get back to the previous location that held security and peace. While most of the songs contain elements of romance and human relationships, the presence of the eternal pushes for spiritual meaning as well. Is this previous location a past relationship or can we look back farther to Eden? Many firsts and lasts are mentioned by Keane, and the “Bend and Break� options implied by Chaplin seek to hold onto the past, regardless of how far the band looks back. He sings, “I don’t bend and break/I’ll meet you on the other side/I’ll meet you in the light.� The promise for the future is that the past will be remembered—in a future full of light.
“We Might As Well Be Strangers� implies that a break is occurring but the singer wants the past to be remembered. Once again, the break between a dating couple or the relationship that we have with God could be the subject of this song. Chaplin compares the situation to strangers in different towns or possibly even living on different worlds—the relationship components still exist but the divide is too great to be overcome. This separation remains in “Everybody’s Changing,� as the wandering of “Somewhere� continues; everyone is changing and he doesn’t understand. As with the moves in chess, Chaplin is “trying to make a move just to stay in the game.� He fears losing his identity but the other is “fading into the beautiful light� [heaven, death,???]
The voice in “Your Eyes Open� knows the pain of being disowned, put aside, possibly even betrayed. Chaplin sings, “Morning comes/And you don’t want to know me anymore…For a moment your eyes open and you know/All the things I ever wanted you to know.� In one of my favorite interpretations, I have to question whether or not Keane has taken on the voice of God. Granted, this could be a lover scorned, but having checked out Song of Solomon, the images of God/Israel or Christ/Church are often displayed as that of lovers. We often don’t last longer than it takes to get what we want from God, and then we want to push Him away—but that doesn’t stop us from knowing in our hearts how much God has done.
Switching voices, Chaplin is the self-centered one who pushes aside the needs of everyone else in “Can’t Stop Now.� “I can’t stop now/I’ve got troubles of my own/Because I’m short on time/I’m lonely and I’m too tired to talk,� he sings. How often do we present these (and many more) excuses for why we can’t help someone close to us or someone a world away? He says he would be true, but the world is turning and he’s missing things. I have to believe that signing this song means that Keane knows the irony of betraying others to serve oneself, and this song’s effects carry responsibility and consequences.
My last note comes from “Sunshine,� Keane asks, “Can anybody find their home?� If you’ll follow my rabbit hole to Eden, then the answer is no one can. The relationship between God and humanity, or between lovers warring, cannot be restored without grace from one side. I’ll bring in the voice of God again here, “I hold you in cupped hands/And shield you from a storm/Where only some dumb idiot would let you go/But if I’m one thing then that’s the only thing.� I like the humor that would be implied if this were God (okay, I’m stretching but HUMOR me), as He would be saying, ‘I’m NOT an idiot, so I know I won’t let you (and you, and you…) go because I can protect you from the storm.’ That’s a compassionate God to me. My thoughts on Keane are a stretch, I’ll grant you that, but exploring the lyrics still reminds me that God isn’t far away, no matter how much I might have pushed. And that drives away my hopes and fears.
2 Comments:
i really your thoughts on the Keane songs. I find meaning in their songs and believe it goes deeper than the surface. Even if they did not write their songs in relation to God and our relationship with Him, I relate my Christian walk with their music.
I appreciate your spritual interpretation of their songs.
hey Becca D
thanks for writing in! I'm glad that Keane has been a source of support to you, and it's funny sometimes how God can speak through words, whether the author intended them that way or not.
I hope you'll check out some of these other bands for words of inspiration and faith.
Thanks again for your feedback!
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