The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Album Lyrics

In the suburbs I
I learned to drive
And you told me we'd never survive
Grab your mother's keys we're leavin'

You always seemed so sure
That one day we'd fight in
In a suburban world
your part of town gets minor
So you're standin' on the opposite shore
But by the time the first bombs fell
We were already bored
We were already, already bored

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling again

Kids wanna be so hard
But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard
And all of the walls that they built in the seventies finally fall
And all of the houses they build in the seventies finally fall
Meant nothin' at all
Meant nothin' at all
It meant nothin

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling and into the night

So can you understand?
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young
I wanna hold her hand
And show her some beauty
Before this damage is done

But if it's too much to ask, it's too much to ask
Then send me a son

Under the overpass
In the parking lot we're still waiting
It's already passed
So move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass
Cause it's already passed
It's already, already passed!

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling again

I'm movin' past the feeling
I'm movin' past the feeling

In my dreams we're still screamin'
We're still screamin'
We're still screamin'

If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "can we still be friends?"

If I was scared... I would
And if I was bored... you know I would
And if I was yours... but I'm not

All the kids have always known
That the emperor wears no clothes
But they bow to down to him anyway
It's better than being alone

If I was scared... I would
And if I was bored... you know I would
And if I was yours... but I'm not

Now you're knocking at my door
Saying please come out with us tonight
But I would rather be alone
Than pretend I feel alright

If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "can we still be friends?"

If I was scared... I would
And if I was pure... you know I would
And if I was yours... but I'm not

Now I'm ready to start

If I was scared... I would
And if I was pure... you know I would
And if I was yours... but I'm not

Now I'm ready to start

Now I'm ready to start
I would rather be wrong
Than live in the shadows of your song
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start

Now I'm ready to start
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start
And I'm sure you opened the door
To step out into the dark

Now I'm ready

So I wait my turn, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

So I wait in line, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Something don't feel right

Like a record that's skipping
I'm a modern man
And the clock keeps ticking
I'm a modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said you're going nowhere
They say we are the chosen few
But we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting
On a number from the modern man
Maybe when you're older you will understand
Why you don't feel right
Why you can't sleep at night now

In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

Oh I had a dream I was dreaming
And I feel I'm losing the feeling
Makes me feel like
Like something don't feel right
I erase the number of the modern man
Want to break the mirror of the modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said you're going nowhere
I know we are the chosen few
But we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In like for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

And you feel so right
But how come you can't sleep at night?
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man

Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don't understand
They say

Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo

They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear god what is that horrible song they're singing

Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo, rococo!
Rococo!

They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They're moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don't know what game they're playing

Rococo, rococo, rococo, rococo
Rococo!
Rococo!

(Rococo)
(Rococo)

Rococo!
Rococo!

(Rococo)
(Rococo)

Rococo!

Searching in, in an empty room
Searching in, in an empty room
Something I would never do

Searching in, in an empty room
Searching in, in an empty room
Something I would never do

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
When my life is calm
But I don't know when

You're burning out, you're black and gray
You're burning out, you're black and gray
Something I would never say

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
When my life is calm
But I don't know when

Toute ma vie, etre avec toi
Toute ma vie, etre avec toi
... toi tu m'aimes

Toute ma vie, etre avec toi
Toute ma vie, etre avec toi
... toi tu m'aimes

The summer that I broke my arm
I waited for your letter
I have no feeling for you now
Now that I know you better

I wish that I could have loved you then
Before our age was through
And before a world war does with us whatever it will do

Dreamed I drove home to Houston
On a highway that was underground
There was no light that we could see
As we listened to the sound of the engine failing

I feel like I've been living in
A city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

You never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount
I used to think I was not like them but I'm beginning to have my doubts
My doubts about it

When you're hiding underground
The rain can't get you wet
But do you think your righteousness could pay the interest on your debt?
I have my doubts about it

I feel like I've been living in
A city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

I feel like I've been living in
A city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by and by as I hide inside of my private prison

You told us that
We were too young
Now that night's closing in
And in the half light
We run
Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We're free

Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you

We run through the streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We're in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell

The ocean in a shell

Our heads are just houses
Without enough windows
They say you hear human voices
But they only echo

They only echo
They only echo
Only echo

(We are not listening, we are on the streets)
(We are not listening, we are on the streets)

Now that San Francisco's gone
I guess I'll just pack it in
Wanna wash away my sins
In the presence of my friends

You and I, we head back east
To find a town where we can live
Even in the half light
We can see that something's gotta give

When we watched the markets crash
The promises we made were torn
And my parents sent for me
From out west, where I was born

Some people say
We've already lost
But they're afraid to pay the cost
For what we've lost
Pay the cost for what we've lost

Now that you have left me here
I will never raise my voice
All the diamonds you have here
In this home which has no life

Oh, this city's changed so much
Since I was a little child
Pray to God I won't live to see
The death of everything that's wild, woo

Though we knew this day would come
Still, it took us by surprise
In this town where I was born
I now see through a dead man's eyes

One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone

Let's go for a drive
See the town tonight
There's nothing to do but I'll unwind when I'm with you

This town's so strange
They built it to change
And while we're sleeping all the streets, they rearrange

And my old friends, we were so different then
Before your war against the suburbs began
Before it began

And now the music divides
Us into tribes
You grew your hair so I grew mine
They said the past won't rest
Until we jump the fence and leave it behind

And my old friends, I can remember when
You cut your hair
We never saw you again
Now the cities we live in
Could be distant stars
And I search for you
In every passing car

The nights are warm
Yeah, the nights are warm
I've been living in the shadows of your song
Living in the shadows of your
Song

In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
People told me we would never survive
So grab your mother's keys we leave tonight

You started a war
That you can't win
They keep erasing all the streets we grew up in

Now the music divides
Us into tribes
You choose your side I'll choose my side

All my old friends, they don't know me now
Oh-oh
All my old friends, are staring through me now
Oh-oh
All my old friends, they don't know me now
All my old friends, they don't know me now

All my old friends, wait

One two three four!

Gonna make a record in the month of May
In the month of May, in the month of May
Gonna make a record in the month of May
When the violent wind blows the wires away

Month of May, it's a violent thing
In the city their hearts start to sing
Well, some people singing sounds like screaming
Used to doubt it but now I believe it

Month of May, everybody sing love
In the city, watch it from above
And just when I knew what I wanted to say
The violent wind blew the wires away

(We were shocked in the suburbs)

Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
Now, some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
I said some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight

So young, so young
So much pain for someone so young, well
I know it's heavy, I know it ain't light
But how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?

First the built the road, then they built the town
That's why I'm still driving around
And around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around

Two-thousand nine, two-thousand ten
Wanna make a record how I felt then
When we stood outside in the month of May
And watched a violent wind blow the wires away

If I die in the month of May
Let the wind take my body away, yeah
I wish I may, I wish I might
Don't leave me down there with my arms folded tight

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires, the wires away

All those wasted hours we used to know
Spent the summer staring out the window
The wind it takes you where it wants to go

First they built the road, then they built the town
That's why we're still driving round and round
And all we see
Are kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours, before we knew
Where to go, and what to do
Wasted hours, that you made new
And turned into
A life that we can live

Some cities make you lose your head
Endless suburbs stretched out thin and dead
And what was that line you said
Wishing you were anywhere but here
You watch the life you're living disappear
And now I see
We're still kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours, before we knew
Where to go, and what to do
Wasted hours, that you made new
And turned into
A life that we can live

Here
Are my place and time
And here in my own skin
I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by
Standing under night sky
Tomorrow means nothing

I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from the speaker of a passing car
And prayed to a dying star
The memory's fading
I can almost remember singing la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
That something was ending
Are you through pretending
We saw its signs in the suburbs

You could never have predicted
That he could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, nineteen-ninety six
Your mind's pulling tricks now
The show is over so take a bow
We're living in the shadows la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

Hey
Put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey
Put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

I used to write
I used to write letters
I used to sign my name

I used to sleep at night
Before the flashing lights settled deep in my brain

But by the time we met
By the time we met the times had already changed

So I never wrote a letter
I never took my true heart, I never wrote it down

So when the lights cut out
I was lost standing in the wilderness downtown

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

Now it seems strange
How we used to wait for letters to arrive
But what's stranger still
Is how something so small can keep you alive

We used to wait
We used to waste hours just walking around
We used to wait
All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes it never came
We used to wait
Sometimes it never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain

I'm gonna write
A letter to my true love
I'm gonna sign my name

Like a patient on a table
I wanna walk again
Gonna move to the pain

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes they never came
We used to wait
Sometimes they never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain
We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming "sing the chorus again!"

We used to wait for it.
We used to wait for it.
Now we're screaming "sing the chorus again!"

I used to wait for it
I used to wait for it
Hear my voice screaming "sing the chorus again!"

Wait for it!
Wait for it!
Wait for it!

Took a drive into the sprawl
To find the house where we used to stay
I couldn't read the number in the dark
You said "let's save it for another day"

I took a drive into the sprawl
To find the places we used to play
It was the loneliest day of my life
You're talking at me, but I'm still far away

Let's take a drive through the sprawl
Through these towns they built to change
And then you said "The emotions are dead"
It's no wonder that you feel so strange

Cops showing their lights
On the reflectors of our bikes
Said "Do you kids know what time it is?"
Well, sir, it's the first time I felt like something's mine
Like I have something to give

The last defender of the sprawl
Said "Well, where do you kids live?"
Well, sir, if you only knew what the answer's worth
Been searching every corner of the earth

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface
'Cause on the suburbs the city lights shine
They're calling at me, come and find your kind

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Then we can never get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights

We rode our bikes to the nearest park
Sat under the swings, we kissed in the dark
We shield our eyes from the police lights
We run away, but we don't know why
And like a mirror these city lights shine
They're screaming at us, we don't need your kind

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Then we can never get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Can we ever get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights

If I could have it back
All the time that we wasted
I'd only waste it again
If I could have it back
You know I would love to waste it again
Waste it again and again and again
Well, I forgot to ask

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again