I wanted to write down why this song fits my life so well... by interpreting the lyrics. I'd also like to hear everyone elses take on how these lyrics effect them.
I scraped my knees while I was praying and found a demon in my safest haven
Seems like it's getting harder to believe in anything than just to get lost in all my selfish thoughts
Regardless of how hard I try to stay selfless and love / serve / help everyone around me, it is truly getting harder to hold on to that mentality in this world that is so focused on "ME ME ME and instant gratification" mentality! My safest haven is being at home, being at church, and being with loved ones... but even when I'm with them, it is still very easy to get lost in selfish thoughts...
I wanna know what it'd be like to find perfection in my pride
To see nothing in the light
Or turn it off in all my spite
In all my spite I'll turn it off
How I feel about this section is that: I want to know what it would be like to be happy and proud of my accomplishments without being arrogant or high and mighty about them. And that also when we are angry, and do things out of spite, it is ultimately our pride that drives us to do spiteful things... So this helps me to remember that in the middle of a spiteful act, or even before it, I can turn off the light of my pride.
And the worst part is before it gets any better we're headed for a cliff
And in the free fall I will realize I'm better off when I hit the bottom
The fact is that we make mistakes... we always will... but this line is true. When we fall off that cliff we will realize we are stronger for going through it.
The tragedy it seems unending
I'm watching everyone I looked up to breaking, bending
Taking shortcuts and false solutions just to come out the hero
Well I can see behind the curtain
The wheels are cranking turning
It's all wrong the way we're working towards a goal that's nonexistent
It's nonexistent but we just keep believing
The fact is... those who say they live a certain way and have certain beliefs, in one way or another deviate from their own convictions at one point in their life. If they didn't make mistakes they would be perfect. My brother is someone I looked up to... always wanted to be like him. A year ago I was someone HE looked up to... he fell from his convictions, and I've been in the same position to. We will always be an example, the only difference is if we are a good or bad one... we fall from our convictions, we then try to make excuses for our actions, we try to take short cuts, or put bandaids over thorns... (false solutions)... you don't put a bandaid over a thorn you take the thorn out lol!. We keep believing that we can do what we want without consequence... there will always be a consequence for our actions. But for some reason, the world keeps believing.
The worst part is before it gets any better we're headed for a cliff
And in the free fall I will realize I'm better off when I hit the bottom
I wanna know what it'd be like to find perfection in my pride
To see nothing in the light
And turn it off in all my spite
In all my spite I'll turn it off
Just turn it off
Again
When Hayley sings "again"... it underscores that I will continue to make mistakes in my life... I will constantly have to turn the light of pride off and re-focus my priorities.
THANK YOU PARAMORE!
@Paramore4EVR
You are welcome. I am glad you liked the interpretation.
@brandnewriot no it makes perfect sense. I relate it to that too hahah actually
I know i'll get some crap for this but the lines at the end of the second verse seem to be about religion
'Well I can see behind the curtain
The wheels are cranking turning
It's all wrong the way we're working towards a goal that's nonexistent
It's nonexistent but we just keep believing'
To me this is making a statement about how the church works and the non - existent goal being heaven.
Not meant to offend anyone, just my opinion.
First of all I want to say how much I love how a paramore song can help people in so many different ways. What it means to one person can be so different than what it means to another, but still have the same significance in their lives. :) Turn it off was also an imprtant song for me, especially in the beginning of this year.
This is what turn it off means to me :)
---
To me, the first verse really describes something very dissapointing beginning of the school year for me. (If you're familiar with old disney channel movies, it was sort of an eddie's million dollar cook off kinda thing) except for me the choice was between volleyball and music. I was cut from my volleyball team for no really good reason because I spent a lot of time on music the past year and didn't play for an inter mural team. When the lyrics say "found a demon in my safest haven seems like its getting harder to believe..." etc, It perfectly describes my bitterness towards my coach when she cut me from the team that I used to belong to, my 'safest haven' and all i could think of was how unfair it was. All I could do was 'get lost in all my selfish thoughts'
at one point I was so done with people saying 'i'm sorry' and 'i don't understand what happened' or 'coach is crazy' because it didn't change anything. I was still an outcast, excluded from my family. When the lyrics say "i wanna know what it'd be like to find perfection in my pride" and so on, It describes how I felt so flawed and useless. I felt like I was good at nothing. Sure, I had music, but I wasn't really at the top of my game yet like I was with volleyball. I felt like I was in this middle ground, and I wanted so desperately to be 'perfect' at something.
The chorus was really relatable because I truely did feel as if every time things started to get better, there was always something else that shot me down again, and it was infuriating. I still deal with it today.
I'm thankful for Turn it Off because it made me stronger. :)
Thank you so much for this insightful interpretation, it really helped me to not only see the true meaning of the song but also to apply it to my own life.
i think there is another discussion about the same thing (or same difference !)
this is what i said there..
hope it makes sense
" i think its got a lot to do with the issues paramore were having..if u look at it BNE is almost always about issues related to the break up...hayley feeling alienated etc..
the big clue i think is the 2nd worse.
'i can see behind the curtain
the wheels are cranking, turning
its all wrong the way we are working'
to me thats clearly about the band..but it can also be a relationship with someone as well.. i think thts teh great thing about good songs..it has different meanings to different people..
its also about things going from bad to worse..and its just better for everyone once everything that needs to break has broken so you can finally start rebuilding, and fixing things from the ground up..
the opening lines..
'scraping my knees while praying or 'finding a demon in my safest heaven' is clearly talking about how something that you could rely on or was a given with regards what you can rely on ,depend on..the last thing u'd expect to hurt you or break u, lets you down, and hurts you ..
the first verse is where she wants to 'turn it off', which i think is talking about not caring what others think and only caring about what she believes to be right
'getting lost in my selfish thoughts'
and finding perfection in her pride i think means that even though she thinks she's right and 'they are wrong' she wants to be able to see past that and be the bigger person..see past her pride and her righteousness.
she doesnt want to see anything in the light - meaning she doesnt wanna see their imperfections..still, she is willing to turn it off even though she is feeling 'spiteful' she is willing to turn off the light to not see their faults..
but..it only gets worse !
ok i hope i made some sense to someone with that lol.. "
Yeah, I think these lyrics can relate to many people in different situations at different times.
The tragedy it seems unending
I'm watching everyone I looked up to breaking, bending
Taking shortcuts and false solutions just to come out the hero
Well I can see behind the curtain
The wheels are cranking turning
It's all wrong the way we're working towards a goal that's nonexistent
It's nonexistent but we just keep believing
These lyrics.....to me it seems like some people just can't accept that shit happens, and that's life. You can look up to someone, and it's odd, and strangely heartbreaking to see them in that place where they're falling apart, but people need to look to the future and quit dwelling on the past, you know?
I agree with the part about perfection in someone's pride. Sometimes people just get too caught up in the moment, and become selfish and greedy, but people should be more like Paramore. Humble. People need to be humble to be respected in this world. Fame can drive you mad, but throughout people's troubles, most of them come out the other end a better and stronger person :P
@ violet
Your welcome :). Paramore rocks
@Kail
Thank you for not being ignorant and taking it out.
And I never said that I believe in God. :)
But I think this is over now.
@ Violet & Matt
1. I never said God doesn't love us.
2. What kind of thing did I say come off as me calling anyone liars and that they are evil.
3. Lying can be fine... If your wife asks you if they look fat in their dress and they really do, you don't tell them they look like a cow, you say "no you the most beautiful woman in the world". but children / people don't lie to themselves when they say they'll do better on the next test... thats called "resolve". You are resolving to do better, it is then that you act to study harder so you can do better. But if you don't study, then yeah, you consoled yourself but procrastinated anyway. That would be a lie.
anyway lol... I don't think its worth debating anymore... I'm going to edit the post and take out the hypocrite thing and just keep the "digress from our beliefs part.
@kali
But lying can be fine. Innocent children may lie to themselves and say that they'll do better on the next test though they no they wont.
Many people lie to themselves and to others, but thats not always being a hypocrite.
It depends on the lie. The lie may be to make someone feel better or something awful and hurting.
And many people dont think lying is a bad thing.
And like matt said, you are what you are.
@Kail
That is the kind of thing that i hear from preachers around my city centre.
YOU ARE LIARS AND YOU ARE EVIL.
It's bullshit, you are what you are.
If you changed yourself to suit others needs or your religion then you aren't who you are.
God loves us for who we are, even if we aren't nice people he'll love us.
We don't need to change that because that is how we are.
Every person in this world knows it is wrong to lie. There is not one person who hasn't lied in their life time save it be Jesus. This includes lying to yourself.
In this aspect... everyone is a hypocrite. Its not a horrible thing to accept. Accepting that you are a hypocrite doesnt' mean i'm saying you are someone different than who you say you are. I'm not attacking "everyone". I'm merely saying that everyone at one point in their life has digressed from their belief system. If they didn't they would be perfect.
If we were to look up hypocrite though, a person who pretends to have virtues, moral, or religious beliefs, that they actually don't have would be a true hypocrite but I guess i'm using the wrong word. Everyone has digressed from their beliefs... maybe that sentence works better than everyone is a hypocrite.
I agree with you on your interpretation except for saying everyone is a hypocrite. I have to admit lots of people are though
I like the overall idea of your interpretation but not everybody is a hypocrite.
I see your point just that one sentence that annoyed me. Its an absoulte. Its saying EVERYBODY is ____. You can fill in the blank with almost anything and it will always be an accusation. And I doubt you know everybody in the world currently and everybody that has lived. Its an inncorect generalization but the rest of the paragraph I agreed with completly.
wow, thats a really interesting interpretation...i like it!
I scraped my knees while I was praying and found a demon in my safest haven
Seems like it's getting harder to believe in anything than just to get lost in all my selfish thoughts
(I've been praying as hard as I can, at times even my safest place can offer no comfort, it's getting harder to believe in the reality of this world; it's easier to stay in your own mind...often the safest place)
I wanna know what it'd be like to find perfection in my pride
To see nothing in the light
Or turn it off in all my spite
In all my spite I'll turn it off
(I wanna know what the perfect or real me is, to have nothing to hide and be comfortable in my own skin when everyone is expecting something different, I'll turn off all their expectations and go my own way)
And the worst part is before it gets any better we're headed for a cliff
And in the free fall I will realize I'm better off when I hit the bottom
(sometimes it taked the most painful experiences to get the most real, beautiful things)
The tragedy it seems unending
I'm watching everyone I looked up to breaking, bending
Taking shortcuts and false solutions just to come out the hero
Well I can see behind the curtain
The wheels are cranking turning
It's all wrong the way we're working towards a goal that's nonexistent
It's nonexistent but we just keep believing
(Everyone's got their struggles, even our heros break down at times, you've got to see what really going on, and step outside the lines and do what you know YOU have to do)
Hayley's "AGAIN"
(Sends every inkling of fear, anxiety, nervousness away, it's the most real part of any of their songs for me. It's hard to describe but it makes me just let go of EVERYTHING that has ever stopped me...it's just...raw and real!)
God Bless! :)
I've been trying to find out the meaning behind this song for sooo long now! I'll post my take on it shortly :)
I wish that I could hear what the band really feels when they sing this song. What was their intent, what were they really trying to communicate? did I nail it or was I off?! That would be my wish if They would read this and respond to it!