What do you think Hide and Seek means?

Imogen Heap: Hide and Seek Meaning

Album cover for Hide and Seek album cover

Hide and Seek Lyrics

where are we? what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just began to fall
crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling
spin me around again and rub my eyes
this can't be happening
when busy streets a mess with people would stop to...

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  1. anonymous
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     Oct 19th 2007 !⃝

    Many people here believe that this song has to do with a family loss or something. but people tend to relate things to a personal experience or just personal level because it recently happened or was emotionally overwhelming or its just a natural way to think everything revolves around you (i'm not saying one has a big ego but when have you wanted something for yourself? its the human animalistic way to try and survive in a certain environment. That's how human society is created: by conflicting egos trying to survive. That should be enough of my stoical views on humans. don't listen to me!!).
    About 9/11 well it never really came to mind. Overall, this song is just about a death or major loss of something or someone. Whatever it is you can leave it to your own interpretation.
    Mine is that when british explorers invaded new lands and found 'strange' people (being dark-skinned) they killed them because they were different. I thought of this from the sentences:
    Where are we? What the hell is going on? [explorers in a new land. finding strange people]
    The dust has only just begun to form,[at the moment after all the wars between the settlers and natives. people are accepting different people]

    Hide and seek. [these people trying to hide away from these settlers who are killing them]
    All those years they were here first. [they were here first! you think your better then them, huh? you think you found this land first? sorry that was just a momentary anger burst. lol]
    Blood and tears,
    They were here first.[same thing]

    Mmm, what you say?
    Mm, that you only meant well? Well, of course you did.
    Mmm, what you say?
    Mm, that it's all for the best? Ah of course it is.
    Mmm, what you say?
    Mm, that it's just what we need? And you decided this.
    Mmm what you say?
    What did she say?
    [a discussion between the two races or groups asking 'why? why did you do it?']
    Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth.
    Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.
    Speak no feeling, no I don't believe you.
    You don't care a bit. You don't care a bit.
    [about how they don't care if they kill them and their reasons are not justified]

    i think my interpretation came about because in english class we were just talking about natives and settlers and history. (I don't know why were learning history in english). anyway I like the interpretation where someone said something of a funeral. That person explained it well.

    No one would know what the true interpretation is because only imogen heap knows. But anyone can have their own opinion like everyone here has. Just let your mind run free!! (don't listen to me!! sorry, that was another outburst. lol)

  2. anonymous
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     Oct 18th 2007 !⃝

    This song's meaning reminds me of the bjork song "the Modern Things", in which she sings, "all the modern things like cars and such have always existed/ they've just been waiting in a mountain for the right moment".

    In a similar way, "trains and sewing machines/ all those years/ they were here first".

    The idea of the machine has always existed and was here before humanity. Evidence of this is discussed in great transcendentalist writings such as Emerson, Thoreau, Kant, even Hume. The perfect machine of the creator's design. Nature exists not on the belief or disbelief of certain realities, but on the actions that are based around those beliefs. Hence our morals, ideally based on reason, create our reality. Unfortunately reason is easily corrupted when unpure, when "oily".

    The "insensitivity" of Reason, "speaks no feeling", yet "decides" everything. IS this "just what we need"? To return to the robotic exercises of survival?

    Perhaps the German Idealists stopped too soon of a search for a unifying theory of morality, and we shouldn't take every word they say as authority. The idea that humanity is an end in itself, rather than a means, completely guts the necessity to operate on a strict moral imperative. Therefor the groundwork for these ideas gives way to the critiques of Nietzsche, and to the ideas of preemptive war.

    They speak so much of the love for nature's design, but begrudgingly pave the way for the total lapse of morality we are witnessing across the world. Are their words empty? Do they really "care a bit"?

    The song is a post-modern critique of pure reason, and Heap is really pulling the wool over our eyes by implying it was simply about a relationship and possibly 9/11. She has the genius of a transcendental poet inside her, and I believe this is why this song connects to us on such a deep level.

  3. imanonymouslyinter
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     Oct 12th 2007 !⃝

    In my opinion yes it is about a relationship, its all about an affair I know not as intriguing as the other interpretations, but start of with "where are we what the hell is going on" she doesn't know how or where he relationship stands and how it got to this place. The crop circles just signify the disbelief spin me round again because it hit her so hard and rub my eyes to see it more clearly. ANd all the people that believed in them. Hide from the problems and search where they came from. The trains and sewing machines talk about fixing things and the trains getting to a new place in the relationship. all the years they were together were there before the girl came along. The oil marks just signify where the pictures of them used to hang and the insensitivity means that he didn't even think about her. what do you say? that you only meant well? well of course you did. Means he didn't want to hurt her by telling her. But its best she knows now and this will be a major step in their relationship. But really its just killing her.

  4. anonymous
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     Sep 18th 2007 !⃝

    This song is clearly about a loss of some kind... I think we can all agree on that. My personal opinion is that a couple has broken up, and the other is left in an empty house. "The dust has only just begun to fall" after a fight and a move have occurred, stirring up things that have not been touched or moved in a long time. "Crop circles in the carpet" indicates the indentations left after furniture has been removed from carpet. And every time she sees one of these new changes, she gets a "sinking feeling". "Spin me around, rub my eyes" means she is confused and in disbelief about what has occurred. As far as the "busy streets full of people hanging their heads"... If you live in a fairly small town, and you have been left or dumped, you know what she means. People are accustomed to seeing the two of you together and when they see only you, they hang their heads in disapproval rather that actually approach you and discuss what has happened. "Oily marks appear on walls" relates to the mark left by a hand on sheetrock. It was probably made in a moment of passion seeing that pleasured moments used to hang there. Those sexual moments were the only times when she could see past his insensitivity and dull life he had left her with. And of course, the angered question any woman would ask in this situation, why? What was his reasoning? Did you mean well by doing this to me? Is this what is best for our lives? Is this what we all need, or better yet, what did she tell you to say? No matter what sweet words come from your mouth, you will always be the malicious, selfish person that did these horrible things to hurt.

  5. anonymous
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     Sep 10th 2007 !⃝

    Im not a big fan of Imogen Heap, but I heard this son on an episode of the real world sydney and I thought it had, just that sound, you know, when you hear it, and you get a chill down your spine but your not scared, it just puts you in that much of a trance. Anyway, onto the interpretation.

    Im going to go with, as someone else had said,a fight between two people. Its starts off with a fight between the two people arguing, wondering where they are in live and what happened to bring them to this point. Then Immo is crying, I'm not sure but I think that it felt that her troubles were so strong that everyone around her would feel her emotions just by her expression and show compassion to her. Then it says Hide and Seel, trains arent solving machines, meaning, good move your got on the train and ran away, but that's not going to solve this problem.They were here first, I'm not sure about but I'm thinking that it means that their relationship was here first. Then it talks about, how the guy was talking about how he did it for the better of them both, him running away on the train was to better them. Then it goes to talk about, how everthing he's saying is just another part of their game, and he's just messing with her mind again, but hell just run away on that train again. Thats what this song sounded like to me in my mind, but then again I'm only 17 so I could have te whole thing wrong.

  6. anonymous13
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     Sep 4th 2007 !⃝

    I believe the song is about the Indians and how we took over their way of life. I know it's a little out there, but it makes sense when you listen to the song thinking about that.

  7. anonymous
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     Sep 2nd 2007 !⃝

    This song is clearly about lord of the rings, most obviously about the part where Frodo is betrayed by Gollum who steals the ring. The part where she says "they were here first" is about the elves, who had been around the longest. Gollum says "my precious" which are the ransom notes falling out of his mouth. He doesn't care about Frodo, he only cares about the ring, which is a metaphor for addiction to heroin, since J.R.R Tolkein was an addict and wrote about it metaphorically through his novels.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  8. anonymous
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     Aug 11th 2007 !⃝

    I don't really know an idea about what this song is about, but in my marching band, our show theme this year is about choices and how choices in our lives affect our future. These are one of the songs we will be performing.

    Looking at the lyrics, maybe it is about how maybe the choices our government or society makes that have been changing people's lives dramatically in the years to come.

    It is just an idea =]

  9. anonymous
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     Jul 21st 2007 !⃝

    When they say "it's for the best" I think it's because her parents broke up when she was young and it's from a child's view.

  10. anonymous
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     Jun 18th 2007 !⃝

    It seriously sounds like this song is about the holocaust. It makes the most sense to me that way.

  11. anonymous
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     Jun 13th 2007 !⃝

    Someone before said: I believe that Imogen left the song open to our individual interpretations.
    That it what I believe.
    Although it relates perfectly to 9/11.
    A beautiful song. My favorite.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  12. ernie
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     Jun 11th 2007 !⃝

    I think she had a miscarriage and that's why she doesn't walk to talk about it. The imagery, trains, hide and seek, sewing machines are about children. She misses what might have been...

  13. anonymous
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     Jun 10th 2007 !⃝

    I think that this is so like the Oc the show because it reminds me of all of the troubles that hey had I think that that is the whole meaning of the song how every one is going through something hard in there life but they might just be really good at hiding it some of them may be life threating and not so much but we all have them

  14. anonymous
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     May 13th 2007 !⃝

    I never really knew what the song was about. I've tried to figure it out for about one and a half years now (well, not constantly of course...) The reason for me not having figured it out probably is that I´m not a native speaker... It´s interesting to see that everyone has a different opinion about it though!
    Personally to me this is the most meaningful song of my life. Every time I listen to it so many emotions come up... And the remarkable thing about this is that those emotions have to do with a relationship I had quite a while ago and that -after having read through all of your interpretations- it seems that this is what the song actually could be about: love, breaking up and the feelings after it.
    Thanks a lot for the enlightenment!
    L.

  15. anonymous
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     Apr 17th 2007 !⃝

    I've looked through all the above interpretations, and I have to say I can't disagree with any of them. I believe that Imogen left the song open to our individual interpretations such that it means something special and different to each of us. I am able to relate to the song as a tennager now and will be able to even when I'm older, because I believe that feelings of being lost or searching for truth is an ongoing process in life. Each time I play the song, it absorbs me and the music captivates me. I would play it over and over again, and it serves as a form of comfort. My interpretation of the song today, or rather what I can relate to is watching my parents' relationship break down, slowly and painfully. But then, there is nothing I can do but reminisce the old times where things weren't as complicated.

    'oily marks appear on walls
    where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,
    the sweeping insensitivity of this still life'

    The chorus:Mmmm what do you say,
    Mmmm that you only meant well?
    well of course you did
    Mmmm what do you say,
    Mmmm that's all for the best?
    ah of course it is
    Mmmm what do you say?
    Mmmm that it's just what we need
    you decided this
    Mmmm what do you say?
    Mmmm what did she say?

    reminds me of the stubbornness of my mum and dad. Both hold too much pride to show any weakness to the other, and they run away from everything by not talking to each other. It feels here in the chorus, as if I'm talking to my dad, and he's telling me a divorce is all for the best. But then, they have not even tried hard enough to keep the marriage together. It is not 'just what we need' as he might say.
    Thus, that's how I relate to the song today.

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