Jack Johnson: Flake Meaning
Song Released: 2002
Flake Lyrics
But you can make it up next time
I know she knows it's not right
There ain't no use in lying
Maybe she thinks I know something
Maybe maybe she thinks its fine
Maybe she knows something I don't
I'm so, I'm so...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:He says he wouldn't want to break her ties meaning he doesn't want to change her even if it means they can never be together. The ties stop them from being together yet they attracted him to her as the ties are what makes her unique and moulded her into the person she is. He wouldn't want to break them cause he loves her. I also get the impression he let this girl down and it was also down to her ties that caused this to happen and she is getting tired dealing with him through her 'sleepy eyes' he's not helping her at this time but making things worse
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:I agree with the last anonymous person who posted. This is not about drugs... Flake, while it is slang for coke (but then again, what isn't slang for a drug?) refers to a girl. The girl is a flake - as in - a person who promises one thing but never follows through...
In my mind, this is about a girl that he loves but is with someone else. She seems to want to be with him too, but she can't make up her mind. He's getting tired of trying to be with her because her indecision hasn't led anywhere ("maybe it pretty much always means no").
The song starts off with him talking about her telling him it's ok that he tries to convince her to be with him. Playfully she tells him "it's alright, you can make it up to me next time". He then defends his position of trying to convince her - "there ain't no use in lying". Then out of his frustration he internally questions why she even puts up with his attempts if she is going to remain with the other guy - "maybe she thinks I know something [about fate/life/love], maybe she thinks it's fine [perhaps she thinks his trying is harmless?], maybe she knows something I don't [such as she actually loves him back].
"It seems to me that maybe pretty much means no So don't tell me you just might let it go" This discusses how she tells him that maybe they'll be together and points out his disbelief that she'll end it with her current boyfriend despite what she might tell him at times. He then explains how in reality, she won't do anything about it because she knows it's going to hurt her current boyfriend ("no one likes to be let down") and it's difficult to end a esrious relationship - it's definitely easier to do nothing than to hurt someone ("often times we're lazy") Further, this laziness "stands in his way" because he can't be with her.
"And I know that when she said she's gonna try
Well it might not work because of other ties" - Here he's pointing out that she says she'll try to be with him, but he doesn't think it's going to work out because of her boyfriend and perhaps other commitments that come with a serious relationship ("other ties", bf, living situations, pets, etc.). "I know she usually has some other ties and I wouldn't want to break em" - Apparently she's been with this guy for a while and he's expressing how he'd feel bad for being the cause of the break up, her moving out, her losing the pet, etc.
Back to the maybe again... "perhaps she'll help me untie this" or in other words perhaps she'll actually break up with him and unravel all of these ties she has formed with her boyfriend (house pets etc) . "until then I'm gonna have to lie to you" - The "you" here is us, the audience, and he's lying by saying he doesn't want to be with her (which he actually does want, but not while she's dating/living with another guy.
-chorus-
Now he's speaking about himself - "the harder you try, the further you fall" i.e. - the more he tries to be with this girl and/or convince her to leave her bf, the worse he is hurt when she does nothing about it. "even with all the money in the whole wide world" it doesn't help heal the pain, nor does it help convince the girl to man up and follow her heart.
Now desperation sets in - "please please don't pass me by" This one's obvious - Please don't lose me because you won't end it with someone you don't want to be with. Because soon "everything you know about me baby you gonna have to change" or in other words, he's eventually going to give up and she's going to lose what she has with him. This will completely redefine his and her relationship and the way he acts around her. This situation hurts him and bums him out (as you can imagine) so "please please don't drag me [him] down".
At the end he gets back to his love for her, pointing out that he's always going to try. Despite all of her indecision and the pain she has brought him, his love is unrelenting and he'll always be there in case she changes her mind - "just like a tree down by the water baby I shall not move even after all the silly things you do".
I reiterate, it's not about drugs guys and gals. Believe it or not, not every song is about coke, weed, or heroin... This one is about love. Well, then again maybe I'm byist because I'm in the exact situation I describe above... Sigh... girls. -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I think it's about a girl who has problems (ties) and it's interfering with her relationship with this guy. He can't love her the way she needs to be loved and ends up letting her down. He doesn't want to change her as he sees what she has been through is making her who she is and who he could one day love. He sees that from her pain she may one day be able to help him through his problems as she comes out the other side but until then they can't really work
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My interpretation is that, both of them have ties and that they are in a unique situation that they can't commit to each other. As this relationship progresses, one party steps up the plate and understands the situation of other ties ..... he doesnt want to break it .....is it a friends with benefits kinda setup ? I think it is , and with one party with feelings developing to the other .
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My interpretation is that he is in a relationship with a girl and loves her dearly, but it isn't working out. Both know the relationship is eroding, but neither wants to confront the other. Eventually, after coming to terms with what is important to him, he decides to do what is necessary to save it:
"I know she said it's alright
But you can make it up next time
I know she knows it's not right
There ain't no use in lying
Maybe she thinks I know something
Maybe maybe she thinks its fine
Maybe she knows something I don't
I'm so, I'm so tired, I'm so tired of trying"
Interpretation: He is in a relationship with someone but keeps letting her down; she is telling him that she is okay with his inability to make her happy but they both know she doesn't mean what she is saying (as most women do). Frustrated with himself, he is tired of trying to do what's right only to fail each time.
---------------------------------
"It seems to me that maybe,
It pretty much always means no
So don't tell me you might just let it go
And often times we're lazy
It seems to stand in my way
Cause no one no not no one
Likes to be let down"
Interpretation: She is saying that his failure to keep her happy is okay, she'll get over it -- but they both know that isn't true. He has given up trying to make her happy with the relationship because he keeps failing (he is lazy)
"I know she loves the sunrise
No longer sees it with her sleeping eyes
And I know that when she said she's gonna try
Well it might not work because of other ties and
I know she usually has some other ties
And I wouldn't want to break 'em, nah, I wouldn't want to break 'em
Maybe she'll help me to untie this but
Until then well, I'm gonna have to lie too"
Interpretation: They no longer sleep together thus he isn't with her when she wakes each morning (they are drifting further apart). They've discussed the relationship and she says she'll try to work on it but because they are drifting apart she's been pondering whether to see someone else but doesn't think he knows this. He knows what is happening but because he loves her he isn't going to confront her other options and is hoping she will tell him the truth about wanting to see someone else and end their relationship (this goes back to him being "lazy").
"It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means no
So don't tell me you might just let it go
And often times we're lazy
It seems to stand in my way
Cause no one no not no one
Likes to be let down
It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means no
So don't tell me you might just let it go"
Interpretation: See above.
"The harder that you try baby, the further you'll fall
Even with all the money in the whole wide world
Please please please don't pass me
Please please please don't pass me
Please please please don't pass me by"
Interpretation: The more you put into a relationship, especially in trying to save it, the more you'll be hurt when it ends. He hopes they stay together.
"Everything you know about me now baby you gonna have to change
You gonna have to call it by a brand new name
Please please please don't drag me
Please please please don't drag me
Please please please don't drag me down"
Interpretation: He has changed his behavior and wants to save the relationship. He is no longer lazy, no longer a flake -- he will actually get off his ass instead of sulking about it.
"Just like a tree down by the water baby I shall not move
Even after all the silly things you do
Please please please don't drag me
Please please please don't drag me
Please please please don't drag me down"
Interpretation: He is resolute about saving this relationship -- no matter how much she "tests" him he will not stray from doing what needs to be done to save it. Still, he hopes she won't resist his new found desire to save things, but he is worried she will. -
It's not about fucking drugs you addicts! It's about losing someone you love...about having a love, but its not good enough. You can still love someone and still not fulfill them, their needs, and their desires and vice versa. Yes if you want to try to interpret any song, you can make a wonderful analogy to a drug! Well guess what....Ive done plenty, and life isn't about drugs...its about love! Your not in love with a drug, your addicted....and yes you can be addicted to a person, but it also doesn't mean your in love. Addictions are hard to handle whether it be about a drug or a person...sometimes one gets the best of the other...and sometimes one never gets the best! Sometimes its just never meant to be,,,
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Good points by Hales. I agree with drug interpretation. 'Flake' is a term for cocaine and a lot of the lyrics kind of speak to putting the drug in front of the truly important stuff in life (a guy who really wants to be with a girl who doesn't get it because she's too coked up to commit to him).
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I think the girl he is singing about has a drug problem...Her ties are drugs, in my opinion, if you listen to the song and think about that way you might understand...
I know she loves the sunrise
no longer sees it with her sleepy eyes
and I know that when she says she's gunna try
well it might not work because of other ties
thats just my twisted way of looking at things... -
This song is about a girl that he likes, and he wants to be with her, but she has some things she needs to work out (the 'ties') before having a relationship with him. But since their relationship isn't progressing, he feels like he's being lazy, when he's really just waiting for the girl to come around. And at the same time, he doesn't want to be let down.
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