Special Place, Simple Thing by Taig Lonergan

The memory is as clear as blue skies, the weather that morning was not. Driving through the daily, thick fog on the way to school, I ask the question I ask every single day.

“Can we listen to the radio?” my squeaky 6 year old voice asks.

“No,” my dad replies as he pulls out an unfamiliar CD. “We’re going to listen to these new guys.”

I sigh as I sink back into my seat. I hear the buzzing and chirring as my dad slides in the CD. Before I know it, I am bobbing my head to the rhythmic, steady pulse of the very first song of the album. I grab the CD case to find out the name of the song. “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. Not bad.

Keane is an English band who consist of three members. They all grew up in Battle, where they enjoyed playing football (soccer) before walking through fields and woods on their way home. They were discovered in 2002 by Simon Williams, the same person who discovered Coldplay. They released their first album with Island Records in 2005. They rose to the top of the Billboard charts with that album, which has “Somewhere Only We Know” in it.  

Keane use symbolism, rhyme, and personification during the song to communicate the universal theme that having something (hobby, sport, item, etc.) to do or use and a special place to go to is the best way to cheer up.

The first figurative device used to deliver the theme that the easiest way to brighten your day is to spend time at a specific place that is significant to you is symbolism. In the first verse of the song, Keane begin to describe the place that is personally special to them. “I felt the earth beneath my feet / Sat by the river and it made me complete” (“Somewhere” 3-4), is how Keane wrote their feelings for this area they are giving a description of. Keane use the symbols of the earth and river to represent characteristics of the special place that “completes” them. The earth could represent the surface that is traveled upon and the river as a certain object that is an essential part of the place. This reveals the theme that having a special place to rely on and express feelings at is helpful because they use the earth and river to symbolize the surroundings of this magical location that makes them feel whole.

Secondly, Keane uses rhyme to communicate the insightful message that using or doing something that is important to you is helpful when ridding yourself of stress. In the first stanza, Keane sing about their special place, but, in the second stanza, they sing about their simple thing. In the chorus, Keane ponder, “Oh simple thing, where have you gone? / I’m getting old and I need something to rely” (“Somewhere” 5-6). By rhyming “gone” with “rely on,” along with mentioning something being lost as well as becoming older, Keane are connecting feeling weary to not having a relief of pressure and responsibility in their life. This reveals the theme that having a simple thing might lighten your mood by conveying to the listener that having something simple to relieve some of their stress makes them feel younger and more alive by admitting he feels aged without it.

Thirdly, Keane also demonstrate the theme by incorporating personification within the lyrics. In the first stanza, Keane were depicting the visit to their former special place and later on in the song, they sing about how the rest of the encounter went with the words: “I came across a fallen tree / I felt the branches had been looking at me” (“Somewhere” 9-10). Keane personify the fallen tree as to have vision in order to show how that particular remnant of the magical location reminds them of how significant its impact has been on each of their lives. This reveals the core message that going to a place that means a lot to you is helpful because they, by practically giving a dead tree eyes, are conveying that they cannot ignore the benefits of having a special place because they are basically staring right at them, clearly in plain sight.

A compelling aspect of “Somewhere Only We Know” is the execution of its sound. They use the instruments of piano, drum set, and vocals to create a song that sounds like so much more than it is. This is evident when the line, “This could be the end of everything” (“Somewhere” 19), is sung because the melody rises and falls multiple times in just one line, even in “everything” 4 times. All throughout the song, the drum and piano combine to create a steady beat that, to my ears, produces a sound much like that of a bass.

Unfortunately, the music video was not up to par. In the video, the band plays in a river in the middle of a forest, which clearly stands for the special place, but, towards the end of the music video, small, tree-like creatures with swirly, big, blue eyes, a small blue mouth, and a reddish-yellow hole where the heart normally is start appearing far too often. This seems random with no evident explanation for them, but I could only guess that they stand for the magic and mystery of the unique location.

The greatest strength of this piece of artistry is the insightful message portrayed and how well the song was written to convey it. When Keane asked their listeners, “So why don’t we go somewhere only we know?” (“Somewhere” 20), I wondered where my own special place is. I figured out it was my backyard, where I often play soccer (my simple thing) for hours with my brothers. This is why this song brings many happy memories and leaves me with a smile on my face.

“Somewhere Only We Know” is a song filled with symbolistic lyrics that clearly represent Keane’s love for their surroundings. Using those phrases, the message that having something (hobby, sport, item, etc.) to do or use and a special place to go to is the best way to cheer up is conveyed through a piece of art that sounds like so much more than it really consists of. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this song resonated with me because it brought back so many great memories of when I was younger, playing for hours in my dirt and weed backyard for countless hours with my brothers. While this song connects to me, it connects to others as well. I think this message reminds everyone that they sometimes need a break from the rest of the world and go somewhere private or simply do something that just makes them happy. A similar theme is also found in pop song “Paradise,”where the band Coldplay sing, “Life goes on, it gets so heavy / … She’d dream of paradise” (“Paradise” 8/15). This is an excerpt that can clearly convey a theme that when life becomes “heavy,” or stressful, going someplace away from society, whether physically or mentally, can let your mind escape the wrath of life’s struggles.All listeners of “Somewhere Only We Know” should reflect upon their own lives and determine whether they have a special place (or need one), because I personally believe that if you have one, it provides a golden platform for mountains of happy memories.