Honest by The Neighbourhood Lyrics Meaning – Unveiling the Raw Emotion Behind the Words
Lyrics
If I made it too hard for you maybe you should’ve changed it.
Say it, you should say it,
‘Cause I’d say I was wrong just to make it fill all the spaces.
Waiting, always waiting.
If I gave you control would you say that (We could’ve saved it?)
I hope you find a way to be yourself someday,
In weakness or in strength,
Change can be amazing.
So I pray for the best, I pray for the best for you.
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me
Chasing, always chasing dreams.
Why’d you stick around, why’d you stay with me?
Why’d you fake it?
Hesitation is killing me too.
But I couldn’t save it, I couldn’t save it.
I hope you find a way to be yourself someday,
In weakness or in strength,
Change can be amazing.
So I pray for the best, I pray for the best for you.
I hope you find a way to be yourself someday,
In weakness or in strength,
Change can be amazing.
So I pray for the best, I pray for the best for you.
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest
I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest
The Neighbourhood’s enigmatic anthem ‘Honest’ oscillates between an ethereal soundscape and piercing candidness. The track, which comes off as a smooth blend of indie-rock baseline with a hauntingly subdued voicing by frontman Jesse Rutherford, forms a narrative that speaks volumes on the shortfalls of communication and connection within the contours of modern relationships.
Though draped in The Neighbourhood’s signature moody ambience, ‘Honest’ is more than just a melodic confessional, it’s a deep-dive into the psyche of an individual yearning for unfiltered truth amidst emotional chaos. Each lyric serves as a raw nerve, exposed to the harsh elements of uneasy silence and the heavy echo of unsaid words.
An Odyssey of Patience – Unraveling the Thread in Relationships
The word ‘patience’ operates as a leitmotif throughout the song, portraying not only the endurance of the speaker but also hinting at the underlying frustration. As the starting line suggests, ‘Patience, test my patience,’ there is an immediate sense of tension, of a dynamic that is stretched thin.
The eloquent plea for change or improvement indirectly points to a certain cowardice or inaction on the partner’s part. The Neighbourhood captivates our thoughts by encapsulating the essence of all those moments in a relationship when things get so tangled that an overhaul feels necessary, yet the courage to instigate change is oddly lacking.
The Cry for Control – A Surrender to Save Relationship
In an almost oxymoronic sense, the speaker offers control as a last resort in a desperate attempt to salvage something that is perceptibly slipping away. The line ‘If I gave you control would you say that (We could’ve saved it?)’ reads as a sacrificial ultimatum, entangled in the desire for mutual salvage.
Control here could be symbolically tied to the relinquishing of one’s pride or ego in the face of potential ruin. The question posed hangs in the heavy silence, not expecting an answer but as an unassailable truth that only the partner can confront.
The Enigma of Honesty: A Siren’s Song in a Sea of Pretenses
The chorus of ‘Honest’ resonates like a clarion call through the maze of half-truths and facades, repeating, ‘I wish you could be honest, I wish you could be honest with me, with me.’ The repetition is haunting, echoing the incessant craving for authenticity when faced with the ambiguity of a lover’s words and actions.
This earnest desire for honesty becomes the crux of the song, the point around which all other emotions pivot. It isn’t just about truth in terms of fidelity or facts, but the genuine, naked emotion that equates to vulnerability, a currency of trust that the speaker yearns for.
Dissecting the Dreams and Facades: Chasing the Illusion
The verse ‘Chasing, always chasing dreams. Why’d you stick around, why’d you stay with me? Why’d you fake it?’ twists the knife further, juxtaposing the chasing of dreams with the ambivalence of the partner’s presence. It grapples with the concept of pursuing a future based on an authenticity that may never have been there to begin with.
Faking it, in this context, presents itself as living in a duality where one’s outer expressions do not match inner feelings, a common thread in human relationships navigating through the stratosphere of expectation and reality.
From the Ashes of Hesitation: Prayers for Personal Revolution
The culmination of ‘Honest’ lies in the mantra-like blessing bestowed upon the partner. Despite the conflict, there isn’t an air of revenge or malice, instead ‘I hope you find a way to be yourself someday, In weakness or in strength, Change can be amazing,’ encapsulates both the pain and the emancipation that comes with letting go.
It’s in this bittersweet farewell to dreams once shared, and the silent surrender of what can’t be fixed, that The Neighbourhood presents not just an ending, but also opens a space for new beginnings, framed by the hope that change, though often painful, carries the miraculous potential for growth.
