One Thing Left to Try by MGMT Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Psychedelic Quest for Existential Salvation
Lyrics
See if you can make it
Before you choose the night
And the silence overtakes you
If you looked into the fire
And you had that conversation
Then there’s one thing left to try
If you want to save your life
Fear is his name but his friends still call him God
Again and again the thought remains
The only way to get rid of the feeling
I don’t wanna die!
Wishing I’d done something
Before then what’s required
To last until the sunset
No I don’t wanna die
Thinking that I’m dreaming
There’s one thing left to try
If you want to change your night
Today I left those thoughts behind, behind
Over and over
You’ve died just to feel alive
The only way to get rid of the feeling
You have to draw the line
And remember there’s more than you see in your sight
Do you want to keep us alive?
Do you want to feel alive?
Do you want to keep us alive?
Do you want to feel alive?
Do you want to keep us alive? (fun is over)
Do you want to feel alive? (fun is over)
Do you want to keep us alive? (fun is over)
Do you want to feel alive?
(There’s one thing left to try)
Psychedelic indie sweethearts MGMT have always had a way with weaving intricate tapestries of sound and meaning—painting auditory vistas that tempt their listeners to peer deeper into the swirling colors of their lyrics. ‘One Thing Left to Try’ from their 2018 album ‘Little Dark Age’ continues this tradition, layering its synth-driven melodies with existential pondering and a defiance against the silence of surrender.
Rather than just being another catchy track, the song manages to articulate a desperate clutch at life—the final attempt to stay above the consuming waves of despair and resignation. It’s a sonic battle cry, echoing from the walls of the mind, desperate to feel the pulse of existence once more. Let’s dive into the track that spotlights both the fragility and the strength found in the dance of life.
The Siren Call of the ‘Silent Night’: A Dive into Desperation
The opening stanza of ‘One Thing Left to Try’ immediately ushers the listener into a scene fraught with urgency and desperation. The concept of ‘the night and the silence’ overtaking the protagonist suggests a surrender to death or an existential void, a theme that resonates with anyone who has faced the edge of hopelessness.
This urgent plea—to ‘try’ before succumbing—evokes a Sisyphean struggle against the inevitable. It’s a call to arms, an invitation to ignite the human spirit in the face of a quietus that threatens to erase one’s existence.
Embracing the Fire: The Crucible of Self-Discovery
In a whispered confession, MGMT speak of ‘looking into the fire’ and having ‘that conversation’, a metaphor for introspection and facing one’s deepest fears and desires. The ‘fire’ could symbolize a trial or tribulation that refines and reveals one’s true character.
The song insists on the catharsis that can come from such an encounter, implying that to find the will to keep living, one must often pass through the flames of self-discovery. The ‘one thing left to try’ in order to save one’s life could very well be this confrontation with the core of one’s being.
The Anthemic Refrain: ‘I Don’t Want to Die!’
The chorus erupts as a defiant rejection of death, not just in the physical sense but also the death of the spirit, of dreams, of ambitions. The lyric ‘I don’t want to die!’ isn’t just a negation of an end; it’s an affirmation of life, a clarion call to preserve the wonder of ‘feeling’ in a world that often numbs and dulls.
More than a mere refusal, it’s a battle cry against complacency and the temptation to let dreams die unfulfilled. The vivid desperation of wanting to ‘last until the sunset’ and ‘thinking that I’m dreaming’ speaks to a universal experience where existence sometimes feels fleeting and we yearn for something permanent, something real.
The Paradox of Living: Dying to Feel Alive
Beneath the surface of the soaring synths, ‘One Thing Left to Try’ belies a profound paradox—the notion that ‘over and over you’ve died just to feel alive.’ This line cuts to the heart of the human condition, exploring the idea that renewal often comes from the brink of destruction, and that true awareness of life comes in the face of its potential loss.
To truly ‘feel alive,’ one may have to brush up against the mortality that humans so fervently resist. It’s within this liminal space between life and death that MGMT encourages the listener to find the vibrancy and the vivacity of existence.
The Unseen Horizon: More Than Meets the Eye
MGMT does not leave their listener in the depths of existential despair. Instead, they offer a beacon of hope—’remember there’s more than you see in your sight.’ Herein lies the hidden meaning: a reminder that our perceptual limitations often obscure the full range of possibilities available to us.
Life, MGMT argues, must be seized beyond the scope of our immediate vision. There’s an encouragement to draw a line in the sand—to stand firm against ‘the feeling’ that diminishes one’s zest for life—and to keep searching for that ineffable ‘more.’ It’s a message to keep that fire of curiosity alight, to preserve the will to explore, and to maintain that drive to discover what it means to truly feel—and to be—alive.
