Sonder
Urban Tapestry: Clara Hannigan's 'Sonder' Unveils Invisible Lives
Lyrics
Someone's hurting, but I can only hear them
Expressing awareness of someone in pain, though unable to directly perceive their emotions.
Shouting somewhere in the street
Noticing distant turmoil, possibly in a public space like a street.
It's like the couple on the roof across from me
Comparing the situation to observing a couple on a nearby rooftop but feeling disconnected.
But they're the people that I can only see (Mmm)
Highlighting the paradox of seeing people visually but not understanding them personally.
Eleven stories standing out my window
Describing the physical perspective from a high vantage point, emphasizing distance.
Unfolding through a screen
Reflecting on experiences mediated by a screen, possibly referring to a digital disconnect.
And I can see them but only for a moment
Acknowledging brief moments of connection when observing others, like people on a balcony.
When they're smoking off their balcony
Specifically noting the act of smoking on a balcony as a shared but fleeting experience.
Here I'm just a stranger
Expressing a sense of being a stranger in the observed environment.
No one to you, nothing to hide
Conveying a lack of personal significance or secrets in the eyes of those being observed.
And soon enough, I could change
Suggesting the potential for personal change in the future.
There's nothing to prove, we only collide
Affirming the absence of a need to prove oneself, emphasizing shared collisions or interactions.
I was so certain, when I returned to what was home
Recalling a previous certainty about returning home and transforming into a desired self.
That I could turn into the person I could see
Expressing the desire to embody the person one envisions when returning home.
But I would learn then, in a place that says it knows me
Learning in a familiar place that the envisioned self is elusive or unattainable.
That vision fades to something out of reach (Oh)
Describing the fading of a clear vision into something unattainable or distant.
But here I'm just a stranger
Reiterating the sense of being a stranger in the observed setting.
No one to you, nothing to hide
Re-emphasizing the lack of personal connection or hidden aspects.
And soon enough, I could change
Reiterating the potential for personal change without the need for validation.
There's nothing to prove, we only collide
Affirming the absence of a need to prove oneself, emphasizing shared collisions or interactions (repeated).
Here I'm just a stranger
Reiterating the sense of being a stranger in the observed setting (repeated).
No one to you, nothing to hide
Re-emphasizing the lack of personal connection or hidden aspects (repeated).
And soon enough, I could change
Reiterating the potential for personal change without the need for validation (repeated).
There's nothing to prove, we only collide
Affirming the absence of a need to prove oneself, emphasizing shared collisions or interactions (repeated).
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