What does Nothing Left to Say mean?

Imagine Dragons: Nothing Left to Say Meaning

Tagged: Suicide [suggest]
Album cover for Nothing Left to Say album cover

Nothing Left to Say Lyrics

Who knows how long
I've been awake now?
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me, beckoning
Who knows what's right?
The lines keep getting thinner
My age has never made me wise
But I keep pushing on and on and on and...

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 14th 2016 !⃝

    To me this song immediately shows me the struggle of someone with severe depression. Depression usually couples with insomnia giving the line 'who knows how long i've been awake now'. The next line 'the shadows on my wall dont sleep' goes with this idea as it could mean that they are tossing and turning in their 'sleep'.

    'My age has never made me wise but I keep pushing on and on'. This makes me think that they has been in this state for a while and is just trying to keep himself motivated to get through, but the fact that it has been so long, they keep repeating 'on and on'.

    The chorus leads me to believe that this song has as dark meaning as the thoughts above. 'There's nothing left to say now' hints that their mind has been made up and he has chosen their fate, his fate being suicide because of the line 'i'm giving up'.

    'Below my soul i feel an engine collapsing as it sees the pain' is their heart giving up as it knows what is coming and how long it has been going through the tough times. The line 'even if my way is wrong' is them knowing that suicide is not the only viable option, but it is the one that is most appealing at this time.

    These are my views so hey.

  2. anonymous
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    Oct 4th 2015 !⃝

    I think its about somebody who's trying to win their partner/lover back, but is getting nowhere and finding it hopeless to break through to them, which comes in the form "theres nothing left to say", because he or she has tried but exhausted all avenues.

    The first verse, mainly about how he cannot sleep, is because he/she longs for this person back and the "shadows on the wall" are his/herr thoughts and over thinking, which torment him/her constantly. "My age has never made me wise", is telling us that he/she hasnt learnt from past experiences and therefore wont stop pushing and let the hurt go. This then leads onto "but I keep pushing on and on", because thats all he/she can do to keep going because without them, theres not much left.

    In the second verse "the engine" is what is driving the endeavour, but as he/she gets little attention for their actions its "collapsing as it sees the pain". "Ive come too far to see the end now", implies that now after all this pain he/she doesnt want to know the outcome because they either do not want to know the answer or because even if they get what they want, could it be the same as it once was.

    "Im drowning in the waters of soul" is that slowly he/she is falling apart unable to lead a normal life without this hanging over their head and they soon feel like they will be lost forever.

  3. anonymous
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    Jul 23rd 2015 !⃝

    After all of these interpretations, there's "nothing left to saysay now"

  4. anonymous
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    Mar 18th 2015 !⃝

    I feel like this song is about someone who has a problem (be it mental health, physical health, abilities of some kind which are very important, etc.) who refuses to get assistance in overcoming the issue.

    To take mental health, as this is the main one that I think of, it's a person who is severely depressed, keeps thinking about suicide constantly ("who knows how long I've been awake" he thinks so often of dark depression, he can't sleep). The shadows are his thoughts and fears, thus why they don't sleep, as even if he himself finds sleep, these fears find him in his dreams.

    "My age has never made me wise": he has been struggling for a long time, thinking it would get better with age, but he doesn't ever find a cure for his mind's problems.

    Chorus: giving up on trying to get better

    When he says "even if my way is wrong" he's saying that he knows that he should have gotten assistance before it got to this stage, and now he's just going to keep going alone.

    Later, when he says "I'm drowning in the waters of my soul" it's just him saying I'm lost and dying. He feels as though he's past the point of salvation, which is why he says "IF you could only save me". He knows it's no longer an option.

    Anyway, that's just my opinion of course, but I hope it helped in some way.

  5. anonymous
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    Dec 20th 2014 !⃝

    I think this song is about someone (probably a teenager or a young adult ) that has lots of responsabilities, many people expect him to be mature and have many expectations from him. He is most likely a perfectionist and a not a quittet, so the mistakes he makes and when he feels like he disappointed someone because he couldn't do something it's hurting him.
    So now he is, down, broken and confused, wanting and needing help, but no hand is reaching for him, he wants to give up, he probably feels like no one understands that he is hurt. Knowing that there is more yet to come, he has Nothing Left To Say and the only thing he can do is fight and do as much as he can.

  6. anonymous
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    Nov 19th 2014 !⃝

    Okay, so this song is SO me. I normally don't post song interpretations, but this one...

    "Who knows how long I've been awake now" --I have trouble sleeping. A lot. It's my thoughts that keep me awake, swirling around my head like a blizzard.

    "The shadows on my wall don't sleep"--"The shadows on my wall"="My fears". Which never sleep. They are always there.

    "They keep calling me, beckoning" --I'm a religious person and I've always tried to be the best I can. But with all the people calling me in different directions...it's hard!

    "Who knows what's right?"--Like, honestly, when everybody is telling me something different who do I believe?

    "The lines keep getting thinner"--Because my morals keep changing...over and over and over...

    "My age has never made me wise"--I am seriously not wise enough to know how to deal with all the pressure!

    "But I keep pushing on and on and on..." --Because I am not a quitter, and whatever I'm doing, I'm going to keep doing it for as long as it works. It could all collapse tomorrow, but I'll keep it up today.

    "There's nothing left to say now (2X)"--I do things because I've been doing them. No question, no thoughts. I do it because I do it, and there's nothing left to say, really, after that. Thinking...gives me a headache.

    "I'm giving up, giving up, hey, hey, giving up now (2X)" --because really, what else can I do? I feel so hopeless...

    "Below my soul" --My soul itself, sometimes, feels like a facade, like I've morphed into the girl I want to be. But sometimes...maybe just below the layers of my soul, a little part of me gets hurt whenever I act fake and suppress my feelings.

    "I feel an engine collapsing at it sees the pain"--that part of me is getting stabbed. Over and over and it will bleed to death and only my facade, made up so long ago I don' even remember, will remain, and there's nothing I can really do.

    "If I could only shut it out"--Remember all the people telling me right from wrong? If only I could shut out their advice. Helpful or not. Confusion is never helpful.

    "I've come too far to see the end now" --I've had this facade so long it's become an actual part of me. Should I just let go of the part below my soul or should I let go of the rest of myself. I will have to recreate myself if I let go of my cover. I've always been the support. I've never been...needy of support. Probably, though, I've always needed support.I just never had the courage to ask.

    "Even if my way is wrong, I keep pushing on and on and on and on..." --I don't know if I care so much about anything anymore. I want to get through this. And I want to do it well, because I believe in the afterlife. But mostly...if I can just manage to go each day without breaking down.

    Chorus--same interpretation as first time

    "I keep falling,I keep falling down... Hey!(2X)" I can't even rephrase this. I'm just emotionally falling down.

    "If only you could save me" --but nobody can understand why I'm hurting inside, hardly anyone even understands that I'm hurting, so how could anyone help me?

    "I'm drowning in the waters of my soul"--I'm drowning in the blood of my stabbed and untreated emotions.

    I will get through this. I know I will. I'm just going through a hard time in my life, but it's a phase and I have faith that it will pass.

  7. anonymous
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    Sep 29th 2014 !⃝

    Who knows how long I've been awake now...it means no one knows his struggles(awake all night think in or studying) the more he tries to make things right the more he fails and he is on the verge of giving up.

  8. kaleb.brown.58910
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    Aug 4th 2014 !⃝

    i think its about someone who has felt his/her heart ripped of from the one they loved

  9. anonymous
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    Jun 21st 2014 !⃝

    This is about having some mental illness, how hard you try and grow, you aren't wise enough you make the same mistakes again and again and later become depressed and he tries really hard to live all those years, so, keeps pushing on and on but at a point after trying everything in his life and the pain still persists. So, he doesn't want to fight anymore, tired and collapsed and is finally completely giving up this time and goes for an attempt at suicide. I know the feeling, I relate to the song the most.

  10. anonymous
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    Jun 11th 2014 !⃝

    I think the song is about a man who is lost with know direction and is just surrounded by the thoughts in his head that are telling him to kill himself, as said "the shadows on my wall don't sleep their calling me".

  11. anonymous
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    May 6th 2014 !⃝

    This song is about a man living with to much regret. "Who knows how long
    I've been awake now?
    The shadows on my wall don't sleep
    They keep calling me, beckoning"
    That refers to him lying in bed at night thinking about what he has done and how easy it would be to just join the shadows and let go.
    "Who knows what's right?"
    This means he is asking for guidence and wants help but no one will respond

    He could also be a russian spy trying to make it in america

  12. anonymous
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    May 3rd 2014 !⃝

    Rocks is often slang for methamphetamine, he talks about not knowing he's been awake for, I thing it's about a drug struggle.

  13. anonymous
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    Feb 10th 2014 !⃝

    I think its about someone who is suicidal, and the song is kind of like their plea for help, like they're trying to find a way to get people to understand what he's feeling inside. They feel like their life is a downward spiral they cant escape from, and even though they want to die, they're half stopping themselves from doing it. I don't know if people who have never been in that situation are able to see that, but that's what the song is about to me, and its a comfort, because someone gets me.

  14. anonymous
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    Jan 4th 2014 !⃝

    I think this song is him explaining his struggles in life, and its catching up with and it has became to much for him to handle. So he has nothing to say to those who have hurt him.

  15. anonymous
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    Dec 31st 2013 !⃝

    A man that has seen enough suffering of those close to him. He doesn't know what to do except to keep moving. Just keep moving for the sake of moving. He's trying to find something to keep fighting for. Something to hold on to. But each and every day it's harder to resist giving in. The pain in becoming too much, he wants to join the shadows. He just wants to be free of the world's suffering and find peace.




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