Around My Head

Cage the Elephant is a band from Kentucky. Their lyrics and musical style are both very unique. The song "Around My Head," off of the album Thank You Happy Birthday,is somewhat hard to interpret. The first verse has the speaker questioning himself, trying to figure out how to interpret some of his feelings. The lines, "I don't know why I got these feelings, yeah/ I just can't seem to get away from/ Can you dig it?" show how confused the speaker. The line "Can you dig it?" makes the speaker seem young almost like teenager asking a friend for help. 

Later in the song the listener learns a little more. It is revealed that the speaker has a love interest. It seems as if he is in love with her but she doesn't notice him or is playing with his emotions. In the chorus the speaker says, "I don't think it's very nice/ to walk around my head all night." Thoughts of his love interest and the feelings they create are so strong that he cannot sleep. 

The speaker talks about revealing his love to his crush but quickly dismisses the idea thinking that she'll never feel the same way about him. He says, "But even still at times I wonder/ What you're thinking of me/ You're probably sure I lost my mind." He is too afraid to show his feelings for her because he thinks that she is going to think he is crazy. If you take the time to listen to this song the yelling in between versus also plays a role in the developement of the songs meaning. 

The music itself creates a sort of off beat crazy feeling. You start to feel as if you are actually in the speaker's head, hearing his actual choppy thought process. The screaming shows momentary loss of control and a true inability for the speaker to express himself. He is so flustered by his predicament he feels the need to scream to vent. 

The song is about teenage love and how if you want anything to come of your feelings you have to make a move or the missed opportunities will torment you.