Annotations for Falling Down

Lyric: So I’m crawling away
 ’Cause you broke my heart in two, yeah
 No, I will not forget you
Annotation:
This refers to how Matt feels like his trust has been betrayed by the ignorance of the people around him, so he “crawls away” to find a place where people will appreciate him and his music, stating in the next line how he will remember the ones who turned their backs when he gets big.

Lyric: A thousand houses burning down, yeah
Annotation:
The number of houses has dropped to 1000. This could show the growth of Muse’s popularity, but the fact that many people in Teignmouth would still ignore them, seeing them as insignificant and unworthwhile.

Lyric: Falling away
 You never see me through
 No, I could not forget you
Annotation:
The fact that no one would “See (his music) through” has led to Matt refusing to let go of the anger and frustration that it has built up. Thus, he will not forget the feeling and the people.

Lyric: Too late, I already found what I was looking for
 You know it wasn’t here, no, it wasn’t here
Annotation:
These lines may be addressing people who were trying to convince Muse to just stay in Teignmouth and not bother attempting to become famous musicians, as it would never happen. They are telling those people that it’s too late to try and tell them this, as Muse have already found what they were looking for – a chance at success –  and that it wasn’t in Teignmouth, thus they will no longer be staying there.

Lyric: They were all begging for your dream
Annotation:
The Teignmouth population-crowd are all begging for the dream of Muse to be a successful band to come true, which points to this being an imagined scenario in the head of the speaker, as in real life, the entire population of Teignmouth wouldn’t have been supporters of Muse.

Lyric: Five thousand houses burning down, yeah
Annotation:
Though a bit of a stretch: 15000/3=5000 3, when it comes to households, is the stereotypical number of people in a family; a father, a mother and a child- a nuclear family. This could then play into the possibility of the song being in the imagination of Matt or a character, as the population of Teignmouth at the time is used in a way to make the entire city seem like a supportive crowd when in reality they wouldn’t have been. With this idea in mind, the idea of there being exactly 3 people in each house could just be an assumption made by the speaker, as to make it simple for their imagination by applying a common stereotype to quicken the process of imagining the scenario.

Lyric: Now the world is upside down, yeah
 I’m heading straight for the clouds
Annotation:
Earlier he was falling down, most likely due to the town not even batting an eye when it came to his music, but now, thanks to the increasing attention his art recieves, the world is upside down, therefore, although having been let down, he is actually rising.

Lyric: I’m falling down
Annotation:
Living in Teignmouth is unproductive for Matt – nobody appreciates the band’s music, nobody sees them as more than just another face in the crowd. As such, he’s ‘falling down’ i.e. going nowhere, with nothing to do.

Lyric: No one is gonna save this town
Annotation:
Matt feels that Teignmouth is so dull and meaningless that, were it to burn down, nobody would even bother to save it.

Lyric: Too late, I already found what I was looking for
 You know it wasn’t you, no, it wasn’t you, no
Annotation:
In an interview, Bellamy stated that most of his friends went either towards drugs or music.  Bellamy went towards music, of course. It had been what he’d been  looking for: a passion, a job, and something to do (He described his growing up in Teignmouth to be boring). He has already found what he thinks to be love and is “sure” that the old thing is not it. The very fact that he brought this line up suggests that he is not so over the past, still stuck on making sure that the other person knows that they are not it anymore.

Lyric: I was calling your name
 But you would never hear me sing
 You wouldn’t let me begin
Annotation:
Most of the townspeople in Teignmouth didn’t really care about the band, or listen to them.

Lyric: And fifteen thousand people scream
Annotation:
The population of Teignmouth in the 90’s and 2000’s  was a little less than fifteen thousand. Curiously enough, this line could also remind of a crowd of fans screaming for Muse or a character band.

