Sway

Please don't mention this song or the band in reference to a crap vampire book. Use lyrics from My Chemical Romance or something, seriously.

Anyway, I think it's about Max too but has it been mentioned in an interview? It would be really interesting & I'd like the song a lot more if it were about Max

This is my favorite song, it means so much to me. I think anyone who has known someone close to them to be involved in something like drugs can relate to this song. It speaks to me and reminds me of my mom and our relationship. The beginning is saying that you can be yourself and I'll love you no matter what. You got mixed up with the wrong stuff and you changed and your actions hurt me even though you didn't realize it. The chorus is saying I need you, I need your old self back because that's who you really are, not who you've become. My favorite part and the one that gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes is this:

"And take whatever you have to take, you know i love ya come however you have to come, and get it out and get it out

Tttttake it out on me, take it out on me i'll give it you all, i give it you all, i give it, i give you all, i give it you all, yes i will give it you all"

Just those few lines say so much to me. It makes me think of right before the person, for me it was my mom, goes and checks into rehab. They want their last hit, their last high, before having to give it all up. So it's kind of saying go ahead, I love you and I won't think less of you for getting this one last thing out of your system before giving it up completely. Then as it gets to "take it out on me" it makes me think of the first few stages of withdrawal when the person gets angry and upset. They hate you for making them quit their habits but you know it had to be done so you just let them take out their frustrations on you, blame you for the pain they're going through. Then it says how you give everything you have to that person, you put all of yourself into their recovery to help them get better and get through their addiction.

But, yeah, that's what this song means to me and how I view the lyrics and the meaning behind them. Maybe you got something out of that. =]

mince words such as Eargasm and Joygasm were invented for single word descriptions of songs like these. =]

i dont think this is necessarily about a girl.

i just think its about a person they care about deeply.

they are saying that they need to do what needs to be done. and whatever that is they will stand by them and support them, even though it could be hurtful.

i think "i need your sway/cause you always pay for it" is just saying that a lot more people should have the courage to just let things out even though we sometimes have to pay for it. ------that he wishes he had that ability to just say whats on his mind.

and so on and so forth.

Ah. This song. Being my alltime favorite Kooks song ever. -insert smile here- To me its about being in love with someone who hurts you, possibly cheats on you. Unintentionally somehow. And though the other person is deeply hurt they still cannot deny that they need the one who hurt them. That may not be the real meaning, but that is the joy of music. You give it your own.

"Tttttake it out on me, take it out on me i'll give it you all, i give it you all,i give it, i give you all i give it you all, yes i will give it you all "

That part gives me chills.

Wow you guys being devoted fans have some really indepth interpretations about this song.. ive heard it a few times but tonight it really was the loudest to me. Personally i think the notion of friendship is the key message. To me, the singer is telling their friend, who does appear to be struggling some issue or problem, that they can say whatever they have to say and be whoever they have to be and do whatever they have to do to express themselves and they may hurt others in the process but its ok. Then to me the chorus Is the big message, to me it says, whatever you decide to do (eg, break away, leave, kill urself, whatever) u just need you to know that I need you and these are the things i need FROM you cos thats what you do for me, even if you can't see it. (to me i sorta think of my friend Kristi, she can become so reclusive and standoffish sometimes, acting like she really doesnt care about us or herself, She seems to be struggling with Bipolarish bouts of highs and lows, and sometimes feels like its not worth doing anything) Im always telling her how i love her and need her around and love having her around. OR in other words. "i need your soul cos ur always soulful and ineed your heart cos ur always in the right places) Like the saying, "his/her heart is always in the right place even if it appears as if the person is doing something weird" I hope you guys get what i mean sorry about the Essay!

After reading the comments, it makes sense that it's about Max. However, he is blurring the lines a bit so it can either relate to their audience or to other issues in his own life (love, etc.). It's a heart wrenching song, with pleading and desperation in his voice -- especially in the chorus, which is so direct it's almost vague.

It took me a while to get the "sway" line, but now I know. This person's sway (coolness, talent, style) gave them much-needed inspiration and he added that sway to the band itself. But sway often comes with it's own demons -- some of the most talented artists are often the most tortured. Thus, he always pays for it. Still...

How peculiar...I was reading a passage from Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway' for uni while listening to this song and just as the song got to the 'I will give it you all' bit, a character killed himself. His last words? "I'll give it you!"

I'm fairly sure the Kooks were not intending to reference 'Mrs Dalloway', but I'm never not going to think of that scene while listening to that bit of 'Sway' now...

I don't get the line "I need your sway / Cause you always pay for it." Is it supposed to have a meaning at all?

My favourite song off Konk! I love the lyrics they're so cute. I think it's just a song about a girl who hurts a guy unapologetically. But he's just saying he needs her, and that he doesn't care that she hurts him, but he'll always love her because has a physical dependance on her.