Songfacts®:

• Tom Chaplin sings here of being scared to move on and getting left behind in the process. Keane's main songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley explained the background to the song on the band's website: "When I was a teenager I went out with a girl who seemed to have so much confidence and had all these plans and dreams about seeing the world and doing lots of great stuff," he recalled. "Deep down I always felt too scared to go anywhere or do anything, a source of much shame to me. So I felt somewhat left behind. I think I'm still haunted by that feeling even now. But I've always loved being by the Thames, and seeing the lights of the City of London and the South Bank reflected in the water."
• Rice-Oxley had the initial idea for this song when he was unpacking boxes whilst moving house back down to Sussex. When the inspiration hit him he had no keyboards to hand so he had to go into a huge cold metal container in which all his music gear was in. Once inside, Rice-Oxley had to fight his way to the piano, which was buried under various boxes and rugs, and try to sketch out the idea.
• Rice-Oxley explained the line about the bowling alley walls. "When we were struggling to get anywhere as a band back in 2002-2003 we would meet up every day to rehearse songs," he recalled, "and when we got bored we would go down to the bowling alley outside Bexhill. We got quite good. We had bowling names for each other too. I think mine was Terry."