What does Everybody Talks mean?

Neon Trees: Everybody Talks Meaning

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Album cover for Everybody Talks album cover

Song Released: 2011


Everybody Talks Lyrics

Hey baby won't you look my way
I can be your new addiction
Hey baby what you gotta say?
All you're giving me is fiction
I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time
I found out that everybody talks
Everybody talks, everybody talks

It...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Jun 6th 2012 !⃝

    I think that it's about a girl and a guy in high school. The guy at first wants the girl to notice him ("Hey baby won't you look my way/I can be your new addiction"). He succeeds in getting her attention ("It started with a whisper/And that was when I kissed her") but they're just friends with benefits ("Take me to your love shack") so she gets a bad reputation "I could hear the chit chat" & "Everybody talks/everybody talks/everybody talks").
    In the second verse, I think the guy is trying to reassure her and is annoyed at all the people gossiping about them ("All this trash talk make me itchin'" & "Everybody talks too much").
    Somewhere along the way I think he starts to want an actual relationship with her but he can't convince her because she's already got a bad reputation ("Never thought I'd live/To see the day/When everybody's words got in the way"). This leaves him frustrated, but he still tries to convince her to have a real relationship with him instead of just a physical one ("Hey sugar, show me all your love/All you're giving me is friction/Hey sugar what you gotta say?")
    In the last chorus, I think he managed to convince her to have a relationship with him, despite everyone gossiping. The repeated "Everybody Talks" is just his way of saying that you can't stop people gossiping about you, but you can control how you react. Judging by the grunt at the end of the song, I think he got his girl.(I picture the end of the animated music video where SHE tackles HIM with kisses.)
    Anyways, I can be totally wrong, but this is what I got from it because one day it was playing on the radio, and I realized I was in an extremely similar situation to the girl. So, that's how it spoke to me.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Nov 30th 2020 !⃝

    The lead singer is gay, he stated that this song was about a girl who spread rumors that he was gay (which ended up being true on down the line).

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Sep 9th 2016 !⃝

    In my opinion, I think it's about a guy that really likes a girl but she doesn't like him back. People are gossiping about him liking her, and eventually he gets her to fall for him but all the gossip pushes them apart and ruins their relationship.

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 17th 2023 !⃝

    The song is about life and how everyone talks behind others backs or gossips to get ahead. I believe the line “Too much could be an overdose” is referring to the fact that people hurt themselves as a result of rumors. I don’t believe it has anything to do with an actual relationship and definitely not a high school one.

  5. anonymous
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    Feb 26th 2018 !⃝

    I get this because I have done this to someone before I liked him as a person and not really as a crush. He gave me a note. Emphasis on NOTE asking me to go out with him but people were like gross but I would've said no anyway I really do think hes nice but I don't like him like that. You know.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  6. anonymous
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    Jan 1st 2018 !⃝

    I think that when he kissed her she had herpes and he got them a d his lip hurt

  7. EwwYeahh
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    Oct 17th 2015 !⃝

    This song is about a person that was supposed to keep a secret but ended up telling everybody your business. This song can also be dedicated to noisy people who gossip a lot.

  8. anonymous
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    Apr 13th 2013 !⃝

    The lead singer is gay and no other guys want to hang with him because their reputation is on the line because "Everybody Talks".

  9. anonymous
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    Mar 6th 2013 !⃝

    It's about a 30 year old man who never shuts up and his name is everybody so this dude goes "Everybody Talks too much" :)

  10. anonymous
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    Nov 24th 2012 !⃝

    Thought it was about cocaine

  11. anonymous
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    Aug 14th 2012 !⃝

    The "whispers" meaning gossip began when the couple kissed. The girl is avoiding him..giving him " fiction/ friction". His lips hurt after their kiss meaning an ache. He is trying to persuade the girl to take the relationship to the next level...going to her love shack which implies to have sex with her but accuses her of "backtracking". Apparently he's had this happen to him before saying Mamas always gotta backtrack. He says she would be his addiction and asks her to take a stand asking her "hey sugar what you got to say?

  12. anonymous
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    Jul 13th 2012 !⃝

    I get from this that the high school guy is really in love with the high school girl ("Hey baby won't you look my way/I can be your new addiction"). But she doesn't reciprocate and the narrator is upset("I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time").
    But then he hears gossip that she likes him back and he kisses her ("It started with a whisper/and that was when I kissed her"). She kisses him back and gives the impression that the gossip was right ("And then she made my lips hurt").
    He begins to like her even more ("Hey honey you could be my drug"). However, people are gossiping because the two are an unusual couple ("All this trash talk make me itchin'").
    But in the end she was leading him on, and couldn't overcome what people were saying about them in order to have a relationship ("Never thought I'd live/ to see the day/ when everybody's words got in the way")
    In summation, people's gossip pushed him to go after her, but it also kept them apart. The narrator is expressing his frustration with people's gossip.

    At least this is what I took away, as I've been the girl in this exact same situation. Yeah, I know, I suck. :P

  13. anonymous
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    Jul 5th 2012 !⃝

    Basically he likes a girl but everyone's opinions and gossiping is keeping them from being together.


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