“Little Talks” Lyrics & Meaning (Of Monsters And Men)

Icelandic music has a long tradition.

But it is only in the past 30 years or so that it has made a name for itself in the United States.

It did this through a series of rock, pop and indie artists, who all had something in common.

Their music was different from what you generally hear in the US.

Quirky is a word often used to describe it.

Artists like The Sugarcubes, Björk, and Sigur Rós cam first and were followed by Of Monsters And Men.

The big hit that launched them outside their native Iceland was Little Talks.

The song was everywhere and left people everywhere wondering what they were winging about.

Keep reading for the full lyrics to Little Talks and an analysis of their meaning.

 

Little Talks Lyrics And Meaning

Of Monsters and Men is one of the more recent sensations of European independent pop. But they do not come from the British Isles or from the lately very large Scandinavian quarry.

Instead, they come from Iceland. That country also brought us several other luminaries of the alternative scene in the past 20 or 30 years, like Björk, Sigur Ros or Múm.

Of Monsters and Men was formed in 2010. In just over two years, they have gone from playing in small bars, to rubbing shoulders with the brightest stars of the pop universe, joining the most important festivals on the international music calendar.

Vocalist and guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson – Raggi to friends – acknowledges that everything that has happened to them in recent years has been a huge and fantastic surprise.

“Like any other group, Of Monsters and Men was formed with the idea of ​​doing the best possible, of course, but with the pleasure of playing as the headliner. We had no expectations, basically, because we didn’t spend a second thinking about what might or might not happen in terms of the impact of our music.”

Shortly after starting rehearsals, the group won a local band contest and landed a record deal with an independent company. At the time, My Head Is An Animal, their first album, began to receive good reviews in their country.

The first single taken from the album, the formidable and spirited Little Talks, began to play insistently on the other side of the Atlantic. Raggi said:

“It was a coincidence having the right song at the right time. We had only just started releasing the album in Iceland and all of a sudden it was a huge hit in America.”

Brighter and more accessible than that of most of the groups from their country, the music of Of Monsters and Men has frequently been related by critics to that of some new folk groups, something with which they do not agree too much.

Vitalistic and contagious pop is made with guitars, bass, and drums, but also with harmonica, accordion, or glockenspiel (a kind of xylophone).

Little Talks of course reached the top of the hit list in Iceland, but also had an important tour in the rest of the world. It even entered the American Billboard Hot 100, reaching position 20 on the most important list in the world of music.

Of course, that is the highest level, to date, reached by an Icelandic song. It stayed on the chart for 48 weeks. In the UK, the single peaked at number 12. It reached the top 10 in countries like Italy, Germany, and New Zealand, among others.

Let’s take a look at the lyrics to Little Talks, before diving in and analyzing their meaning.

 

Little Talks Lyrics

Verse

I don’t like walking around this old and empty house
So hold my hand, I’ll walk with you my dear
The stairs creak as you sleep; it’s keeping me awake
It’s the house telling you to close your eyes
And some days I can’t even dress myself
It’s killing me to see you this way
‘Cause though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

Verse 2

There’s an old voice in my head that’s holding me back
Well, tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will be over and buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young, and full of life and full of love
Some days, I don’t know if I am wrong or right
Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear
‘Cause though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

Chorus

(Hey!) Don’t listen to a word I say
(Hey!) The screams all sound the same
(Hey!) Though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

Bridge

You’re gone, gone, gone away; I watched you disappear
All that’s left is a ghost of you
Now we’re torn, torn, torn apart; there’s nothing we can do
Just let me go, we’ll meet again soon
Now wait, wait, wait for me; please hang around
I’ll see you when I fall asleep

Chorus

(Hey!) Don’t listen to a word I say
(Hey!) The screams all sound the same
(Hey!) Though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

Chorus

Don’t listen to a word I say
(Hey!) The screams all sound the same
(Hey!) Though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

Outro

Though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore
Though the truth may vary, this
Ship will carry our
Bodies safe to shore

 

Little Talks Meaning

Little Talks is a resounding love song. In fact, the chorus says this:

Don’t listen to a word I say
The screams all sound the same
And though the truth might vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore.

It describes the conversation between two people in love with each other, but with a special circumstance: one of them has already died, and everything the one, who is still alive, sees reminds her of that absence.

The song came about because Nanna moved into a house at the time. “I don’t like walking through this old and empty house […] it’s the house telling you to close your eyes,” she says at the beginning of the song’s lyrics.

It is, in fact, a clear identification of someone who misses another person and will not be able to contact them except in a spiritual way.

In Interview Magazine, Nanna Bryndís herself confirms that the song is about a couple, in which the husband passed away. It is an intimate and singular conversation between the two.

She adds: “We don’t know if she’s going crazy or if someone is really there. We have been inspired by people who lived in my house – this old couple who lived there for 30 years.” However, she adds, “in the case where I live, it was the woman who passed away, so it’s something different.”

The song, which was composed by Nanna Bryndís and Ragnar Þórhallsson in B flat minor, features outstanding percussion and a colossal trumpet. Critical reception for the song was exceptional.

In fact, one of the most widely read newspapers in the United States, USA Today, spoke of this song as a “monstrous success”. A play on words using the name of the band.

In just a year and a few months, the album sold more than two million copies in the United States and was certified Platinum in that country. This simpler to do there than in other countries, due to the larger population, but also more complex, because the demand in that market is very different in terms of musical quality. Either way, it is a major achievement.

The truth is that the song has a touch of brutal melancholy due to its lyrics, but at the same time energy and vitality lead to movement, even if you don’t want it. I easily could have included it in this article of songs about missing someone who died.

The video of the song tells of an epic journey closely linked to Norse mythology. It starts with a karve, which is a kind of Viking boat, with a zeppelin that drives it and sails through the sky.

This boat is outlined with some blades on the stern and has a kind of stem with the image of a dragon. The five men in the band peer into space to see a meteorite fall, crashing to the ground in a snowy space.

In the next scene, you see how they get closer and see how it disintegrates. Suddenly, a woman full of color and beauty appears. It is Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, the female singer of the band, who is going to join the group to soar into the sky.

Her face, white as ash, shows several small circles horizontally. The group goes on an epic journey where they defeat many monsters.

This music video was nominated at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Art Direction in a Video. It lost to a video by Katy Perry. The band later published a lyric video.

 

Little Talks Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

Little Talks was the song that first introduced Of Monsters and Men to most people in the US. It was a huge hit and it’s lyrics were a big part of that.

They are an intimate conversation between two lovers, one dead and one still alive. As such, they are somewhat melancholy and stand in contrast to the upbeat music. Perhaps it is just that juxtaposition that appeals to so many.

Another song that deals with a conversation between two lovers, albeit one in which both are still alive but having difficulties, comes from Childish Gambino. Check out our analysis of the lyrics and meaning of Redbone for more.

The Purple Rain lyrics have a similar meaning. Prince sings about facing the end of the world together with that special someone.

This article on the Everlong lyrics meaning looks at Dave Grohl’s hit. He sings about the honeymoon phase of a relationship. In the end, that one did not work out with the mystery woman (though we think we know who she was).