Song Analysis

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“The Less I Know The Better” by Tame Impala is a groovy song about unrequited love and the dreadful process of being strung along. I was surprised to find out that although Tame Impala’s music is intricate and has multiple instruments, it’s all written, performed and produced by one man, Kevin Parker. I chose this song for a post because of how he slowly oozes out his vocals. It’s extraordinary sound but we still can’t hear him all that great. After a while, I looked up the lyrics and at least the main theme seemed obvious.

The funky first verse opens up the plot with an embarrassing scene. “Someone said they left together / I ran out the door to get her / She was holding hands with Trevor / Not the greatest feeling ever”. Parker is out with a girl and she leaves with someone else. The entire song screams of unrequited love. He runs after her when she leaves which he wouldn’t have done unless he thought they were together or at least cared about each other. This is somewhat contradictory to the unrequited love theory because she loves him maybe? In an interview Parker commented that Trevor is not a specific person and just a filler name he used. The implied Trevor definition is an ingenuine guy who gets woman he does not seem to deserve.

In an interview Parker commented that Trevor is not a specific person and just a filler name he used.

The verse continues revealing the titles mysterious relevancy. “Said, ‘Pull yourself together / You should try your luck with Heather’ / Then I heard they slept together / Oh, the less I know the better”. I thought this could be him talking to himself but the other lyrics state all he wants is this one girl so he wouldn’t tell himself to go after Heather. This must be Trevor! They already left the first verse’s location and this could be texts or days later. Either way, whoever is saying this is trying to comfort him no matter how unsuccessful their feeble attempts. This is a friend and if it’s also Trevor that gives this scene and extra sting to it because his own friend slept with the girl he liked.

Next is the chorus where Parker finally lets the reality of his situation sink in and decides he doesn’t want any part of it. “Oh my love, can’t you see yourself by my side? / No surprise when you’re on his shoulder like every night / Oh my love, can’t you see that your on my mind? / Don’t suppose we could convince your lover to change his mind? / So goodbye.” The girl he likes is fully with Trevor. He talks with her about how he cares but in the end he does what’s best for him and lets her go.

His use of ‘we’ in the fourth line seems deliberate. He isn’t asking her to change her mind but asking for her help to change Trevor’s? This woman is intensely leading him on. Even when she is with another guy Parker feels like she is on his side somehow and would help demolish her own relationship. This interpretation could be all in Parker’s head or it could be hinting at a deeper issue within her relationship. Maybe, She doesn’t care for Trevor anymore but feels pressure to stay with him, social or otherwise. On the other hand, She most likely likes them both and can’t decide between them. Either way it is a sucky situation for Parker and I’m glad in the end he says goodbye and gets himself out of that mess.

“Tame Impala” by New York + Philly Live! is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

You can feel the deadly hooks that she has in him in their lyrical conversation. “She said, ‘It’s not now or never / Wait ten years, we’ll be together’ / I said, ‘Better late than never / Just don’t make me wait forever’”. Parker clearly cares a lot about her or he wouldn’t be hanging around the way he is. She keeps dropping little crumbs of hope, just enough for him to not move on. It is also obvious that this thing with Trevor is not serious. She must feel pressured to stay with him for some reason or at least that is what Parker believes. On the other hand, She could be an egotistical person that loves having people obsessed with her and doesn’t want to let that go.

She keeps dropping him little crumbs of hope, just enough for him to not move on.

In the outro, Parker expresses his exhaustion and distaste for this Trevor character. “I was doing fine without ya / Till I saw your face, now I can’t erase / Giving in to all his bullshit / Is this what you want? Is this who you are? / … / Oh, sweet darling, where he wants you / Said, ‘Come on, Superman, say your stupid line’”. The plot thickens! It appears they’ve known each other prior to a romantic connection since he had a preconceived notion of who she was based on him asking if this is who she is now. It seems like both theories are partially true. I’m sure she has some sort of ego if she is putting a friend through what Parker is feeling but the line about putting up with Trevor’s bullshit points to a toxic fake relationship. That tips the scale away from the ego theory.

The last line is one of my favorites. Superman is definitely supposed to be Trevor. She sees him as this superman because of the things he says but Parker notices that his actions do not match what he does. Therefore, concluding that his ‘lines’ are stupid. As we all know, actions speak louder than words. The songs melody and overall vibe sounds carefree and go with the flow but in reality the meaning is much more serious. Well, That’s my perception of this song! Comment what you think the song is about!