“We Are the People” is a 2008 Empire of the Sun electropop song about a relationship with a long shared history, and the fear of watching the other person walk away from it.
Here’s a section-by-section breakdown of the lyrics in “We Are the People.”
- Song: We Are the People
- Artist: Empire of the Sun
- Songwriters: Luke Steele, Nick Littlemore, Jonathan Sloan
- Released: 2008
- Album: Walking on a Dream
- Genre: Electropop, Synth-pop
What Is “We Are the People” About?
Verse 1: Going Back to the Beginning
We can remember swimmin’ in December
Headin’ for the city lights in 1975
He’s pulling up a specific memory, a summer swim in December, which would put this in Australia, where December falls in summer.
1975 seems to be when they first got together or when things between them were at their best.
Both band members were born in the late ’70s, so this is probably (mostly) a fictional story.
We’re sharin’ each other, nearer than farther
The scent of a lemon drips from your eyes
They were always together during that time.
“Sharin’” probably means they had a sexual relationship, but it could also just mean that they were very close and shared everything.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out what that second line means, but it’s still a great line!
Pre-Chorus: We Had Everything
We are the people that rule the world
A force running in every boy and girl
When they were young, they felt invincible.
Most young people have the kind of energy that makes them feel like nothing can touch them and the future is wide open.
All rejoicing in the world
Take me now, we can try
They were living in the moment, not thinking about what came after.
“Take me now” means he wants to get back to that feeling, or at least try.
Verse 2: The Adventures They Shared
We lived an adventure, love in the summer
Followed the sun ’til night, reminiscing other times of life
They spent a lot of time together, chasing good times and talking about old ones.
They’d stay up all night talking and having fun.
For each every other the feeling was stronger
The shock hit eleven, we got lost in your eyes
The feeling between them kept growing.
“The shock hit eleven” could mean that they fell in love or they reached a new, extreme level in their relationship.
Chorus: Please Don’t Go
I can’t do well when I think you’re gonna leave me
But I know I try
Now we’re in the present moment.
The thought that this person is leaving destroys him, but he tries to hold himself together.
This could mean they are moving away or breaking up with him.
Are you gonna leave me now?
Can’t you be believin’ now?
He’s asking this person to stay and to believe in what they have.
He’s running through their memories together to try to convince this person that it’s worth staying.
Verse 3: Remember Who We Were
Can you remember and humanize?
It was still where we’d energize
He’s asking his friend/partner to get back to who they were in 1975, to the version of their relationship where everything felt right.
Whatever has made this person close off, he wants them to let go of it.
Lie in the sand and visualize like it’s ’75 again
He wants to go back to where it started.
He’s basically saying, “Let’s forget whatever has gone wrong and feel what we felt at the beginning.”
Bridge: No One Knows Us Like We Know Each Other
I know everything about you
Know everything about me
Know everything about us
This is his final argument for staying together.
After everything they’ve been through, including their history and the things only the two of them know, why should they walk away from that?
“We Are the People” Song Meaning: Don’t Throw It All Away
“We Are the People” is basically a panic attack wrapped in nostalgia.
He goes through everything they’ve shared, like swimming in December, the summer adventures, and the years of getting closer, and then wonders why that has to change. The memories are his evidence that what they have is worth holding onto.
His main argument is that nobody else knows either of them the way they know each other, so it makes no sense to mess that up.
Songs Like “We Are the People”
Here are some songs with similar themes to “We Are the People”:
1. “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron
Lord Huron’s 2015 hit is about wanting to go back to the very beginning of a relationship before things went wrong.
Related: “The Night We Met” Meaning
2. “Cutting My Fingers Off” by Turnover
This indie-rock song is about looking back at old memories of a relationship while dealing with the emotional and physical pain of losing that person.
3. “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye ft. Kimbra
Gotye’s modern classic is a breakup song about knowing absolutely everything about a person, only for them to treat you like a complete stranger the second it’s over.
Related: “Somebody That I Used to Know” Meaning
Final Thoughts
To be honest, when I first heard “We Are the People,” I thought it had a positive message to match its beat.
After I really listened, I realized that it’s a song that I relate to more than most. It’s tough when you realize a relationship (romantic or otherwise) is just over, and you’re forced to accept that someone who used to be a huge part of your world could suddenly be just a memory.
“We Are the People” does a great job of spelling all of that out in a unique way.
Check out more 2000s Song Meanings!
