Have you listened to the new Bastille and Alessia Cara single Another Place yet? The band that previously discussed historical events, classic mythology, and world politics in an original, intelligent way, now guides our attention to… a one night stand!
Considering the themes mentioned before, this might seem like a surprising choice in subject matter, though Bastille wouldn’t be Bastille if they hadn’t thought it through completely. Another Place plays a part in the story they tell on their most recent album Doom Days. In this album, they take you on a wild night out, and by doing so, they try to escape this crazy world we live in.
Would you like to know what happens during this night? And do you want to know what’s on their mind during this one-night stand? I laid out a linear timeline of the songs to get to the bottom of the lyrics…
Doom Days’ message
In June earlier this year, Bastille released their third studio album, Doom Days. Whoever is familiar with the work of the British band won’t be surprised that there’s a clear message behind this album.
When I interviewed Dan Smith and Kyle Simmons, the frontman explained it in this way:
Dan: “We’ve been calling it an apocalyptic party album. It’s essentially the story of one night starting at 23:45 and ending in waking up the next morning on the kitchen floor. It’s about everything that happens in the midst of that.
It’s about looking for escapism. About losing yourself in the night, in the music, in friends, and in other, old and new, people as a distraction from your life. And this slightly confusing, bizarre time that we seem to all be living in.
It’s a quite personal, intimate story but it uses that kind of normality and reality to look at and talk about wider subjects. We wanted it to be relevant and topical, but also fun.”
The timeline of Bastille’s night out
The songs on Doom Days can be seen as a sort of arc. When putting them in a chronological timeline, you can get a sense of what the guys – both rational as well as emotional – are going through. I’ve selected the lyrics that are the most meaningful to me in every song.
00.15 Quarter Past Midnight
It’s a quarter past midnight
Still avoiding tomorrow
00.48 Bad Decisions
Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made
01:22 The Waves
Is it an apocalypse or nihilism on your lips?
We sink or swim
(We’re riding the wave)
02:05 Divide
Why would we divide when we could come together?
02:39 Million Pieces
If it’s gonna break me
Won’t you let me go?
Leave it till the morning
I don’t wanna know
03:07 Doom Days
When I watch the world burn
All I think about is you
03:28 Nocturnal Creatures
We’re nocturnal creatures, we own the night
04:00 4AM
Four in the morning, we find ourselves here
The best of us passed out, I don’t know who’s where
I got all my old friends and new friends I’ve met once before
In a blanket of smoke as we sink through the floor
04:52 Another Place
I’m lost but found with you in a bed that we’ll never make
05:46 Those Nights
To be there at dawn, to wake with, ‘cause aren’t we all just
Looking for a little bit of hope these days?
08:34 Joy
As the night dissolves into this final frame
You’re a sweet relief, you saved me from my brain
The lyrics in Another Place undressed
Let’s zoom in on the lyrics in Another Place. As you can read in the timeline above, it’s 4:52 in the morning when this song takes place. The protagonist has found himself in bed with someone and is wondering what this could mean exactly:
[Couplet 1: Dan Smith]
I am bound to you with a tie that we cannot break
With a night that we can’t replace
I’m lost but found with you in a bed that we’ll never make
It’s a feeling we always chase
This night plays into his emotions, even though he knows that it’s not ‘real’.
[Pre-Chorus: Dan Smith]
I could write a book about the things that you said to me on the pillow
And the way you think and how you make me feel
You can fill my mind and move my body with the fiction, fantasies
Just call this what it is, we don’t pretend it’s real
And they don’t have to fool each other by saying that it is more than a casual hook-up:
[Chorus: Dan Smith]
So don’t make promises to me that you’re gonna break
We only ever wanted one thing from this
Don’t paint wonderful lies on me that wash away
We only ever wanted one thing from this
Though if the situation would have been different…
Oh, in another place
In another time, what could we have been?
Oh, in another place
In another time, what could we have been?
On the album version of Another Place, Dan asks his companion to join him in the pretense that this is what they need. ‘So lie to me tonight and pretend till the morning light/And imagine that you are mine’.
However, in the newly released single version, Alessia Cara transforms the song into a duet. Dan’s lyrics have been replaced with her point of view:
[Couplet 2: Alessia Cara]
I hate that you know
You can make me feel so small
Can’t stop myself from falling back into you
We get so close then you pull yourself away
Maybe we just need a saving
Come save me
The pre-chorus is sung by Alessia, after which they sing the chorus together. Taking turns in the bridge, they sing:
[Bridge]
It felt like something special but it never felt like love
Wonder what we could be living in another life
Catch us in the mirror and it looks a lot like love
Then you stop me talking as you kiss me from above
Another Place – Bastille feat. Alessia Cara
After reading these last lines, you might expect that this one night stand was being seriously overthought, but think again! When you listen closely to the next track Those Nights, you can hear that this was only the beginning…
Continue Reading
Do you want to read my full interview with Dan and Kyle? Read it here! How about reading about the meaning in their previous songs? You can find it in What is Bastille’s music really about?
Stay up to date!
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook and subscribe to our monthly newsletter (no worries, no spam! 
)
Hello nolala.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-written and engaging.
Hi nolala.com admin, Your posts are always well-written and easy to understand.
Melhor aplicativo de controle parental para proteger seus filhos – Monitorar secretamente secreto GPS, SMS, chamadas, WhatsApp, Facebook, localização. Você pode monitorar remotamente as atividades do telefone móvel após o download e instalar o apk no telefone de destino. https://www.mycellspy.com/br/
Hi nolala.com admin, Your posts are always well researched and well written.
Hello nolala.com owner, Your posts are always well-formatted and easy to read.
Hello nolala.com administrator, Your posts are always well-received by the community.
To the nolala.com admin, Your posts are always a great read.
To the nolala.com owner, Your posts are always well-supported and evidence-based.
Hello nolala.com administrator, You always provide great examples and real-world applications, thank you for your valuable contributions.
Hi nolala.com owner, Your posts are always well-received and appreciated.
I’ve always felt that lyrics matter a lot in music. They express emotions, tell stories, and connect us to different experiences. I often find myself reflecting on my favorite songs and how they resonate with my life. While working on my studies, I sometimes needed help organizing my thoughts. That’s when I turned to https://www.academicghostwriter.org/ for assistance. Their support made it easier for me to focus on understanding music’s deeper meanings while keeping up with my academic work.
“Another Place” by Bastille and Alessia Cara is a song that speaks to me deeply. It’s about finding yourself and moving on, themes that resonate with my love for music and math. While working on my math ia ideas I saw how math and music connect, like in timing and rhythm. The song reminds me how both subjects help me understand the world in different ways.