Fever, where'd you run to?
Fever, where'd you run to1?
Acting right is so routine2
Fever let me live a dream
Fever I'm a slave to3
No one misbehave too4
Fever that misunderstood
Wouldn't leave you if I could
Fever
Fever cause I'm breaking
Fever got me aching5
Fever, why don't you explain?
Break it down again
Fever got me guilty
Just go ahead and kill me6
Fever, why don't you explain?
Break it down again7
Fever, can you hear me?
Fever, can you hear me?
You shook me like I never been
Now show me how to live again8
It used to be a blessing
But fever's got me stressing9
Realize I am to blame10
But fever let me play the game
Fever
Now if the cold, pale, light in your eyes
Reaches those horizon lines
You know not to leave her
Now if the cold, pale, light in your eyes
Reaches those horizon lines
You know not to leave her
Fever11
1. Who or where would you run or go to if you had fever?2. It’s in the human nature to act as if nothing is wrong3. The “fever” used throughout the song is likely a metaphor, an extended reference to Dan Auerbach’s ex-wife and recent divorce in general. In this context she, the fever, constricts him and prevents him from fully pursuing his dream of being a successful musician. When he’s forced to dedicate all of his time to his marriage, he can’t focus on himself and his creative outlet.4. Dan Auerbach is further telling of how his previous marriage was bound by restriction of not doing the things he wants to do — the word misbehaving infers devoting more time to his music than to his wife who demands attention and this is making him ill.5. This part is about how his heart is broken by his lose. You are stuck on it.6. The Keys' new album is focused on sadness and numbness, which this line shows pretty clearly. He wants the fever to just “get it over with” and put him out of his misery all ready because he can’t take the guilt.7. They are asking fever to break it down or put into simpler steps again for better understanding.8. This mirrors AC/DC’s classic hit song ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ — which is a euphemism for getting really freaky.
This relationship was a new level of intensity of Dan. Almost like a withdrawal symptom, he doesn’t know how he’s going to live with out her.9. This is what we call a post-honeymoon phase epiphany — the realization that your relationship isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe you don’t actually have that much in common, or maybe you just got sick of them. Regardless, you’re trapped now.10. He now thinks that he was the source of their problems, and now along with all the feelings of longing, he feels guilt.11. Some pretty common symptoms of fever include going pale and cold. Dan feels his relationship with his wife is similarly draining to him.
This links to the idea of how love hurts, due to the extreme emotions involved. However, unlike Dan’s relationship with his wife, if you still have hope for the relationship after this fever, you can look at the horizon and move forward.