Obsolete Lyrics
[Chorus]
Talk is cheap, but the words cut deep
Promises get old, they get hard to keep
Tell me please, 'cause I'm losing sleep
Do you want my love? Is it obsolete?
[Verse 1]
Always was so easy hanging out
But it sure doesn't feel like that now
I know that you have been feeling rough
Or are you falling out of love?
[Chorus]
Talk is cheap, but the words cut deep
Promises get old, they get hard to keep
[Interlude]
Wait
Just wait
Okay
[Verse 2]
Tell it to me straight, don't tell me lies
Believe when I say, I'll be alright
'Cause I'm already talkin' like it's done
Sayin' things like "At lеast we had some fun"
And things like "I guеss we met too young"
[Chorus]
The words cut deep
Promises get old, they get hard to keep
Tell me please, 'cause I'm losin' sleep
Do you want my love? Is it obsolete?
Jealousy, looking up at me
There's a warning sign, that you never see
Tell me please, tell me honestly
Do you want my love? Is it obsolete?
[Bridge]
Just tell me what is up, tell me what is up
I've almost had enough, you're playing with my love
Just tell me what is up, yes really, what the f*ck
I may not be your man, but I would understand
I would understand
I may not be your man, but I would understand
[Outro]
Just tell it like it is to me, baby (Oh)
Just say I'm right, I'll do with this, baby
_______________ End ________________
Obsolete Song Meaning (Tame Impala)
From the first lines — “Talk is cheap, but the words cut deep / Promises get old, they get hard to keep” — Obsolete plants its emotional flag firmly in the territory of relational tension and the decay of certainty. That dualism—words as both currency and weapon—captured in the chorus sets up the core question: “Do you want my love? Is it obsolete?” The narrator is simultaneously pleading, accusing, and doubting.
In verse 1, the shift is subtle but potent: “Always was so easy hanging out / But it sure doesn’t feel like that now.” That shift (from ease to strain) suggests intimacy eroded over time. The partner has been “feeling rough,” or perhaps losing faith. The metaphor isn’t dramatic—there’s no car crash or betrayal—but it is quietly devastating: love, once effortless, now falters under weight.
The second verse digs deeper into emotional urgency: “Tell it to me straight, don’t tell me lies… ’Cause I’m already talkin’ like it’s done.” The narrator braces himself for an ending he senses is already underway. His references to “at least we had some fun” and “I guess we met too young” introduce regret, nostalgia, and a sense that youthful optimism perhaps wasn’t enough to guard against existential drift.
The bridge heightens that vulnerability: “Just tell me what is up… You’re playing with my love… I may not be your man, but I would understand.” Here, the narratorial voice pulls back from self-assuredness. The protagonist offers grace—acceptance even—while still needing clarity, even if it means acknowledging loss.
Musically and structurally, the repetition in the chorus (“words cut deep / promises get old”) reinforces the persistent ache of relational uncertainty. According to one review of Deadbeat, Parker’s production choices in songs like this emphasize a kind of self-deprecation — the instrumentation doesn’t hide the fragility but highlights it.
Wider Context: Deadbeat and Parker’s Mindset
While there is no published interview delving into Obsolete specifically, Deadbeat as an album is framed by Parker as deeply introspective and anxiety-laden. In a GQ profile, he speaks about wrestling with self-doubt, perfectionism, and a sense of being behind life’s curve—a recurring motif on this record.
The album also draws on influences from the Western Australian “bush doof” (outdoor rave) culture and the local rave scene, recasting Tame Impala’s sound toward a rawer, more immediate energy. In that light, Obsolete can be heard as one of the more vulnerable, stripped back moments in a record that often oscillates between introspection and kinetic pulse.
Critics have noted that Deadbeat leans into emotional directness, unflinching self-acceptance, and an embrace of imperfection. So Obsolete fits as a piece of that mosaic: it asks the uncomfortable question about worth and relevance in love—and in life.
What It Means for Listeners
For a listener, Obsolete is a mirror held up to relational insecurity: the fear that love becomes outdated, that words lose meaning, and that promise eventually decays under the weight of time. Because Parker seldom writes melodramatic plotlines, the song feels credible: it doesn’t dramatize heartbreak so much as inhabit its liminal zones—those moments when you’re waiting to be told exactly what’s wrong.
In the larger Tame Impala canon, Obsolete carries weight because it eschews grand scenic gestures in favor of small, cutting observations. It’s less about love lost and more about the adaptations, the half-truths, and the internal compromises that accumulate in long relationships. For fans who have followed Parker’s lyrical journey—from breakups in Currents to existential reckoning in The Slow Rush—Obsolete feels like the further unfolding of a songwriter still mining vulnerability as his deepest creative resource.
__________ ___________ __________
Album: Deadbeat (2025)
Artist: Tame Impala
- My Old Ways
- No Reply
- Dracula
- Loser
- Oblivion
- Not My World
- Piece Of Heaven
- Obsolete
- Ethereal Connection
- See You On Monday (You’re Lost)
- Afterthought
- End Of Summer
FAQ Section
Who sung the song "Obsolete" by Tame Impala?
The song "Obsolete" was sung by Tame Impala.
Who wrote the song "Obsolete" by Tame Impala?
Kevin Parker.
Who produced the song "Obsolete" by Tame Impala?
Kevin Parker.
Music Video
Song Details
Artist: Tame Impala
Album: Deadbeat
Genre: Pop
Language: English
Released: October 17, 2025
Social Plugin