The lead singer Rice-Oxley grew up in the Sussex small town of Battle, in the UK, and his two Keane bandmates also come from the same vicinity. He told The Independent May 7, 2010 that the song is based on "the area around Battle." The pianist added: "Because Richard [Keane's drummer] and Tom [vocalist] I've known my entire life, so a lot of my memories involve kicking a football around there when we were 12.

I love going to the pub on a summer's evening, taking a long walk home through the fields and the woods, putting the world to rights. That's my idea of heaven. Especially when you've known the people for years and years. I think that was why we struggled so much with what success brought. We felt that we had so much history that was so precious that was suddenly put into a much less pure context. It's a great feeling to have those close friends for so long."

Song released: 2004

In 2011 the song has been used as the theme song for the movie "Winnie The Pooh 2011"

I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete

Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And, if you have a minute, why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know.

Oh simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And, if you have a minute, why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go?
So why don't we go?

This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know.
Somewhere only we know.

PATHWAY= /pɑ:θweɪ/ Path, way (see picture)

LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND=  If you know something or someone like the back of your hand, you know it/them extremely well.

BENEATH=  /bəni:θ/ Under.

COMPLETE= If something makes you complete, you feel in harmony, as if everything were perfect.

SIMPLE THING= Simple uncomplicated life (of his childhood).

RELY ON= To rely is to trust, to have confidence on something/someone, to be dependent for support, help, or supply.
You rely on something, so you say: "I need something to rely on" (in English sometimes we keep the preposition of the verb even when there is no prepositional phrase after it, especially if the preposition is changing a lot or a little the meaning of the verb, so leaving it out would change the meaning)

GONNA= (coll.) Going to.

LET ME IN= (figuratively) Accept me, trust in me, rely on me, open your heart to me.

COME ACROSS= To find something by chance, when you were not looking for it.

BRANCHES= /brɑ:ntʃɪz/ The parts of the tree where leaves grow (see picture)

WHY DON'T WE GO TALK...?= Let's go to talk...
The standard construction would be:
- Why don't we go to talk...?
In colloquial English the verb GO often uses AND instead of TO:
- Why don't we go and talk...?
And in very colloquial English (especially AmE) you can drop it altogether and say:
- Why don't we go talk...?

This song describes a secretive place where a couple feel truly happy and can express their feelings when they feel as though they are parting. It was written by Keane piano player Tim Rice-Oxley, who told the UK paper The Mirror: "It's about being able to draw strength from a place or experience you've shared with someone. I think it's an idea a lot of people can relate to."

According to Wikipedia, the real meaning of the song's video and lyrics remain unknown; however, several have accepted that the meaning refers to "Manser's Shaw", a place in Battle where Keane members used to visit in their childhood days and the site of the Battle of Hastings, fought on October 14, 1066.

Richard Hughes, Keane's drummer, offered the following explanation of the song on Chris Flynn's fansite:

"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."