About
Written by Robbie Williams and Stephen Duffy, I Feel It But I Can’t Explain appeared as a B-side to Misunderstood in late 2004. A sprawling and atmospheric track, it combines psychedelic pop with confessional introspection, shifting in tone from euphoric to desolate. The song’s changing moods mirror the highs and lows of addiction, spirituality and emotional confusion — recurring themes in Williams’ writing at the time.
The opening verse finds him in a state of chaotic exhilaration — “They say, are you prepared? And I say, I do not know” — before the song slows dramatically, descending into an eerie, dreamlike comedown. “I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel you on my back,” he admits, as the energy drains away. The contrast between the first half’s ecstatic rhythm and the second’s melancholy stillness gives the song a cinematic, almost hallucinatory quality.
It’s about those moments when you’re full of emotion and you don’t know what it means — happiness, fear, guilt, love, all mixed together. The feeling’s there, but you can’t explain it.Robbie Williams
Layered with delicate guitar textures and ambient effects, I Feel It But I Can’t Explain is one of the most experimental of Williams’ Duffy-era recordings. By blending vivid imagery with fractured structure, it captures the restless energy of an artist searching for meaning — both euphoric and haunted at once.
Lyrics
I say how do you do
They look at me and I look back at them
I slip into a chair
They say are you prepared
I said I do not know
Sometimes I feel it
But I can't explain
Sometimes I need
And want them through my vains
Now there's ten in front of me
Asking me what do I see
I see nothing but butterflies and
Tests I did not know
The answers will not show
And all I see is butterflies and
Sometimes I feel it
But I can't explain
Sometimes the answer's
Running to my brains
And in the long run you always said I'll
Be there beside you
And in the long run you always thought I'll
Be there to guide you
Sometimes I feel it
But I can't explain
Sometimes I need it
Like a running train
Sometimes
I feel it in my pride
Sometimes
I take it in my stride
Slow down feelings
Loved up with you
I can't feel my legs
I can't feel you
Slow down feelings
Loved up with you
The night before an hour, too
On my back and leaving you
Falling down the stairs and seen it through
Falling down feelin' this
Monday morning I feel out of sorts
But that's ok
Dried up and dreaming
Punching and screaming
Feeling the morning through
Duuududududuudu
Duuududududuudu
Duuududududuududududu
Duuududududuudu
Duuududududuudu
Duuududududuududududu
Credits
-
Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Stephen Duffy