The lights are on but nobody’s home
Meanings of "The lights are on but ..."
It is used to describe a stupid person ,refers to a person who is not very bright, a daydreamer, a person whose mind is elsewhere an otherwise intelligent person who is not using their brain, someone who is not at all alert, something that you say when you think someone is stupid, when someone does not react because they are thinking about something else, have a brain, but not using it.
It is said in a way to tell someone that they lack awareness or intelligence.
“No matter how hard I try to understand what Jim is talking about, it is apparent that his lights are on but nobody is home.”
Originated in America, people have been using this idiom since at least the 1970s. The phrase first appeared in print in 1974, in Jason A. Colquitt’s book Organizational Behavior.
xy"The lights are on ..." in lyrics
Linkin Park - Talking to Myself
[1st Verse:]
Tell me what I gotta do,
there's no getting through to you.
The lights are on, but nobody's home.
Self Deception - Stockholm Hearts
[Verse 1]
Drunk and unhappy I’m weaving myself my way through the crowd
Dragging around everything that's been keeping me down
St. Erik, he lives in the walls and he's following me around
Mindless Self Indulgence - Ass Backwards
[Chantal Claret]
Hello Children! Would you like to hear a story?
Well okay then. Let me tell you the story about
Walking walking walking…
The lights are on but nobody’s at home
Everybody wants to be a
When the world has gone mad and there's nowhere to roam
The lights are all on but nobody's home
There comes a time when you look up to the sky
And ask "why do my favourite songs always make me cry?"
Hannah (Estonia) - Shadow On The Wall
Rush hour a soft summer rain
Some things never change
When I’m home the lights are on but nobody’s there
I guess it’s gonna take some time
Mr. Strange - The Wonderful World of Weird
Welcome, I'm Strange,
Lost and deranged,
This is my world,
The Wonderful world of weird!
Tell me what are you trying to prove
Spreading lies spinning stories
What gain do you get from all of this
Is it fame is it glory
Riot - Black Leather and Glittering Steel
We drank 'till the sunrise
Rode away singin' Johnny's back again
maybe I'm wrong - maybe I've really just been away too long
I climb the walls of my mind just like I'm climbing on a jungle gym
I am more than content with the
state of mind I am in
'cause I am crazy just like you
