The song “How Would You Know” by The Grogans is a hazy, sun-drenched anthem about building a private, physical, and emotional refuge from the anxieties of the future. The song’s core meaning lies in the stark contrast between two things: the paralyzing, existential question of “how would you know where to go?” and the simple, tangible answer of building a “masterpiece” with someone you love. It is a song that finds its certainty not in a life plan, but in a shared, secret world and the intimacy that blossoms within it.
This track, from their 2019 debut album Just What You Want, is a perfect encapsulation of the band’s “slacker-rock” philosophy. It is a story told in a single, lazy afternoon. It is about the “slacker” response to the overwhelming pressure of not knowing your purpose. The Grogans’ answer is to stop looking for a purpose in the “real world” and, instead, to build one with your own hands, “from trees,” with a person who understands you.
The “Slacker” Paradise of Just What You Want
To understand this song, you have to understand the world of The Grogans. This Melbourne-based trio has built their sound on a foundation of 60s surf rock, 90s garage, and a distinctly Australian “slacker” vibe. Their music is not about grand ambitions or dramatic, high-stakes romance. It is about the “day-to-day,” the beauty of aimlessness, and the search for meaning in the small, tangible moments.
Their debut album, Just What You Want, is a philosophical handbook for this lifestyle. It features tracks like “Money Will Chase You,” a direct critique of the “rat race” that advises you to live your life so authentically that success becomes a byproduct, not the goal. It also has “Waste My Time,” a love song where the protagonist decides that “wasting” his time is the only thing to do, and the only choice that matters is who he wastes it with.
“How Would You Know” is the anxious, romantic heart of this entire philosophy. It is the why behind the other songs. Why do they reject the rat race? Because the “real world” is a confusing, directionless place that constantly asks, “how would you know where to go?” This song is the story of two people who have built a physical and emotional fortress to protect themselves from that very question.
Verse 1: The Rules of the Secret World
The song opens not with a statement, but with a set of rules, an entry password into a secret society. The protagonist sings about having to “pray to the bird” upon entering. This is a deliberate, specific, and “weird” ritual. It is an in-joke, a piece of shared mythology between the people in this space.
This is not a home; it is a den. It is a clubhouse. The “bird” is their totem, their mascot. It is the first sign that the protagonist is not in the normal world, but in a private, magical space where he and his partner have created their own culture.
This “in-joke” is immediately followed by a playful, superstitious threat. If you do not follow the rule, a “ghost will get you within.” This is the “club’s” imaginary boogeyman. It is a sign of a deep, comfortable, and playful bond. All truly close relationships, be it romantic or platonic, develop their own “weird” language, their own superstitions. This is the sound of that language.
The song then describes the aesthetic of this secret place. It is not a clean, modern apartment. The walls are covered in “scattered leaves.” This is a “slacker” palace, a “masterpiece” of nature. It is a fort, a den, or a cubby house, built with whatever they could find.
This imagery is a direct rejection of the consumerism that “Money Will Chase You” critiques. They did not buy their paradise; they built it. It is a “masterpiece” precisely because it is made of “leaves” and “trees.” It is a return to something simple, real, and tangible in a world of digital confusion.
The verse ends with the most important image of all: a “twine intertwining us all.” This “twine” is both literal and metaphorical. On a literal level, it is the rope or string that is physically holding their leafy, tree-built den together. It is the raw material of their “masterpiece.”
On a metaphorical level, the “twine” is their relationship. It is the bond that is “intertwining” them, holding their secret, fragile world together. Their connection is woven into the very fabric of the place they have built. They are inseparable from their creation.
The Chorus: The Question That Haunts the “Real World”
After establishing this safe, magical, and “intertwined” bubble, the chorus hits. It is the voice of the “real world” breaking in, the sound of the anxiety that they have built this entire fort to escape.
The protagonist asks the song’s central, existential question: “How would you know / Just where to go?” This is the ultimate “coming-of-age” anxiety. It is the question every person faces when they are adrift, without a map. It is the “slacker” hero’s great fear. In a world without a clear 9-to-5 script, in a world where you are encouraged to “follow your passion,” what if you have no idea what that is? What if you have no direction?
This is the sound of that paralysis. He repeats the question: “How would you know / Know for sure?” This second part is the real killer. The anxiety is not just about making a choice; it is about the impossibility of certainty.
He is terrified of the “real world” because it demands decisions—what career to choose, what city to live in—while offering no guarantee that any of these choices are “correct.” He is paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong move.
This chorus is the problem. The entire song is built around this question. The verses, in contrast, are the solution. The protagonist’s answer to this overwhelming, unanswerable, “macro” question is to create a “micro” world where he does have the answers.
He does not know “where to go” in life. But he does know that he must “pray to the bird” when he walks in his den. He has created a new, smaller, more manageable set of rules to live by.
Verse 2: The Answer to the Question
The second verse is the story of how this “slacker” paradise was built. It is the tangible answer to the chorus’s abstract fear.
The protagonist describes the setting. It is a period of long, aimless, sun-drenched days. He sings that “these days drag on for hours,” a perfect description of a lazy, endless summer. This is not the “time is money” anxiety of the city. This is the slow, “slacker” time of the suburbs or the coast.
The “sun rays make us browner,” a simple, physical detail that grounds the entire song in a real, sensory experience. This is not a metaphor. This is a real summer, a real project. They are outside, they are working, they are living.
Then comes the song’s most important, triumphant moment. He sings that “when we’re done, we’ll sit back and see / This masterpiece we made from trees.” This is the answer.
The “masterpiece” is the physical manifestation of their shared time, their “wasted” days. It is their purpose. How do you know where to go? You do not. So you build your “where.” You create your own meaning. This den, this fort, this “masterpiece” is their church. It is their home. It is their one, true, tangible accomplishment.
The “masterpiece” is certainty. The “real world” is uncertain, but the “masterpiece” is real. They built it. They can touch it.
This shared creation, this “slacker” project, immediately leads to a new, deeper connection. The protagonist looks at his partner and sees her “grin so wide.” This is the reward. It is not a paycheck; it is a grin. It is the shared joy of having built something together.
This moment of pure, shared joy pivots the song from a story about friendship to a story about love. The protagonist looks at this person, in this place they built together, and is filled with a new, different kind of certainty.
He states it plainly: “I know where you sleeping tonight.”
This line is the perfect response to the chorus. The chorus asks, “How would you know / Just where to go?” This line answers: “I don’t know where my life is going. I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow. But in this one, perfect, tangible moment, I have one piece of absolute certainty. I know this is real. I know you are real. And I know we are in this together, tonight.”
He has found his certainty not in a 5-year plan, but in a single person, in a single night.
The New Anxiety: “From Now On”
The song does not end with this perfect, happy resolution. In a moment of brilliant, subtle songwriting, The Grogans bring the anxious chorus back. But this time, the lyrics have changed.
He asks, “How would you know / Just where to go?” But the final line is no longer “Know for sure?”
The new line is, “How would you know / From now on.”
This is a devastating and realistic shift. The first chorus was about existential anxiety. It was the general, “what-am-I-doing-with-my-life” dread.
But the second chorus comes after the intimate moment. It comes after the “masterpiece” is finished and the “grin” has been shared. This new anxiety is no longer general; it is specific. It is relationship anxiety.
The protagonist has solved his “where-to-go” problem for one night. But now, he is faced with a new, equally terrifying question. What about “from now on”?
This “slacker” romance, this perfect summer day in a treehouse, has suddenly become real. It has stakes. He has found a certainty that he is now terrified of losing. The “real world” (tomorrow, “from now on”) is a threat to the “masterpiece” (their perfect, timeless, private bubble).
This new question is the “slacker” version of “what are we?” It is the fear that this perfect, simple, tangible thing they have built will be destroyed by the complex, abstract, and uncertain future. The song leaves this new question hanging in the hazy, sun-drenched air, capturing the exact, terrifying, and beautiful moment a casual fling becomes something that truly matters.
Conclusion: Building Your Own Certainty
“How Would You Know” is a masterpiece of “slacker-rock” storytelling. It is a song that perfectly captures the anxieties of young adulthood and offers a beautiful, tangible solution.
The song’s ultimate meaning is that in a world that offers no clear “place to go,” you must create your own. You must find your “twine” and your “trees” and build a “masterpiece” with your own hands.
The Grogans argue that certainty is not found in a career or a life plan. It is found in a shared, secret world. It is found in a “bird” that only you and your partner understand. And, for one perfect, fleeting night, it is found in the simple, profound knowledge of exactly where you are going to sleep.