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Third Eye Blind – Blinded (When I See You) Lyrics 16 years ago
There are a lot of good interpretations of this song, but i get slightly different ideas from what others say for certain parts of the song. So i'll piece them all together and hopefully you all agree.


Just an old friend coming over
Now to visit you and
That's what I've become
I let myself in
Though I know I'm not supposed to but
I never know when I'm done

---He's now just considered a friend by his former girlfriend and he lets himself in her house on a day that they were supposed to spend some time together, even though they don't have the kind of relationship where it is acceptable for him to do that anymore.---

And I see you fogging up the mirror
Vapor around your body glistens in the shower
And I wanna stay right here
And go down on you for an hour
Or stay and let the day just fade away
In a wild dedication
Take the moment of hope
And let it run

---After he enters her house he walks in on her in the shower and sees her naked. This brings back all the passion he had for her and wishes things were the way they used to be. In this moment he only thinks of how much he wants her still and that gives him hope that they could still work it out somehow.---

Never look back
At all the damage we have done now
To each other
To each other
To each other

---His mind is clouded from wanting her so bad that he forgets all the things that happened between them to cause their breakup.---

But when I see you
It's like I'm staring down the sun
And I'm blinded
There's nothing left to do
and still I see you

---I think that "when i see you" refers to when he visits her like this, and i see "staring down the sun" as almost entering in a staring contest with the sun in order to get it to submit to him. He comes to visit her even though it's over and this hurts him. Visiting her and thinking that it will work out is actually harmful to him and futile, just like trying to stare down the sun, and this has blinded him (which is what would happen if you really did stare at the sun) in many ways. Even though seeing her hurts him, he continues to do so because he's become blinded to everything except for how much he loves her, and this makes him want her more and more.---

I never believe that things that they happen for a reason
And they never go as planned
I wanted to thank you for a vision that was lost that you returned
But you're past where you understand

---In the first two lines he's expressing that he thinks it was a mistake that they are no longer together and wishes things had gone they way he had wished they did. The last lines refer to the vision of her naked. It had to have been so long since he's seen her like this that he almost forgot what it's like. She is so beautiful to him and he wishes he could sincerely thank her for letting him see her like this, but she doesn't love him anymore, so she can't know what it means to him.---

Now her appetite is blown
Little else is known
except she's a little angry
Grabs a towel, looks away
and heat fades with the day

---It implies that they were gonna eat together but now she is mad and no longer wants to get something to eat, which will probably end their meeting. He doesn't know what to do because she won't speak to him because she is mad at him. "heat fades with the day" can either refer to him losing his aroused mindset because of how the situation isn't really good for him, or that she get's less mad as the day passes and just lets it go.---

And I fall down on what to say
oh something clean, let me be clever
Hey oh well, whatever
But that's not what I mean
Where we've been has left us burned
still i wont turn now from a fight
You know I'll never win

---He wants to look cool so he tries to think of something witty to say to her in this moment to fix it, but he's too nervous and just tries to play it off like it's no big deal. However, in reality this moment meant the world to him. They're both hurt from what happened between them and it seems to ensure they won't get back together, but due to his pride and diligence (which is referred to in a later line), he'll keeping fighting to be with her even though it will never happen.---

so when I see you
you know all the things I've done
well i'm blinded
Like I'm staring down the sun
When I see you
When I see you
When I see you
It's like I'm staring down the sun

(Hey! I'm Blinded!)
(Hey! I'm Blinded!)
(Hey! I'm Blinded!)

---When he visits her, she still remembers all the bad things that have happened and has no more feelings for him, but he is still blinded to those things because he loves her so.---

Time it passes and it tells us what we're left with
We become the things we do
Me, I'm a fool, spent from defiance
yeah you got me but
I didn't give up on you

---As time goes on, he learns from his mistakes and he realizes that he was a fool for fighting her so much, probably because he's a prideful person and won't back down from arguments. Even though she probably won the argument that caused the breakup, he didn't want it to end and probably didn't expect it to.---

icarus is not a tee shirt or a swan song, no
He is born again and
It's not easy being me
when I can't promise I will mend
Or bend when you believe
That we are fixed now from our birth
And I've just fallen back to earth

---He alludes to the story of Icarus that accidentally flew too close to sun and died as a result of it. He considers himself to be Icarus and she is the sun, but does not think this will be the end of him. This title to him isn't just a souvenir that he gained from this experience (like tee shirt from a trip) or even that its the last significant thing to happen in their relationship (swan song). The last two lines say that its hard for him because he doesn't know if he'll ever recover from losing her, even though she believes that they've both moved on from their relationship and that he will start over with someone else.---

Still you know I'll try again
Cause I believe that we are lucky
We are golden
We have stolen manners
in the days when we were one

---I'm kinda torn about this part. It can mean one of two things. First, that he will keep trying to be with her because he has hope and loves her. He also thinks that they are perfect for each other because he still sees that they do little mannerisms that they did while they were together. Secondly, it can mean that he will move on and find someone new because he is believes that he will find his true love, and will learn from this experience. The first one seems to fit the overall theme better, but both make sense. You decide.---

So when I see you
In spite of all that we've become
I'm still blinded
But I'm still staring down the sun
When I see you
When I see you
When I see you
When I see you

---When he visits her he still holds the hope that they will work it out despite everything stacked against them. He knows its impossible, but he still has to try.---

Oh yeah
I'm still staring down the sun
Oh yeah
I'm still staring down the sun
Oh yeah
Well I'm still staring down the sun
I'm blinded

When I see you
When I see you
When I see you

---It seems that no matter what happens to him, he will continue to try to get her back and hopefully one day, he will successfully stare down the sun.---

*I know this was reallllllllly long, but thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.