In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I picked you out
Of a crowd and talked to you
Said I liked your shoes
You said, "Thanks, can I follow you?"
So it's up the stairs
And out of view, no prying eyes
I poured some wine
I asked your name, you asked the time
Now it's two o'clock
The club is closed and we are up the block
Your hands are on me
Pressing hard against your jeans
Your tongue in my mouth
Trying to keep the words from coming out
You didn't care to know
Who else may have been you before
I want a lover I don't have to love
I want a girl who's too sad to give a fuck
Where's the kid with the chemicals?
I thought he said to meet him here
But I'm not sure
I've got the money
If you've got the time
You said, "It feels good"
I said "I'll give it a try"
Then my mind went dark
We both forgot where your car was parked
Let's just take the train
I'll meet up with the band in the morning
Bad actors with bad habits
Some sad singers, they just play tragic
And the phone's ringing
And the van's leaving
Let's just keep touching
Let's just keep, keep singing
I want a lover I don't have to love
I want a boy who's so drunk he doesn't talk
And where's the kid with the chemicals?
I got a hunger and I can't seem to get full
I need some meaning I can memorize
The kind I have always seems to slip my mind
But you, but you
You write such pretty words
But life's no storybook
Love's an excuse to get hurt
And to hurt
Do you like to hurt?
I do, I do
Then hurt me
Then hurt me
Then hurt me
Of a crowd and talked to you
Said I liked your shoes
You said, "Thanks, can I follow you?"
So it's up the stairs
And out of view, no prying eyes
I poured some wine
I asked your name, you asked the time
Now it's two o'clock
The club is closed and we are up the block
Your hands are on me
Pressing hard against your jeans
Your tongue in my mouth
Trying to keep the words from coming out
You didn't care to know
Who else may have been you before
I want a lover I don't have to love
I want a girl who's too sad to give a fuck
Where's the kid with the chemicals?
I thought he said to meet him here
But I'm not sure
I've got the money
If you've got the time
You said, "It feels good"
I said "I'll give it a try"
Then my mind went dark
We both forgot where your car was parked
Let's just take the train
I'll meet up with the band in the morning
Bad actors with bad habits
Some sad singers, they just play tragic
And the phone's ringing
And the van's leaving
Let's just keep touching
Let's just keep, keep singing
I want a lover I don't have to love
I want a boy who's so drunk he doesn't talk
And where's the kid with the chemicals?
I got a hunger and I can't seem to get full
I need some meaning I can memorize
The kind I have always seems to slip my mind
But you, but you
You write such pretty words
But life's no storybook
Love's an excuse to get hurt
And to hurt
Do you like to hurt?
I do, I do
Then hurt me
Then hurt me
Then hurt me
Lyrics submitted by firefly716
Lover I Don't Have to Love Lyrics as written by Conor Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I feel like the whole song is about his inability to love. He is talking about his casual encounters with women and how he knows anything beyond that would just end with someone getting hurt.
"Where is the kid with the chemicals?" Many assume that this is a drug reference, but I feel like it means more than that. I believe he is referencing the fact that love is a chemical reaction. When he is hooking up with the random girl he thinks that he should feel something but he doesn't. "He said he'd meet me here but I'm not sure."