Closed eyes in the dark
Whispering when no one's around
The night sky looks like blue (?)
My touch does not affect you

I wait for them to follow me
Like sugarplums, like sugar drops
I wait for them to conquer me again
I can't say yes, I can't say no to you

We bring our stories with us
We light a candle for beauty's sake
Are you feeling the bliss
Are you dying? I am

I wait for them to follow me
With sugarplums, with sugar drops
I wait for them to follow me again
I can't say yes, I can't say no to you

I wait for them to conquer me again
I can't say yes, I can't say no to you


Lyrics submitted by sheflatlines

I Can't Say No (To You) Lyrics as written by Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein Ii

Lyrics © Songtrust Ave

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I Can't Say No (To You) song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    Song Meaning

    It's about doing meth. Anyone that's ever done it would know immediately... The night sky looks light blue. Because your pupils are so dilated that's just how it seems. Whispering when no ones around. After 2 days of dope without sleep I watched a tissue float across my bed, my closet door reach over and swallow up the other, heard people talking, birds chirping, and water running in complete silence. Light a candle for beauty's sake... meth is a great weight loss drug and candles are the best way to smoke it without buying dozens of lighters a week. Are you feeling the bliss? It feels amazing. Are you dying? I am. The comedown feels a thousand times worse than the biggest hangover. I can't say yes. I can't say no to you... Because it's just that hard.

    Don't do drugs, kids.

    scott10715on April 16, 2018   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    think this is about me and the guy i like because he can be so cold when it comes to matters of the heart and my touch dosnt affect him because he is more into my mind and when he asks me something i cant say yes or no because i never know how the answer will affect him.

    forsakenangel25on July 27, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    There's something wrong in the lyrics. I listened to 3 different versions (Nude, April, and live at the CBGBs), only to find that he doesn't say "I am dying", but "I am darling". Which makes more sense, anyway.

    Anyone knows how to report errors in the lyrics?

    manusauvageon October 31, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think the line is: "the night sky looks light blue", not "like blue". and yes, i was certain it was "darling", not "dying".

    i get the general impression that this is about a relationship that is primarily sexual. the narrator feels his partner has no control over himself, or her; she, her desires, are dominant in the relationship. i think although there is sex, there is no intimacy. he desires it, but has to create it (using candles, etc). he admits that even this does not work though - it is for "beauty's sake" only, it does nothing to effect the relationship or the atmosphere. this then leads me to think that he is feining his "bliss". not really sure though.

    meg;on December 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The line "the night sky likes light (like) blue" always bugged me... it seems like a cluky nonsequiter for someone who's as great a lyracist as Jon. Anyone have an interpretation of that line that makes sense in the context of the rest of the song, I'd love to hear it.

    EtherealDCon August 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sounds like he is haunted for his ''ghosts'' --- i wait for the night to follow me --- he waits, so he is submiss to this, he can't do nothing. He feels like should say NO but, he can't say NO to her. The girl control him: i think this is the point of the song. One hint is when he said ''my touch does not affect you'', like she is like a statue, or a rule, something static, that controls and not moves. VAST always explore this themes. but it's a love song in some way

    GabiMontezon August 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Well, ok, here's my take on the lyrics. "The night sky looks like blood." "I am not an I am"

    This is one of VAST's more mysterious songs to me. It seems almost Vampiric, not in a literal sense, but metaphorically. Like the night turns him into something/someone else. He becomes a different person "I am not an I am." "My touch does not effect you," makes me think that she is either sleeping or dead. I take that to be a sexual idea as well. He is coming on to her in a sexual way while she is sleeping because he is overcome with the sexual desire. He's "love-drunk." He can't say yes or no to this feeling, which to me means that he feels like he has no control over himself. Almost like this desire or passion is acting through him. He's just a vessel for this emotion/feeling.

    Androgyneon June 21, 2013   Link

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