This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
This is the moment that you know
That you told you loved her, but you don't
You touch her skin and then you think
That she is beautiful
But she don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, she is beautiful
But she don't mean a thing to me
I spent two weeks in Silverlake
The California sun cascading down my face
There was a girl with light brown streaks
And she was beautiful
But she didn't mean a thing to me
Yeah, she was beautiful
But she didn't mean a thing to me
I wanted to believe in all the words that I was speaking
As we moved together in the dark
And all the friends that I was telling
And all the playful misspellings
And every bite I gave that left a mark
When tiny vessels oozed into your neck
And formed the bruises
That you said you didn't want to fade
But they did, and so did I that day
All I see are dark grey clouds
In the distance moving closer with every hour
So when you 'd ask "Is something wrong?"
I think "You're damn right there is, but we can't talk about it now
No, we can't talk about it now"
So one last touch, and then you'll go
And we'll pretend that it meant something so much more
But it was vile, and it was cheap
And you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
That you told you loved her, but you don't
You touch her skin and then you think
That she is beautiful
But she don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, she is beautiful
But she don't mean a thing to me
I spent two weeks in Silverlake
The California sun cascading down my face
There was a girl with light brown streaks
And she was beautiful
But she didn't mean a thing to me
Yeah, she was beautiful
But she didn't mean a thing to me
I wanted to believe in all the words that I was speaking
As we moved together in the dark
And all the friends that I was telling
And all the playful misspellings
And every bite I gave that left a mark
When tiny vessels oozed into your neck
And formed the bruises
That you said you didn't want to fade
But they did, and so did I that day
All I see are dark grey clouds
In the distance moving closer with every hour
So when you 'd ask "Is something wrong?"
I think "You're damn right there is, but we can't talk about it now
No, we can't talk about it now"
So one last touch, and then you'll go
And we'll pretend that it meant something so much more
But it was vile, and it was cheap
And you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
Yeah, you are beautiful
But you don't mean a thing to me
Lyrics submitted by heartattack
Tiny Vessels Lyrics as written by Nicholas Harmer Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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People seem to give Gibbard little credit. With the level of emotion he puts into his music, I would think more people would have also realized that he's more of an emotional person than one just out for sex. That being said, I think there are many people who may be looking at this without a certain maturation one gets from having many relationships. Many seem to think Gibbard is saying he makes empty promises for sex, and I don't see it as that by any means.
From my experience, there are times where you want to love someone more than you actually love them. I feel that is what the meaning of this song is, rather, coming to the realization of said fact with one person in particular.
I have had relationships in the past where I liked someone, loved to spend time with them, and a relationship status elevated quickly enough that it seemed like love. After some time and intimacy, however, it became apparent that instead of loving that person in particular, I was just wanting to love someone in general.
When you realize that you don't love the person that you thought you loved, it can be pretty rough, and I think that is what he is writing of. His lyrics are indicative of similar experiences, so I can only imagine he was meaning that, rather than something so simple and vain as lying to for sex. Tricking someone into a lay is hardly something to write a song about...especially on an album that's mostly about love and life.
I couldn't have said it better myself, Chalz. Or more so, Gibbard couldn't have said it better himself.
@micromanage good that you got closure, but fuck what a dick.<br /> <br /> @Chalz why does he say it was vile then? It seems like it indeed is about the moment when he realizes that he doesn't love her, but he uses her for a while before telling her. Getting on the ethical aspect of things, he should have told her if that was the case, or simply not told her at all he loved her. On my personal relationships I say it when I mean it.<br /> <br /> <br /> @terriblyvexed why would you say she is out of his league? I think its normal to think sexual partners are beautiful, and this seems like a relationship between a guy and a girl in which the guy was simply using the girl for sex. Also the beggining of the song gives it a different direction at the start.
@Chalz (Coming late to this, I know!): I agree with your take. In particular, the opening two lines: "This is the moment that you know/That you told you loved her but you don't," suggest that before "this moment" he really thought he meant what he'd said. Also, "Wanted to believe in all the words that I was speaking" pretty strongly indicates he wasn't just lying for sex. Finally, the "Tiny vessels..." verse talks about him "fading"—something was changing; he wasn't just lying from the start (except perhaps to the extent he was also lying to himself).