It's so cold in this house
Open mouth swallowing us
The children sent home from school
Will not stop crying

And I know that you're busy
Do I know that you care
You got your finger on the pulse
You got your eyes everywhere
And it hurts all the time
When you don't return my calls
And you haven't got the time
To remember how it was

It's so cold in this house
It's so cold in this house

I can't eat, I can't sleep
I can't sleep, I can't dream
An aversion to light
Got a fear of the ocean

Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating

It's so cold in this house
It's so cold in this house
It's so cold in this house
It's so cold in this bed

Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating glass
Like drinking poison, like eating

Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah show me
How, how it was

We've got crosses on our eyes
Been walking into the walls again
We've got crosses on our eyes
Been walking into the furniture

We've got crosses on our eyes
For richer, for poorer, for better, for worse
We've got crosses on our eyes
We've been walking into the furniture


Lyrics submitted by dricambo

Like Eating Glass Lyrics as written by Gordon Moakes Russell Lissack

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Like Eating Glass song meanings
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106 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    y'all are reading into this too much. crosses on your eyes just means you're dizzy or knocked out cold like the cartoons

    rockbassarton April 11, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Well - I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this song is about religious decay. In this interpretation "It's so cold in this house" would be the Church (the house of God) and it's cold because there's no-one there. Why's no-one there? - because they're "busy" even if they do "care". Who would the speaker be? - presumably God himself (He knows that you're busy but still knows that you care [i.e forgives] and "it hurts all the time when you don't return my calls" perhaps refers to people stopping praying).

    I hate religious metaphor, especially when it's as Christian orientated as this would be, but the lyrics about "we've got crosses on our eyes", and the cross somehow blinding Christians really suggests an attack on Christian indifference.

    Marrisseyon March 15, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    i think this song is about neglected or abused kids:

    " It's so cold in this house Open mouth swallowing us The children staying home from shool Will not stop crying "

    talking about how the kids are living in an unfavorable way. cold house, they won't stop crying.

    " And I know that you're busy too I know that you care You got your finger on the pulse You got your eyes everywhere And it hurts all the time when you don't return my calls And you haven't got the time to remember how it was It's so cold in this house It's so cold in this house "

    this verse seems like the kids are telling the parents how they are being neglected.

    " I can't eat, I can't sleep I can't sleep, I can't dream An aversion to light Got a fear of the ocean "

    the kids are restless over the situation. they dont want to flee either since they are scared that their parents will find them and things will be worse.

    " It's so cold in this house Come and show me how it was "

    come and show us how shit used to be / it was supposed to be.

    " We've got crosses on our eyes Been walking into the walls again We've got crosses on our eyes Been walking into the furniture We've got crosses on our eyes For richer, for poorer, for better, for worse We've got crosses on our eyes We've been walking into the furniture "

    they have crosses on their eyes. they have been praying in other words...focused on prayer.

    i'm stoned so this might not make a whole lot of sense but this is what i think its generally about.

    vlcmaapon March 30, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    i think this song is about divorce. \"it\'s so cold in this house\" refers to him living alone without his wife. the kids are home from school and won\'t stop crying. their mother is not around to take care of them. he is lonely and tries to call but she never calls back. the line \"and you haven\'t got time to remember how it was\" shows that he wants to reconcile and go back to the old happy days of marraige, but she won\'t. \"come and show me how it was\" is him pleading for her to come back. the chorus at the end when he says the line \"for richer for poorer for better for worse\" is an obvious reference to wedding vows.

    icy40ozon April 23, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    kele said:L "this song's about relationships falling apart and the pain that can cause"

    supasyd23on February 18, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think the song is to do with panic and torture, but I don't care what it's about, it's an absolutely awesome track!

    Holmesieon April 18, 2005   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I feel that this song to me really means modern day divorce

    iHarperon May 08, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Generally, i think this song is about living in a broken family. Probably from the wife or children that lives inside the house's point-of-view. Maybe Kele was trying to speak in the place of his mother, or maybe he was trying to speak his recollection during his childhood years. Maybe it's a mixture of both, unless we can sit and talk to him personally about it, we'll never know. Some lines are self-explanatory. Let me just try to interpret several key words that are "not so clear":

    "It's so cold in this house", "Open mouth swallowing us" This line refers to the depression that looms inside the house everyday. Entering the house feels like entering a swallowing mouth. Open mouth probably refers to the front door and that feeling the person gets everytime they enter, it's like stepping into misery kinda thing.

    This following part is a bit more clear, this is definitely someone speaking of his/her partner's lack of participation in the relationship. "Finger on the pulse" is talking about how this person has always got his hands on the phone, remote control, etc. etc. "You've got your eyes everywhere" refers to the other person to always being occupied, and not being interested to the other person. Also, when you're dishonest or uninterested, it is a human's normal reaction to not make eye contact.

    "I can't eat , I can't sleep" "I can't sleep, I can't dream" Depression is taking over. It's like breaking up, you just feel hollow, and when you can't dream, you're stuck in reality all the time.

    "An aversion to light" - Light might refer to a place that's filled with people living in a normal society. The person's self esteem is low, they would rather be cooped up in a safe, quiet place, which is of course self-destructing in nature.

    "Got a fear of the ocean" - A place filled with happy couples. Definitely a scene the person bears not to watch.

    "Like drinking poison, like eating glass" - It's the truth that he/she knows, but it swallowing feels...like eating poison, like eating glass.

    Great song by Bloc Party btw. Ambiguous as always.

    1D1OTEQUEon January 06, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    not religious decay, but you're close. the religious clues are clues to point you towards one religious idea specifically: marriage. this is about divorce. for richer for better for poorer for worse. the house is cold because they're poor. its also cold because the relationship is falling apart. the crosses line will forever be ambiguous. the rest of the song is clearly about divorce.

    afreijaton August 13, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this band is fucking awesome

    coheedandcambriaon February 15, 2005   Link

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