The city feels clean this time of night just empty streets
And me walking home to clear my head
I know it came as no surprise

I'm affected more than I had guessed on what was said
If the smile's not meant to be, if the heart's not ready to open
If we make it I won't see it's broken
If the smile's not meant to be, if the heart's not ready to open
If we make it I won't see how it's broken

It's the quiet time before the dawn and I'm half past making sense of it, was I wrong?
Should I claim to give it all ? in a world where not much ever seems to last long
If the smile's not meant to be, if the heart's not ready to open
If we make it I won't see it's broken if the smile's not meant to be
If the heart's not ready to open if we make it I won't
See how it's broken

How it's broken
How it's broken
How it's broken

If the smile's not meant to be
If the heart's not ready to open
If we make it I won't see it's broken
If the smile's not meant to be, if the heart's not ready to open
If we make it I won't see how it's broken

How it's broken
How it's broken


Lyrics submitted by jubjubgurl

Empty Streets Lyrics as written by Angelo Badalamenti

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Empty Streets song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm surprised no one has commented on this song, but then again most people are when they get the first comment on a song XD well...i'm not exactly sure on what the lyrics mean, but I really love this song Whenever i play it, it feels like it makes everything quieter, like ever thing around me becomes silent cause this song is playing. It's posistively amazing.

    smile_or_die4534on June 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's about a girl who's been in a relationship for some time now, but suddenly her boyfriend breaks up with her, so she roams the empty streets getting mad at the fact that there was no way for her to know something was wrong since they faked throughout the relationship smiling etc.

    cabbagesoupon July 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    sad song indeed. might not even mean this but i see it as two person who likes each other. one wants to advance in the relationship and the other...well just not on the same level for some reason. I mean that's what I got from "If the heart's not ready to open If we make it i won't see it's broken." I only see it that way cause it happen to me. and I guess when ur down u find anything u can relate to.

    lilb0idonon December 12, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    one of the best house songs ever!!!!! i luv it so much..

    tomer83on June 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with lilb0idon, I think the song's about a relationship that's not reciprocated. The person she sings of is not ready for a relationship...it's just not meant to be, his heart's not ready to open, likely because it's still broken by someone else. Later in the song, it almost sounds like she says "If this love's not meant to be" rather than "smile's not meant to be", but it's hard to say for certain. Walking the empty streets is a way she can help herself get over the idea of this relationship that's not going to happen and a step towards her independence. Although she still questions herself, just as she begins to make sense of it, she goes back and wonders if she was wrong, something that's very natural to do when you think back on your interpretation of a situations, and I think in the end she's still ultimately convinced herself that it just wasn't meant to be.

    waiting to listenon November 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    If the smile's not meant to be, If the heart's not ready to open If we make it I won't see how it's broken

    Hmm putting a different spin on that....

    I'd say...she's singing from her perspective first of all. She's going through some unfinished things from her past...loose ends...that carry into her new current situation. She likes this new person but is still not ready to commit...and she needs time. She wont understand how to fix herself if she gets blinded by this new relationship....and she'll hurt his new person the same way.

    Hence...."if we make it...I wont see how its broken"

    Just trying for a different intrepretation here

    I do agree with lilb0idon

    Code123on March 28, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love the Shirobon! Remix of this. Great beat, Fucking lovely lyrics. One of my favorite songs of all time.

    SaveOuron September 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think it could potentially be about a relationship that is slowly losing hope. She knew deep down that it wasn't mean to be and that it's actually falling apart no matter what she tries to do to fix it.

    "I know it came as no surprise, I'm affect more than I had guessed on what was said"

    She knew where the relationship was, where it stood but whatever was said still affected her because of the denial and little hope she had left. I don't necessarily think that "what was said" was breaking up, but it could have been something hurtful enough or honest enough to make her realize the reality of the situation.

    I actually always thought the song was "If this love's not meant to be" and rather than "If we make it i won't see it's broken" I thought it was "If the naked eye won't see, it's broken" and I still think that because I see some other people agree to it.

    So I basically think the chorus is her realizing that she has to let go because she's forcing something that wasn't meant to go as far as it has gone

    "if this love's not meant to be, if the heart's not ready to open, if the naked eye won't see. It's broken"

    She's basically saying with everything happened it was meant to be, it was meant to be broken. "If the naked eye won't see" not that it can't see but it won't see...She refuses to see the relationship for what it is - broken.

    Then the next part "I'm half past making sense of it-was I wrong? Should i think to give it all?" Now she's debating with herself, is it actually not meant to be? Am i wrong to be realizing that or am I wrong to have given what i did" then she says should i think to give it all? so she fights with herself to keep trying...

    Basically to sum it up, I personally think this song is about a guy and a girl who are in a relationship together but they are happy being miserable together because it would hurt too much to be apart The girl, obviously giving more than her boyfriend slowly begins to realize the harsh truth about the relationship - that she actually already knew but denied. So the beginning of the end of the relationship starts to happen on this walk home lol

    esaeraaon October 14, 2012   Link

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