High above through veils of cloud I look on you again
You're beautiful as always in this light
About you shame and ignorance are clinging like a shroud
But I can't wait to be with you tonight

No angels walk beside you now
No heroes hold your hands
Your heart was broken but your mind's still free
And down below me you are waiting smiling like a ghost
Come open up your filthy heart to me

Into your arms so long ago in innocence and fear
I asked you for your dreams to make me wise
Like a priestess like a whore you took me by the hand
And showed me all your mysteries and lies

But everywhere I go there still are echoes of you now
Your golden streets that no one ever sees
And all I ask is one last time
Before my time has passed
Come open up your filthy heart to me

Mad dogs and millionaires have breathed upon your eyes
Their rituals are sordid and so bland
They whisper their banalaties
They fawn and patronise
How little all your suitors understand

They try to dress you up like someone younger and more free
Ridiculous they try to make you seem
When what you are is perfect and I need no more than this
Come open up your filthy heart to me

Come open up your filthy heart to me



Lyrics submitted by Major Valor

(Open Up) Your Filthy Heart (To Me) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

3 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is about breaking down the boundaries of fantasy and reality when it comes to 'love' (and the concept of it): the female figure in question is desired by the speaker, but he describes her (and his attraction to her) in a way that turns the idea(l) of romance completely on its head, illustrating the gritty nature of our existence within the boundaries of society, and the consequental lifestyle it offers to us.

    The Distortedon July 11, 2007   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    A love song to a city, a city filled with "shame and ignorance" but still beautiful and mysterious. It used to be much greater than it now is, but even in decline the singer loves it and wants to know it down to the core.

    Which city? Maybe London... maybe somewhere in India? I lean towards something connected with Great Britain because of the "mad dogs and millionaires" line connecting to the Noel Coward lyric ("mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun") which is all about British colonialism. It's a city that these colonial types have tried to change (either a city being colonised, or if London the return of the people who made it wealthy through the colonial system), they've tried to make things "sordid and so bland" with their "banalities," but the city resists that in its core. In spite of the attempts to make it "younger and more free" the city is "perfect" as it is, and the singer longs for the "filthy heart" which has been untouched by these attempts to Disneyize the city by making it pretty and new and just like everywhere else.

    dionyon August 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    From a December 2015 blog post by Barry Andrews:

    "Another urban Rite of Passage tune (see Sago City). The young man looking to the Big City for initiation, the older man returning to his first city. Perhaps they’re the same person."

    kreniighon January 05, 2016   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.