Ah

Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts?
Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts
So it's fairly simple to cut right through the mess
And to stop the muscle that makes us confess

We are so fragile
And our cracking bones make noise
And we are just
Breakable, breakable, breakable, girls and boys

You fasten my seatbelt because it is the law
In your two ton death trap I finally saw
A piece of love in your face that bathed me in regret
Then you drove me to places I'll never forget

And we are so fragile
And our cracking bones make noise
And we are just
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls and boys

And we are so fragile
And our, our cracking bones make noise
And we are just
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls and boys


Lyrics submitted by FutbolChica

Breakable Lyrics as written by Ingrid Michaelson

Lyrics © Spirit Music Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Breakable song meanings
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40 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    I believe this song is from the perspective of someone who was injured badly, possibly in a car accident(hence referring to a car as a two-ton death trap) and who was left either paralyzed or otherwise physically dependant on others; I think the first verse is alluding to the accident.

    Someone else has to buckle her seatbalt because she is unable to; they buckle it because it's the law, not because she needs protection, being severely broken already; she sees the love in their eyes and is bathed in regret that they have to spend their life taking care of her.

    Vhreabvkbojnckdnon March 25, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song has SUCH a great hook, it's no wonder it's so popular. I like the first verse and I think it's phrased really great, but there are things I don't like. Standing alone, this verse is good and I wish the second verse explored that a bit more.

    The biggest problem I have is how the second verse jumps into a story that wasn't really introduced in the first verse. If it was meant to suggest somethings "coming up" in the second verse, I didn't find it to be a very clear foreshadow.

    Second, why is someone else doing up her seatbelt? If she's an adult, that would suggest to me, a rather creepy relationship.

    Third, if (as the second verse suggests) she broke up with someone, why would they then go driving?

    I can't help but think this song is not simply a love song. I was watching a youtube video which showed pictures of baby seats when those lyrics were sung and it got me thinking that maybe it was more of a child and parent relationship.

    In any case, if this IS a love song, I don't think the lyrics are as "crystal clear" as others seem to think.

    To be clear, this song is sweet and I DO like it. I just think that, as songs about love go, I wouldn't personally praise these lyrics that much.

    Chimpan Aon February 23, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I have read all of the comments and read over the song over and over again, and this is what I've come up with. First of all, it's a parent-child relationship. Perhaps the first verse should be taken literally as well as metaphorically. Yes, our bones break, but as children we are so fragile in so many ways, especially emotionally. "You fasten my seatbelt because it's the law..." not because the "parent" necessarily wants to protect her, but because it's his/her duty by law. "love in your face that bathed me in regret..." perhaps not the child's regret, but the parent's regret for the child, or the love for someone else and is regretted by the child. A much sadder analogy is the "love in your face" is a "not nice Love" of child molesters which she regrets, and he "drove her" metaphorically to places she'll never forget. With the words "stop the muscle we use to confess" - confess what? Love, sin (molestation), "I didn't want you when you were born..."....

    Any ideas?

    cindelon April 29, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    First off, just because she is female and plays the piano, does not mean she is similar to regina spektor.

    ok, I think this sond can have 1 of 2 meanings.

    First (and in my mind, most probable): The first verse has both a literal and a metaphorical meaning. The literal meaning that we are fragile people and can easily be physically be broken or even die. The metaphorical meaning that we don't have a lot of physical or emotional armor to protect our hearts from being hurt and it doesnt take much to stop ones heart from beating for someone else or confessing their love for someone else.

    The second verse has a man and a women in vehicle, the passenger being the one who was physically broken and the driver being the one who was metaphorically broken. The driver buckles the passengers seatbelt, symbolizing that he/she is protective of the other and wants to make sure that nothing happens to him/her. The reference to the two-ton death trap I feel is how the passenger feels about vehicles now...assuming that he/she was physically broken in an accident - perhaps while with someone else (a lover, friend, or family member), perhaps because of a bad decision (alcohol or drugs). It is after the seatbelt is buckled that the passenger sees the "piece of love" on the drivers face and realizes that the protective nature stems from deeper feelings for him/her. He/she is then "bathed in regret" for not noticing this before and because of how things have turned out - perhaps a friend or family member was killed in the accident or the passenger is permanently broken in some way (either physically or mentally) or both - and because of the tragedy, the drivers heart, which is "the muscle that confesses" is "stopped" from ever letting those feelings out.

    So, therefore, the "breakable girls and boys" is both literal and metaphorical - as both of them are broken in some way and they can no longer have what might have been.

    The second thought involves no accident. It takes on the more metaphorical sense and describes, similar to above, that it doesn't take much for a heart to break or hold back. The second verse, similar to above as well, has the passenger realizing that through the kindness and caring, the driver has always loved him/her. He/she is then bathed in regret for not having known or for not having taken the opportunity in the past. perhaps its way in the future and they both have families or something. In this version, I can't explain the "two-ton death trap". Maybe its another metaphor for an inescapable place where the false pretenses the passenger has been living under come crumbling down and die to the reality that is right on the drivers face.

    Anyways, that's what I think. I love this song. And I'm going to see Ingrid next Wednesay here in St. Louis!!!!! :)

    mu84on June 26, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    awesome awesome song. we are all breakable. whoever we are. doesnt matter your sex, race, religion, nationality etc.

    postergirlon September 26, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "You fastened my seatbelt Because it is the law In your two ton death trap I finally saw A piece of love in your face that bathed me in regret"

    I hadn't thought too much about the 'because it is the law' line until I read over the comments here. I think Ingrid's saying that she feels like the other person does things like that because they have to, not because they're trying to protect her. Then she finally sees the "piece of love" in their face that "bathes" her in regret. I think she's finally seeing how much the other person loves her, and that they do things like that because they care; maybe they're not very good with expressing themselves in traditional ways, but simple actions like fastening her seatbelt finally show her that they care, and she regrets not seeing that before.

    kcpon July 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love the fact that even though the song is pretty simple and easy to understand the lyrics are still clever and solid.

    ima_introverton January 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is just amazing.

    just4a6mirroron February 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love it! there's nothing else to say. Simply beautiful.

    lovesthatcoffeeon March 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    the song explains itself. its absoulty beautiful. i love ingrid and all her music

    livv3409on May 02, 2007   Link

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