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"
Tonight will be preceded by
A few drinks to calm me down
To settle my gut, to work up a smile
Because your bones are shakin'
Baby, agitate my nerves
I'm feeling reckless
And I feel the need to stress this
I'm stepping out
And I'll do this till I'm somebody else
Well, tonight I'll be a classic work
Like Edgar Allan Poe
And I'll die on these streets of Baltimore
As a beggar, john, or buyer
Look, I'm just trying to score
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family's history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Now I'm taking all the liberties
I was too scared to before
I've accepted that we're just chemicals
Now bend over and touch the floor
Plan A has got a boyfriend
But she melts to my touch
Plan B has got a crush
As much as she's got a lust
Plan C well, God forgive me
Well, she, she just lives to fuck
I'll just act like I'm not in control
Well I'm feeling reckless
And I feel the need to stress this
I'm stepping out
And I'll take this, drink think, do this, smoke this
Fuck you while we're somebody else
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family's history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Now I'm taking all the liberties
I was too scared to before
I've accepted that we're just chemicals
Now bend over and touch the floor
Shut up and dance
Ms. sings in her sleep
Ms. moves to my beat
What kind of secrets are we keeping tonight?
Because he's not here and he's not waiting up
How about another spin around the floor?
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Be sure I'm slutting it up
'Cause I know love's not enough
And I'll be outside the bar
Hopes for the back of her car
She's got wandering eyes
And much more curious lips
And I'm still betting every dime
She answers as her skirt slides over her hips
A few drinks to calm me down
To settle my gut, to work up a smile
Because your bones are shakin'
Baby, agitate my nerves
I'm feeling reckless
And I feel the need to stress this
I'm stepping out
And I'll do this till I'm somebody else
Well, tonight I'll be a classic work
Like Edgar Allan Poe
And I'll die on these streets of Baltimore
As a beggar, john, or buyer
Look, I'm just trying to score
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family's history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Now I'm taking all the liberties
I was too scared to before
I've accepted that we're just chemicals
Now bend over and touch the floor
Plan A has got a boyfriend
But she melts to my touch
Plan B has got a crush
As much as she's got a lust
Plan C well, God forgive me
Well, she, she just lives to fuck
I'll just act like I'm not in control
Well I'm feeling reckless
And I feel the need to stress this
I'm stepping out
And I'll take this, drink think, do this, smoke this
Fuck you while we're somebody else
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family's history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Now I'm taking all the liberties
I was too scared to before
I've accepted that we're just chemicals
Now bend over and touch the floor
Shut up and dance
Ms. sings in her sleep
Ms. moves to my beat
What kind of secrets are we keeping tonight?
Because he's not here and he's not waiting up
How about another spin around the floor?
But at least I won't be out alone
I'm with my uncle and his mother
And the rest of my family history
Is with me, shouting, "Have another!"
Be sure I'm slutting it up
'Cause I know love's not enough
And I'll be outside the bar
Hopes for the back of her car
She's got wandering eyes
And much more curious lips
And I'm still betting every dime
She answers as her skirt slides over her hips
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
i fuckin' love it.