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"
Oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You understand me
At least you say you do
Lately that's enough for me
Lookin' for perfect
Surrounded by artificial
You're the closest thing to real I've seen
Sure, everyone has their problems (oh)
That's a given
Yours are the easiest to tolerate
This wasn't what we was wantin' (oh no)
How we're livin'
But let's take this good enough and turn it to great
Baby, understand
This can only be as good as we both make it
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
We can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Sometimes I love you
More than you'll ever know
Other times you get on my nerves (hey)
That's just reality
No, it can't always be
Kisses, hugs, and beautiful words (ayy)
You was lookin' for your prince (oh)
What you found (what you found)
Is a pauper with potential
And, no, I'm nowhere near perfect (no)
But I'm around (but I'm around)
Girl, time and patience is essential
Baby, realize
This can only be as good as we both make it
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
Hey, we can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Oh, we gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh (oh-oh-ooh ayy)
Thick and thin (ooh)
The bad outweighs the good sometimes
That doesn't mean (oh, oh-ooh) we're supposed to give it up
My problems (ooh) are yours, and yours are mine (ooh yeah)
This can only be as good as we both make it (oh, ooh-oh)
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
Hey, we can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Oh, we gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh (oh-ooh)
No, oh-ooh
No, oh-ooh ooh, hey
No, oh-ooh
No, oh-ooh ooh, hey
No, oh-ooh
Ooh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You understand me
At least you say you do
Lately that's enough for me
Lookin' for perfect
Surrounded by artificial
You're the closest thing to real I've seen
Sure, everyone has their problems (oh)
That's a given
Yours are the easiest to tolerate
This wasn't what we was wantin' (oh no)
How we're livin'
But let's take this good enough and turn it to great
Baby, understand
This can only be as good as we both make it
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
We can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Sometimes I love you
More than you'll ever know
Other times you get on my nerves (hey)
That's just reality
No, it can't always be
Kisses, hugs, and beautiful words (ayy)
You was lookin' for your prince (oh)
What you found (what you found)
Is a pauper with potential
And, no, I'm nowhere near perfect (no)
But I'm around (but I'm around)
Girl, time and patience is essential
Baby, realize
This can only be as good as we both make it
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
Hey, we can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Oh, we gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh (oh-oh-ooh ayy)
Thick and thin (ooh)
The bad outweighs the good sometimes
That doesn't mean (oh, oh-ooh) we're supposed to give it up
My problems (ooh) are yours, and yours are mine (ooh yeah)
This can only be as good as we both make it (oh, ooh-oh)
Yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt (yes, sometimes it's gonna hurt)
Hey, we can be as happy as we want to be, girl
But we gotta make it work
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
Oh, we gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh
We gotta make it work (work)
Ayy, oh, ayy, oh-ooh (oh-ooh)
No, oh-ooh
No, oh-ooh ooh, hey
No, oh-ooh
No, oh-ooh ooh, hey
No, oh-ooh
Ooh-oh
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
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.
i agree with the post above. it's meant to be pauper. this song is so sweet indeed. and i'm not being bias because i happen to love the two dancers on sytycd (sabra & dominic). no, this song is amazing on its own. i think it's about this guy who is in a relationship with a girl but it's not going that great. they get into fights and stuff but even so, they have to get through it and "make it work". yeah, just my take. cool song anyway. :)