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"
What grew
What grew
What grew and inside who
First so simple was the vow
Then the chorus sang about
Your shoulder
The mooring for me
Like water lost in the sea
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
I'm a stem now
Pushing the draught aside
Opening up
Fanning my yellow eye
On the ferry
That's making the waves wave
Illumination
This is how my heart behaves
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
(How her heart behaves)
The rain, rain making me cry
(How her heart behaves)
Then the wind comes
Fanning my yellow eye
(How her heart behaves)
The waves wave, the waves wave
(How her heart behaves)
This is how my heart behaves
A cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
And what grew
What grew
What grew and inside who
What grew
What grew and inside who
First so simple was the vow
Then the chorus sang about
Your shoulder
The mooring for me
Like water lost in the sea
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
I'm a stem now
Pushing the draught aside
Opening up
Fanning my yellow eye
On the ferry
That's making the waves wave
Illumination
This is how my heart behaves
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
(How her heart behaves)
The rain, rain making me cry
(How her heart behaves)
Then the wind comes
Fanning my yellow eye
(How her heart behaves)
The waves wave, the waves wave
(How her heart behaves)
This is how my heart behaves
A cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
The cold heart will burst
If mistrusted first
And a calm heart will break
When given a shake
And what grew
What grew
What grew and inside who
Lyrics submitted by heyjessimarie
How My Heart Behaves Lyrics as written by Leslie Feist Andrew Whiteman
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Ok.. this is what i think of the song.
i think the metaphors are being used to describe someone's heart that has been detached for a long time. She has gone through a lot of either heart break or let downs. She finally meets someone that has instilled something beautiful in them. Hence the opening verse. (what grew, what grew..)
When describing her new love, she describes their shoulder as a mooring for them. in other words, this new love/person has come in and gave her stability. Again, the sea is a metaphor for how lost she was when it came to love and matters of the heart.
But, since past experiences exist, its hard to trust this beautiful feeling. This is where the chorus sets in. Anything can cause this her to run, to be let down. Based on experience and resilience, she can either have a cold heart (depending how he/she has reacted to those past experiences) or a calm heart that can be easily broken.
The second verse describes her rebirth. She uses the earth and the elements to describe how long she has gone on without love. "drought" becomes a strong metaphor.. the new love that is growing, is now pushing aside her past.. i.e;. end of the road relationships, ones that go nowhere and are empty (drought). She is now growing and has become the flower that has been brought to life by love, she basks in her nature as someone does when they fall in love.
She no longer is lost in the sea but is now on a ferry - she can watch the waves wave. when someone knows they are in love or have found love, they become more conscious of their surroundings. Everything becomes heightened. This is where illumination sets in. this is when she is conscious of her feelings and how strong she feels and how much more hurtful it can be now that she feels this way.
Unfortunately, it seems that there is trouble within the love affair, the following verse uses winds, waves, and rain.
OR it can be describing her past and situations that have made her the way she is... (i prefer this interpretation)
Lesson: if you find someone who is vulnerable because of their past - and you have fed them hope that this affair will be different from the rest - be more cautious. You do not want to hurt a person such as this one, you can ultimately make them bitter.
well said!