I plant the kind of kiss
That wouldn't wake a baby
On the self-same face
The wouldn't let me sleep

And the street is singing with my feet
And dawn gives me a shadow I know to be taller
All down to you dear
Everything has changed

My sorry name has made it to graffiti
I was looking for someone to complete me
Not anymore dear
Everything has changed

You make the moon our mirror ball
The street's an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed

So lift off love
So lift off love

And we took the town to town last night
We kissed like we invented it
And now I know what every step is for
To lead me to your door
Know that while you sleep
Everything has changed

You make the moon our mirror ball
The street's an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed
Everything has changed
Everything has changed

So lift off love
Lift off love
(All down to you dear)
Lift off love
(All down to you dear)

Lift off love
(All down to you dear)
Lift off love
(All down to you dear)

Lift off love
(All down to you dear)
Lift off love
(All down to you dear)


Lyrics submitted by niteflite01, edited by zoeg93

Mirrorball Lyrics as written by Guy Edward John Garvey Craig Lee Potter

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Mirrorball song meanings
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20 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    Guy spoke once on XFM London about how the songs was about a new girlfriend and his feelings after he'd left her house one morning.

    They'd gone out the night before (And we took the town to town last night) and gone back to her house. He'd left in the morning to leave her sleeping and the song is how he felt on the journy home.

    The line "We kissed like we invented it" he said is a tribute to his sister who says the line about her daughter, Guy's neice. Apprently the teenager got a new boyfriend who she spent all the time kissing and her mother coined the phrase to Guy one night.

    Beautiful song.

    chorusphilon September 10, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    At first, I thought this was a song about a woman he loves, but then I looked at the lyrics a bit more closely. The "that wouldn't wake a baby" is what makes me think he's actually kissing a baby, his own baby. "On the self same face that wouldn't let me sleep", since babies keep their parents up. And any parent will tell you that everything changes when the children are born.

    "My sorry name has made it to graffitti" makes me think about how some people talk about getting a feeling of accomplishment when they have children. They feel like they've made an impression in this world, from being no one special. He sings about feeling completed now that he's got his child. Even the most mundane things, like the streets and the sirens, are turned into something wonderful and new.

    The "we" in "we took the town to town last night" is probably the new parents, dizzy with happiness and love, both for each other and their child.

    To me, this song is about a newborn, and eagerly awaited, baby.

    foredenton May 07, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Saw Elbow in sydney earlier this year and they did this and Guy said that it was about waking up the day after you have fallen in love.I like the newborn analogy though as it fits so well,and who is to say it can't be about falling in love as a new parent....except for the kissing bit! P.S Elbow live are quite possibly the best i've seen

    bennobobon July 23, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Gaius is right. He sees everything as a stage now. He just wants to dance because of how he feels. The moon is a mirrorball is a pretty obvious reference to a disco hall and the sirens becoming violins is genius. Everything makes him want to dance.

    jamie_museon April 21, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Pretty clear I think... he knows she is the one for him, and is ecstatic about it. Everything is different now that he's in love.

    GaiusBertuson March 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    foredent, I hadn't thought of it that way, but the interpretation you make fits very well, and as a parent myself, I can relate to that feeling.

    Iemanja75on July 02, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Very close runner-up for prettiest goddam song of the year. See also: Goldfrapp - Clowns

    pumkinhedon August 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with pumkinhed that this is one of the prettiest songs I've heard in awhile! Also really like "weather to fly" off this album

    stoneey1on September 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sadly, I have to agree with the consensus that foredent is wrong :-( I thought it was actually about a baby for a while too, but there are too many lines that undermine it (and Garvey doesn't have any kids, yet). But I do think the "wouldn't let me sleep" bit is a deliberate reference to babies' fabled ability to keep their parents awake.

    I take the line "my sorry name has made it to graffiti" literally - ie somewhere in Bury there is a toilet wall where someone has written something about him.

    chrisrazoron November 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sorry... wasn't intended as a post to chrisrazor!


    "kissed like we invented it"...lol.

    As observed so many years ago, is it not the court & spark that make monogamy such a challenge?!

    Another great album from Elbow... thanks fellas!

    altruman2000on January 22, 2009   Link

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