Weep for yourself, my man
You'll never be what is in your heart
Weep Little Lion Man
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself
Take all the courage you have left
And waste it on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?
Didn't I, my

Tremble for yourself, my man
You know that you have seen this all before
Tremble Little Lion Man
You'll never settle any of your scores
Your grace is wasted in your face
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Now learn from your mother
Or else spend your days biting your own neck

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?
Didn't I, my dear?

Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?
Didn't I, my dear?


Lyrics submitted by niamhOMFG, edited by zooooomzooom, Mellow_Harsher, reillylyon, Sophovot, sean1023, AntiM4tter

Little Lion Man Lyrics as written by Edward James Milton Dwane Benjamin Walter David Lovett

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Little Lion Man song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

243 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +36
    General Comment

    I think the verses are of a guy addressing himself, realising how foolishly he's behaved, by pushing the person that they loved away. He says "Wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head", which could suggest a case of paranoia which, ultimately, ended the relationship. Anyway, it's a wonderful song and I won't be surprised if these guys hit it big soon. :)

    MayaMooon September 02, 2009   Link
  • +20
    General Comment

    Can tell you, as someone's son myself and now a father to a young man, it's about a dad apologizing to his kid about the emotional baggage parents unwittingly pass on. It's acknowledging that all the effort spent trying to both develop the person you want your son to be combined with everything you hate seeing in yourself is going to backfire. Could be over analyzing, but that's the first thing I thought of. Could hear my dad saying it to me, and me saying it to my boy as I see him wrestle with life's choices.

    jtquenlinon February 07, 2010   Link
  • +11
    General Comment

    I can't actually get over how amazing this band is. My favourite song from the Ep's so far - bring on the next one please. I think this song is about that one person you've let slip away, even after they've hung around you for ages, giving you so many chances but you've been too foolish to see it then. Ain't Hindsight a wonderful thing?

    BeatRushon April 27, 2009   Link
  • +9
    My Interpretation

    I'd have to spend more time doing proper research, but I strongly believe that just how "Roll Away Your Stone" is heavily influenced by Shakespeare's Macbeth, "Little Lion Man" is influenced by Shakespeare's Richard III.

    Richard the Third became Richard the Lionheart.

    "You'll never settle any of your score Your grace is wasted in your face Your boldness stands alone among the wreck Learn from your mother Or else spend your days biting your own neck"

    Early into the play you learn that Richard is a bastard child who is neglected, he has a damaged face with scars, he regularly comes in like a champion after someone else does the dirty work, his mother wishes he had died in birth.

    Just a few references, but I think any Shakespeare fans would enjoy re-reading that play then listening to this song.

    mumford613on August 20, 2012   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    I think this song is about a father talking to his son. (this is kind of my take of the lyrics)

    weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start

    (as we all have to learn in life, we first have the biggest dreams and then life beats us down)

    rate yourself and rake yourself, take all the courage you have left waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head

    (this is were I think the father feels he has left his boy after trying to raise him. As most fathers see themselves in their children and this father, I think, is seeing that he has passed some of his own problems to his son. and is kind of saying "yeah, I know you create problems that aren't really there cause you think too much, just like me".)

    but it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line i really fucked it up this time didn't I, my dear?

    (its my fault your the way you are <like me> because I raised you. but I should have been more careful because you are the one who has to live with my mistakes.)

    tremble for yourself, my man, you know that you have seen this all before tremble little lion man, you'll never settle any of your score your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck

    (look I can see me in you so I am telling you don't go down this road, dont make the same mistakes I have. learn from your mother not me. or you will regret it like me.)

    youngbloodrlon February 18, 2010   Link
  • +6
    My Interpretation

    I think the meaning of this song is pretty clear. It's about someone who is too busy being depressed and feeling sorry for themselves...blaming all their problems on someone else. They've lost touch with reality and they don't realize that they aren't the only one with feelings. They are causing themself to be absorbed by their depression and resentment instead of trying to fix anything or pull themself out of this state of mind.

    kiwisoupon February 08, 2012   Link
  • +6
    Lyric Correction

    Woah there. It is not "Rate yourself and rape yourself." Gah. It's "Rate yourself and RAKE yourself", like the expression rake yourself over the coals.

    kindlemeon July 20, 2012   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    Guys i really dont think its rape yourself or rake yourself.

    Its "rate yourself and break yourself" which then connects with the line "your boldness stands alone among the wreck"!!

    Think about,this is a song about a guy who who is self-conscious, self-critical and extremely judgemental probably has an inferiority complex.

    He is rating himself then realizing hes not good enough, even though his parents called him "little lion man", and he is breaking himself down again....

    beezybeaston December 09, 2009   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I feel the song is about a guy who feels he is to blame for the end of a relationship due to his inferiority complex, his negative self-talk, and his passive-aggressive behavior. Because these types of feelings and behaviors are common for him, he feels that he will never overcome them and be a confident man worthy of a healthy, wholesome love. This particular relationship's end is especially painful because the girl had opened up her heart to him thinking he was a bigger man than he feels that he is. But there is hope, in that if he learns to merely love another person in a wholehearted nurturing way, and focus less on his own negative feelings, then in the future he might be able to avoid a life of loneliness and self-defeat.

    "Little lion man" describes his inferiority complex and his passive aggressiveness. "Rate yourself and rape/rake/break yourself" describes his negative self-talk and how he feels like he comes up short when compared to others. "Tremble for yourself, my man you know that you have seen this all before tremble little lion man you'll never settle any of your score" describes his fear that he will never overcome his defeatist behavior and be a confident man. "Your grace is wasted in your face your boldness stands alone among the wreck" describes his self-defeating passive-aggressive behavior caused by his inferiority complex. "Learn from your mother or spend your days biting your own neck" describes how there is hope, that if he learns to merely love another person in a wholehearted nurturing way, and focus less on his own negative feelings, then in the future he might be able to avoid a life of loneliness and self-defeat.

    texasjoeon March 06, 2012   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I'm surprised this one hasn't been brought up yet.

    "Learn from your mother Or else spend your days biting your own neck"

    The cat family (Little LION Man) bites the neck of their prospective mate to subdue them for sex. In other words, Learn from your mother or spend your days fucking yourself over. :)

    zyxwv88on September 18, 2012   Link

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

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
Page
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.