I have lost you to sleep again.
Sleeping as we do on opposite sides of a venn diagram
I read the time in shadows on the wall
The shards of light through the slats on your window

I ease myself from under your languid arm,
Fumble on my boots and hear you breathe through your alarm I disarm it for you,
You rarely heed it anyway I wouldn't want it to intrude upon your dream,
School bell ring messing up the play

A note,
Penned clumsily in this century's type-ruined hand
Saying gone down the shops for a walk I'll bring back some sandwiches
And then I kiss your face, the black and the blue tie it into my laces,
I don't want the wander blocking up the view

I stumble out into the afternoon.
Still salty from drink and the late night pool I'll be gone an hour at most,
You will be more diagonal I've a head on me in the post,
I know, a castle swallowed in the swell.


Lyrics submitted by Shaftell

Venn Diagram Lyrics as written by Lisa Margaret Hannigan

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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Venn Diagram song meanings
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4 Comments

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  • +9
    General Comment

    I really, really, really hope Lisa Hannigan makes more and more and more music forever. her lyrics are the greatest ever and her voice is beautiful. I think that she is as good as if not better in some ways than Damien Rice. When I first heard her it was on his song "I Remember" and I knew immediately that this was somebody who was excruciatingly talented and who I definitely needed to remember to keep track of. This might be my favotite song of hers. I love the sybolism of "sleeping on separate sides of a venn diagram" it's so true how two people have so much that makes them different and only a few things that make them silmilar (like the Venn Diagram). Bob Dylan said "the only thing anybody really has in common with anybody else is that we're all going to die." And yet, to me, that's the one thing that haunts humnity the most, that matters the most, that means something. Its what gives us not only the capacity to love, but the inherent need to love and be loved. Our awareness of death is what pushes us towards connection with others, and I think that Venn Diagram deals in these truths. Her voice is so wonderful, and I love it when she does that "ah ha ha ha" thing, using the voice itself as an instrument. Just perfect.

    TheThornBirdson February 04, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Thing song is cute. I think it's about the morning after spending the night with a loved one.

    Shaftellon January 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That was a great post.

    Shaftellon February 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    This song is beautifully haunting. It's all love and perfection until the last two lines...Lisa's singing changes dramatically.

    "I'll be gone an hour at most, you will be more diagonal [...]" To me it's refering to that position you take when you sleep alone, or when you "get your bed back". Basically, not missing who was by your side.

    "I've a head on me in the post, I know, a castle swallowed in the swell." She was not fooled by him, she was aware of the situation very well. She knew the castle (that night/moment) would be washed away by the swell...

    She might bring back some sandwiches, but probably she'll leave before he wakes up.

    TinyMusicon June 11, 2013   Link

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