Candle light, it burns in every hole of your eyes
It's beautiful, how much you'll never realize
So hush my love, there's something I'm to tell you now
Your time has come, around again my sleepless one

Your friend was young, hung and plastered
He never knew his own disaster
I think it's good, in fact it was faster
'Cause it was you that he was after

Hold me now, as if you'll never let me go
Unhand me now, as if you've always known my name

His love was king, his love was master
He needed more, he needed always
He searched in vein for love and shelter
In every soul, in every hallway

So you thought she'd be sweeter than your girlfriend peter
Well give it a second chance 'cause you've yet to meet her
We got the same ideas, we got the same old fears
They're different colors sometimes, but, hey, who cares
Just years that tears our lives apart
Just like the time that you tried to teach your cousin to walk
He couldn't do it-push!-you told him twice
Well, I do man but it just don't jive

Tried so hard to control my behavior
I tried so hard, so hard to believe you
But now I live only to deceive you

So kick and scream


Lyrics submitted by teejies

Chinese Arithmetic Lyrics as written by Chuck Mosley Bill Gould

Lyrics © BIG THRILLING MUSIC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Chinese Arithmetic song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

3 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    possibly stating the obvious, but i never knew this 'til no long ago.

    the title comes from the phrase "like chinese artihmetic"... when something is hard or complicated, it's like chinese arithmetic.

    my favourite mosley era song... however, i'm not sure what to make of the lyrics.

    donniemcguffogon July 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    musically this is one of my favourite songs by fnm. i'll take a guess at the lyrics although i'm not certain.

    it sounds like he is a witness and a friend of someone in a relationship which has problems and that he is concerned for one of the people in that relationship. maybe he is involved in a love triangle.

    classifiedm10on April 30, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I kind of get the feeling that this song, and a few others from the Mosely era, are about Christianity, and how he's trying to convince himself it's the right way to go.

    In the song, someone is struggling in life to find love and find their place in the world and is feeling empty (candle light, it burns in every hole in your eyes.). Their Christian friend is trying to convert them and trying to make them think that they will be happier as a Christian and that God's love is the only one that matters.

    He is also talking about Mother Mary and how God is better than all the promiscuous sex he's having (So you thought she be sweeter than your girlfriend, Peter). Peter could be a reference to the one in the Bible or it could be the real name of the person the writer is talking about.

    When he says teach your cousing to walk he could be talking about walking on water like Jesus did and now the main character is trying to convert other people to Christianity but he's really just "tearing lives apart". (These lyrics also appear in another song, R n' R, except there is no Peter and he says "teach your nephew to FART" instead of walk. I get the feeling that these were the original lyrics and they were changed to fit the Christian tone of this song)

    In the end he just doesn't buy it and renounces Christianity ("Tried to control my behavior. I tried so hard, so hard to believe you, but now I live only to deceive you!").

    no1careshuiamon May 06, 2018   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
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
Amazing
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.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.