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"
You call me a mountain
And I call you the sea
I'll stand tall and certain
And watch you swallow me
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
I will grow my own trees
While you follow the moon
I feel you in my knees
Say you'll come in soon
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
But then one day you'll go away, but I will too
But until then, oh my darling friend, well I will hold
Yes I will hold, yes I will hold
Yes I will hold on to you
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
And I call you the sea
I'll stand tall and certain
And watch you swallow me
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
I will grow my own trees
While you follow the moon
I feel you in my knees
Say you'll come in soon
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
But then one day you'll go away, but I will too
But until then, oh my darling friend, well I will hold
Yes I will hold, yes I will hold
Yes I will hold on to you
You can move me if you want to
You can move a mountain, you can move a mountain
You can move me if you want to
You can move everything, you can move everything
Lyrics submitted by deathbychocolate
Mountain And The Sea Lyrics as written by Ingrid Michaelson
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Night We Met
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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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/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Page
Ed Sheeran
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.
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the sexual connotations in the lyrics. At least to me, I definitely get a sexual vibe, especially from the lines:
And watch you swallow me ... I feel you in my knees Say you'll come in soon
Seems a little explicit to me.. about getting lost in love/lust in the moment. But not necessarily in an uncaring way..
oh my gosh, I love Ingrid's newest cd! This song is great. The meaning is really obvious but the imagery is fantastic! whoever this is about, she sure has feelings for this guy. It probably isn't working out, plus he's leaving "Then one day, you'll go away, but I will too. But until then, oh, my darling friend, well I will hold, yes I will hold, yes I will hold, yes I will hold on to you." He may be leaving, but her feelings aren't going to change anytime soon. I think it's like she's leaving the ball in his court. like they may not have a relationship going on right now, but certainly if he gave her the word, he'd move her mountain in a heartbeat. What an amazing song.
I actually think this song is more about being in a relationship with someone where they both hold their own. She being a mountain and he being the sea. Two very very strong things coming together. But even though she's very strong and does her own thing, when he leaves, she wants to follow, but is not certain he wants her to and needs that assurance. She knows he has to go away but intends on holding onto him until he does and at the same time she also realizes she really should continue to hold her own, go away and be her own person without him. Even still she wants him tell her to stay with him. This is so amazingly touching for me right now, because I am in an identical situation. I just love it.
I'm gonna put all the ideas I read together.
I'd say just like 'katiekat' said, she's her own person. She's individual, likes to do her own thing and wouldn't change for anyone, like a mountain. But he is the opposite, he is easy-going or 'easy-flowing', like the sea. But when she says.. "I will grow my own trees While you follow the moon" It means that they both have different opinions on what they wanna do either in a situation or life in general.
She then says "I'll stand tall and certain And watch you swallow me" This just means she's too independent to fall in love so she won't let it show. Even if he's sucking her in, making her fall for him.
She is so stuck in her own ways she wouldn't change for anyone. But this person is an exception.. this person can change the impossible. Hence the metaphor.. "You can move me if you want to You can move a mountain You can move a mountain You can move me if you want to You can move everything You can move everything"
Then she says.. "But then one day, you'll go away, but I will, too But until then, my darling friend, well, I will hold Yes, I will hold, yes, I will hold, Yes, I will hold on to you" This is just her saying she knows there's a possibility you'll leave soon or eventually but even if you do, my feelings for you aren't changing anytime soon.
I only think this is the story because my best friend is in a really similar situation.