We've never been into honesty
So promise me you'll let me know
When you're lying
She wants to be an eagle
When she's high she can fly
No matter what she was trying

She'll be the perfect woman
Then she'll change suddenly
You wanna cry from the feeling
She's got a heart of gold but
Every now and again she'll turn to gray
And you know she gives me

An olive then an arrow in the back
She leaves me breathless
Then she kicks me while I'm down
She leaves me hoping
That my love won't show
Cause I know she'll give me
An olive and an arrow

She doesn't like to worry
But she's afraid of everything
That's going on around her
I'm just another photo
That made its way on her page
Somehow I stayed but it won't be long

An olive (yeah yeah) and an arrow in the back
She leaves me breathless
Then she'll kick me while I'm down, oh oh
She leaves me hoping
That my love won't show
Cause I know she'll give me
An olive and an arrow

You leave me hopin'
And prayin' that my love will show
Cause I know you'll give me
And olive and an arrow
Oh yeah yeah
Oh oh
Yeah


Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes

Olive & an Arrow Lyrics as written by Nicholas Jonas

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Olive & An Arrow song meanings
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    General Comment

    Love this song and its meaning, I agree with both xothefancykid and luckyyou13. It is obvious that he is in love with the girl "She leaves me hopin' That my love won't show" even though he is trying really hard not to be, he is saying that he doesn't want his love to show because he is afraid of being hurt. As the olive and the Arrow represent Peace and War it is obvious these two people have conflicting issues. However with the opening line "We've never been into honesty So promise me you'll let me know When you're lying" maybe the girl in this song is also scared of getting hurt so she will put up her guard "She'll be the perfect woman Then she'll change" It's like she is letting him in but they have maybe had a past and both been hurt by each other so she will retreat "suddenly You wanna cry from the feeling" and this leaves him feeling frustrated and one of only a few men in her life "I'm just another photo That made its way on her page". I agree that he thinks the girl doesn't care as much about him as he does her but overall you can see that the other person in the story is also scared and maybe they are giving him an arrow because that is their way of trying not to show their love because like him they don't want to end up heartbroken.

    gildedbutterflyon February 25, 2010   Link

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