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"
I've been away for far too long
I've had my mind wrapped around this one song
I heard last week on the radio while
Driving near that place we used to go
Where the track homes all look the same
With the roofs and the tiles and the similar frames
All these streets are so wide and these cars are so lame
And on every block I heard the whisper of your name
I spent so many evenings in my head
I'd lie alone on an unmade bed
Counting the minutes like numbered clocks
Should I call, should I write, should I read, should I stop?
I'm a child, I'm a ghost, I'm a slur, I'm a boast
I'm a prince, I'm a king, I'm a ryhme, I'm a ring
I'm unable to sleep, I'm unable to sing
I'm a desperate and lonely, frightened, unholy thing
And you'd say la la la I'm so glad I'm over you
As you reach for your drink and you tell me you like my shoes
And I smile like a wretch, there's not much else I can do
I say I know what you mean, yeah it's weird for me too
Besides what would I sing about if I had you?
Kinda sounds like la la la...
La la la...
I think maybe it was Radiohead
That had this weird little beat and a keyboard instead
Of guitar playing chords, I remember how bored
You would get with those bands
You always said they play the same three chords
And you'd dance around in your t-shirt and sing
Don't you love Modest Mouse and adore Promise Ring?
Don't you wish that you could just avoid everything?
Join a band, go on tour, and think of me when you sing?
And I'd think la la la yeah that sounds okay to me
And you'd fall on the bed and I'd fall down to my knees
And I'd smile like my life depended on it
That's so weird I was mostly right about that
Always eager to love and eager to leave
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la...
And I'd think la la la all these songs are so untrue
As I stare at this space inside of you
And we don't belong and it sounds so wrong
And you're beautiful with that gray stuff on
I think yeah okay but maybe it's just the song
And I miss you but it might just be the song
I've had my mind wrapped around this one song
I heard last week on the radio while
Driving near that place we used to go
Where the track homes all look the same
With the roofs and the tiles and the similar frames
All these streets are so wide and these cars are so lame
And on every block I heard the whisper of your name
I spent so many evenings in my head
I'd lie alone on an unmade bed
Counting the minutes like numbered clocks
Should I call, should I write, should I read, should I stop?
I'm a child, I'm a ghost, I'm a slur, I'm a boast
I'm a prince, I'm a king, I'm a ryhme, I'm a ring
I'm unable to sleep, I'm unable to sing
I'm a desperate and lonely, frightened, unholy thing
And you'd say la la la I'm so glad I'm over you
As you reach for your drink and you tell me you like my shoes
And I smile like a wretch, there's not much else I can do
I say I know what you mean, yeah it's weird for me too
Besides what would I sing about if I had you?
Kinda sounds like la la la...
La la la...
I think maybe it was Radiohead
That had this weird little beat and a keyboard instead
Of guitar playing chords, I remember how bored
You would get with those bands
You always said they play the same three chords
And you'd dance around in your t-shirt and sing
Don't you love Modest Mouse and adore Promise Ring?
Don't you wish that you could just avoid everything?
Join a band, go on tour, and think of me when you sing?
And I'd think la la la yeah that sounds okay to me
And you'd fall on the bed and I'd fall down to my knees
And I'd smile like my life depended on it
That's so weird I was mostly right about that
Always eager to love and eager to leave
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la...
And I'd think la la la all these songs are so untrue
As I stare at this space inside of you
And we don't belong and it sounds so wrong
And you're beautiful with that gray stuff on
I think yeah okay but maybe it's just the song
And I miss you but it might just be the song
Lyrics submitted by theprettiestwhistles
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
@feartanic I agree with most of that. I don't think he is in love with her. I think he misses her at times and thinks he's in love with her, but at the end of the day realizes that he's just glorifying their love. "I think yeah okay but maybe it's just the song, And I miss you but it might just be the song" Either way this is a great song.