Come on skinny love, just last the year
Pour a little salt, we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

Tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment, this order's tall

And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And in the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
'Cause I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on, skinny love, what happened here?
Suckle on the hope in light brassieres
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full, so slow on the split

And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted
And who the hell was I?
'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
And who will fall far behind?

Come on skinny love
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my


Lyrics submitted by AnneTUDUDUDU, edited by madi101498, hannah101201

Skinny Love Lyrics as written by Justin Deyarmond Edison Vernon

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Skinny Love (Bon Iver cover) song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    In my opinion it's about a love that is collapsing:

    As for the title "Skinny Love" it could be an affectionate term he gave his petite girlfriend, or maybe the fact that their love is wasting away. The love wasting away is probably more likely.

    "Come on skinny love just a year, pour a little salt, we were never here" Skinny love implies that the love they once shared is no long wholesome and full of joy and that it is wasting away. Salt has healing substances and was once used for wounds to help speed up the healing process. This suggests that he wants to pour salt on the relationship to keep it going, even just for one more year. The fact that the word 'veneer' is used is symbolic as veneer is the thin layers of wood glued together to form plywood - suggesting that apart they are nothing but together they are strong like plywood. The blood and crushed veneer in a sink is as if a vase was broken in a fit of rage.

    'Tell my love to wreck it all, cut out all the ropes and let me fall' This basically is telling us that he wants her to end it as he isn’t strong enough and can’t bring himself to hurt her.

    The third stanza is just showing that they blame each other for the deterioration of their relationship. 'I'll be holding all the tickets and you'll be holding all the fines' - this indicates that the one of them feel that they are always in the wrong (This could not be a problem it’s just a problem that can be fixed while the real problem may not be) Stanza four seems like a mixture of memories, stating why they have gone wrong when we once loved each other so much. Just generally questioning where they went wrong. Stanza Five: ‘And now all your love is wasted, and then who the hell was I?’ suggests that this love is wasted so what was the point of falling in love at all.

    The last part gives us a glimpse as to WHY it went sour - it seems she led him on, that she wasn't that into him- when he really cared for her. It also seems like he is angry about it and asks ‘who will love you? Who will fight? Who will fall far behind’ is if asking, who will love you enough to fight for you? As if no one could fight for her as much as he did. He then states that it’s unlikely she'll find anyone worthwhile, no one will be able to love her for all the stuff she puts her partners through.

    emily32on May 17, 2011   Link

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