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 told me you had these thoughts
Of impending doom
But you never told me about them,
So I never told you I feel them too
You feel the sky surrender
To the darkness and to the gloom
You feel let down by the world,
But only your friends can betray you
I think the way you love the world
Is the way that I loved you
If sadness could bring us together,
Imagine what joy could do
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
Now our blood runs black in mourning
Oh, and it flows as sticky as tar
When what our hearts once beat for
Is burnt out, faded and scarred
You mourn the love you thought was real
It turned black, joined the armies of the night
You thought of love as always triumphant,
Now you know you have to fight
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
You loved the world for its beauty
The only thing you knew to be true
But the devil’s whole love shook the thunder
Beat the waves, your love went under
Now you live in the fear
That love may not be real
Fear is to love,
As chains are to free
And now you’ve seen the darkness
All the lights have been snuffed out
It surrounds you like a mist
Your once warm heart is frozen
‘Cause your love is drowned
And the silence of the dead unbroken when you shout (X3)
Oh, this is the madness of impending doom
Oh, before the dawn light sweeps the room
Fear has no ideas of its own
It is just a destroyer
And it wants you on your own
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
Of impending doom
But you never told me about them,
So I never told you I feel them too
You feel the sky surrender
To the darkness and to the gloom
You feel let down by the world,
But only your friends can betray you
I think the way you love the world
Is the way that I loved you
If sadness could bring us together,
Imagine what joy could do
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
Now our blood runs black in mourning
Oh, and it flows as sticky as tar
When what our hearts once beat for
Is burnt out, faded and scarred
You mourn the love you thought was real
It turned black, joined the armies of the night
You thought of love as always triumphant,
Now you know you have to fight
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
You loved the world for its beauty
The only thing you knew to be true
But the devil’s whole love shook the thunder
Beat the waves, your love went under
Now you live in the fear
That love may not be real
Fear is to love,
As chains are to free
And now you’ve seen the darkness
All the lights have been snuffed out
It surrounds you like a mist
Your once warm heart is frozen
‘Cause your love is drowned
And the silence of the dead unbroken when you shout (X3)
Oh, this is the madness of impending doom
Oh, before the dawn light sweeps the room
Fear has no ideas of its own
It is just a destroyer
And it wants you on your own
You cannot get away from,
Cannot get away from fear
Lest it use us, lest it confuse us
Lest it lead us or mistreat us,
Or confound me or impound me
The hovering cloud of fear beside me
Oh, fear get away from, fear get away from here (X2)
Lyrics submitted by boldogszeretot
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
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.