I should ink my skin
With your name
And take my passport out again
And just replace it

See I could do without a tan
On my left hand, where my fourth finger meets my knuckle
And I should run you a hot bath
And fill it up with bubbles

'Cause maybe you're lovable
And maybe you're my snowflake
And your eyes turn from green to gray and in the winter I'll
Hold you in a cold place
And you should never cut your hair
'Cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder

And you will never know just how beautiful you are to me
But maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up

And would you ever feel guilty
If you did the same to me
Would you make me a cup of tea
To open my eyes in the right way
And I know you love Shrek
'Cause we've watched it twelve times
But maybe you're hoping for a fairy tale too
And if your DVD breaks, today
You shoulda got a VCR
'Cause I never owned a Blu-Ray
True say

And now I've always been shit at computer games and your brother always beats me
And if I lost, I go all cross
And chuck all the controllers at the TV
And then you'd laugh at me
And be asking me
If I'm gonna be home next week
And then you'd lie with me till I fall asleep
And flutter eyelash on my cheek between the sheets

And you will never know just how beautiful you are to me
But maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up

I think you hate the smell of smoke
You always tryna get me to stop
But you drink as much as me
And I get drunk a lot

So I'll take you to the beach
And walk along the sand And I'll
Make you a heart pendant
With a pebble held in my hand

And I'll carve it like a necklace
So the heart falls where your chest is
And now a piece of me is a piece of the beach and it falls just where it needs to be
And rests peacefully
So you just need to breathe
To feel my heart against yours now
Against yours now

'Cause maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up

Or maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up
Maybe I fell in love when you woke me up


Lyrics submitted by sophielou512

Wake Me Up Lyrics as written by Jake Nathan Gosling Edward Christopher Sheeran

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, BDI Music Limited

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Wake Me Up song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +10
    My Interpretation

    I think this is about two friends who hooked up and have a "friends with benefits" thing going on, or a friend's sister... He's seeing her in a new light and it's making him feel giddy and fantasising about a relationship with her - "See I could do without a tan on my left hand, where my fourth finger meets my knuckle" [wedding ring] And I should run you a hot bath fill it up with bubbles [a relationship]

    'Cause maybe you're loveable, maybe you're my snowflake And your eyes turn from green to gray And in the winter I'll hold you in a cold place And you should never cut your hair 'Cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder

    [He's starting to see her in a new light and notice things he's never noticed before, like how the colour of her eyes change, and the way she flicks her hair. And he's wondering if maybe she could be more than just a friend, maybe he loves her.]

    And you will never know Just how beautiful you are to me But maybe I'm just in love When you wake me up

    [He's showing signs of falling for her, but then "maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up" - he's not sure if he's just seeing her that way the morning after because it's the afterglow effect.. and it's a way he's never seen her before.]

    And would you ever feel guilty if you did the same to me Could you make me a cup of tea To open my eyes in the right way? [This starts a random bit in the song which shows they've known each other a while, I feel like this is a referral to talks they'd had about falling for friends with benefits.. and he's saying "would you feel guilty if you were doing that to me?" .. then the cup of tea to remind him that they're just friends and there's nothing more there]

    The next part talking about the Bluray, computer games and her brother is just showing that they've known each other for a while and it's comfortable and working out as friends, but the fact that he's noticing such specific things about her shows that he's fallen for her, and he's saying things to try and find out from her if she's feeling the same ("I know you love Shrek because we've watched it 12 times, maybe you're hoping for a fairytale too?")

    I think he's falling for her but unsure how she feels and unsure how to progress because they're just "friends", and he's questioning whether it's worth it or whether he's just feeling all this in the afterglow of the morning after.

    Emmalinaon January 09, 2012   Link
  • +3
    Song Meaning

    Hi there, fellow Ed Sheeran fans. Ed is my favorite artist of all time! Thought I would share the love. : )

    Okay, I think I have this song figured out pretty well. It's not meant to be a deep, or dark, song. It's a lighthearted song about his favorite memories of his long-time girlfriend; he's missing her so much!

    Ed has said in interviews that this song is about his hometown girlfriend, of 3 1/2 years, who he had to break up with because he was so busy traveling to play gigs, From other songs he's written about her, U.N.I., she couldn't travel with him because she was attending college.

    The skin inking- he's so in to her, he's ready to commit to her by forever tattooing her name on his body. Stop carrying around his passport. Just stay home so he can be with his sweetheart all the time, always.

    The lack of a tan on his ring finger, is definitely a reference to wearing a wedding ring. And its a little joke because, again from his other songs, he doesn't tan anyway, he just burns.

    That first verse is so heavy, but he likes to keep his songs light. He lightens up the tone of the song by ending with the reference to a fun bubble bath.

    All the rest of the song is simply favorite memories of times the two of them spent together, and with family, over the years, through all of the seasons, they've been together.

    Even though the relationship is over, he speaks quite bit in the present tense because he wants to continue holding her, keep her warm, when she needs it.

    "You should never cut your hair." He'd like her to stay just as she was when the two of them were together. But his voice cracks in pain when sings this line because he realizes that she's not going to stay the same, just for him.

    He's having a very difficult time accepting the fact that the relationship is over and both of them have to move on.

    At the end of the song he speaks in the past tense in an attempt to accept the fact that the relationship is over. But he'll always remember that she was the one who woke him up, to love.

    Brings tears to my eyes, and I hardly ever cry!

    One of the most beautiful songs ever written! Thanks Ed! : )

    P.S. You know, Ed, circumstances do have a way of changing over the years. Is she finished at the university yet? If she's not married yet, then she's SINGLE. So go get her, go and get her back! K, maybe she wouldn't be interested in being with you now, as if : / !, but you never know for sure until you try. In any case, stay away from those easy female singer/songwriters. (And I'm NOT referring to Taylor either! She seems so nice.)

    GigglesGrinon May 05, 2014   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    'See I could do without a tan on my left hand where my fourth finger meets my knuckle'

    That's definitely about a wedding ring. It's my favorite line.

    marlionon November 21, 2011   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    everyone is looking into this wayyyy too deeply.

    it's a simple, cute song about being with someone you really love, and every person has those little quirky things that you may think are weird, but when you're not with them, it turns out that those are the things you miss the most about that person.

    ed explained it in his own words (I just summarized) on a youtube video of a rather intimate performance I watched.

    tleuon October 03, 2012   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    Forgot to mention in my last post, that Ed is not confused about his feelings about his hometown sweetheart, he's just has difficulty telling her how much he loves her, in person.

    Expressing his feelings to loved ones, in person, not in a song later, is something Ed REALLY NEEDS TO WORK ON! Just do it!!!!

    Love you, Ed! Best wishes to you, always!

    GG

    GigglesGrinon May 05, 2014   Link
  • +1
    Lyric Correction

    I should ink my skin with your name And take my passport out again And just replace it See I could do without a tan On my left hand, Where my fourth finger meets my knuckle And I should run you a hot bath Fill it up with bubbles

    'Cause maybe you're loveable Maybe you're my snowflake And your eyes turn from green to gray And in the winter I'll hold you in a cold place And you should never cut your hair 'Cause I love the way you flick it off your shoulder

    And you will never know Just how beautiful you are to me But maybe I'm just in love When you wake me up

    And would you ever feel guilty if you did the same to me Could you make me a cup of tea To open my eyes in the right way? And I know you love Shrek Because we've watched it 12 times And maybe we're hoping for a fairytale too And if your DVD breaks today You should've got a VCR Because I've never owned a blue ray, true say

    I know I've always been shit at computer games And your brother always beats me And if I lost, I go across and chuck all the controllers at the TV And then you laugh at me And be asking me If I'm a be home next week And then you lie with me till I fall asleep And flutter eye lash on my cheek between the sheets

    And you will never know Just how beautiful you are to me But maybe I'm just in love When you wake me up

    And I think you hate the smell of smoke You always try to get me to stop But you drink as much as me And I get drunk a lot So I take you to the beach And walk along the sand And I'll make you a heart pendant With a pebble held in my hand And I'll carve it like a necklace So the heart falls where your chest is Now a piece of me is a piece of the beach And it falls just where it needs to be And rests peacefully So you just need to breathe to feel my heart against yours now Against yours now

    'Cause maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up Or maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up Maybe I fell in love when you woke me up

    Lixeon December 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Quite annoying that all the lyrics aren't there but anyway. To me, this seems to be about a far from perfect relationship that he's not really sure about and isn't the best partner in the world, however despite this he still loves her.

    'I should ink my skin with your name.' At first, it seems he loves her 100% and is certain that what they have eturnal, but from how the song pans out, it seems more like he's just holding on to something that used to be there perhaps, and settling for what he has because part of him still believes they are supposed to be together.

    'See I could do without a tan on my left hand where my fourth finger meets my knuckle'. There are certain things about the relationship he could 'do without' and doesn't really want.

    'maybe you're loveable' - He's not really sure why it is that he loves her, he wonders if it's because she has a loveable personality & not because there's a connection between them.

    'your eyes turn from green to grey in the winter I'll hold you in a cold place', this sounds slightly controlling to me. Her eyes are drained of colour in the Winter, however he keeps and holds her in the cold despite this? Neither of them seem entirely happy.

    'But maybe I'm just in love when you wake me up', he's not in love with her all the time. But it's like she brings him down to Earth again and makes him realise certain things about himself, and this is why he fell in love with her in the first place, she understands him.

    'And would you ever feel guilty if you did the same to me?' I'm not sure about this, but my mind brings it back to him being controlling, he asks If she'd feel guilty If she treated him the same way he treats her.

    'And I know you love Shrek 'cos we've watched it twelve times But maybe you're hoping for a fairy tale too' - this shows the repetition in their relationship, and she longs for a more perfect relationship than what they have.

    'I'd go across and chuck all the controllers at the TV And then you'd laugh at me and be asking me if I'm gonna be home next week', suggests anger? and that he's not with her a lot at home. It sounds like she's making more effort in the relationship.

    'And you will never know just how beautiful you are to me'. This could go a couple of ways. She either has self esteem issues and cannot understand what he sees in her, OR she won't know because he can't express his feelings to her, and show how much he really loves her.

    'And I think you hate the smell of smoke, you always try and get me to stop You drink as much as me, and I get drunk a lot' - Again, they're not the perfect couple, they have insecurities and desires to get away from reality. He 'THINKS' she hates the smell of smoke, this suggests there is a lack of communication between them.

    'So I take you to the beach and walk along the sand And I'll make you a heart pendant with a pebble held in my hand And I'll carve it like a necklace so the heart falls where your chest is And now a piece of me is a piece of the beach and it falls just where it needs to be And rests peacefully so you just need to breathe to feel my heart against yours now Against yours now' - His tempo for this is a bit all over the place, which suggests to me that he is really expressing how much he loves her, but he's obviously not used to doing it, so it's not easy for him.

    Maybe I'm far out from the message of the song and It's actually a proper deep love song, but to me there are a lot of implications that their relationship isn't as perfect as they want it to be/it used to be. The only bit I really don't understand is the bit about his passport?! So if anyone understands then please let me know haha! I really do love this song, whatever it's about - the simplicity is just amazing, it shows that there's no 'fireworks' or excitement in the relationship, it's repetable and shows they do love eachother, just in a more relaxed way.

    Robinsketon November 17, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with the majority of the above comment, although the part about the ring I believe is the opposite! As he said he could do without a tan this implies that he could do without the tan saying he wants to be wearing a wedding ring!?!

    laul8689on November 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    'See I could do without a tan on my left hand where my fourth finger meets my knuckle'

    That's definitely about a wedding ring. It's my favorite line.

    marlionon November 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think that He's talking about his relationship with this girl - obviously. He love's her so much, but they have problems. They've known each other for a long time. They have rough times but they love each other to bits. They fight but they couldn't live without each other.

    JulesMosson September 27, 2012   Link

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