Oh I think I got you figured out
Boy I think I know what you are all about
Finally I can finally see
You pull the darkness right down over me
But now I see

Everybody knows that I'm a mess
Everybody knows you stole the heart from out my chest
Everything you ever said was a lie
You're hiding behind your sweet your sweet goodbyes

I'm black and blue
'Cause I fell for you
You said you never would let me go
Oh how could I ever know (I'm falling)

I'm black and blue
And in love with you
You said, you never would let me fall
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling
You never would let me fall,
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling

Oh I know I'm never gonna stop
I keep burning time away until I hit the top
One day I'll wake up and take up to the open skies
And I'll be the one with all the sweet goodbyes

Black and blue
'Cause I fell for you
You said you never would let me go
Oh how could I ever know (I'm falling)

I'm black and blue
And in love with you
You said, you never would let me fall
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling
You never would let me fall,
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling

Falling, falling
Over and over, over and over again
I'm always falling
Over and over

But I'll get up, I'll make it
I need some time to unbreak it
I feel like, I'm falling, I'm falling far away from you
It's what I need to do

Black and blue and in love with you
Black and blue and in love with you
You said, you never would let me fall
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling
You never would let me fall
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling
You never would let me fall
You never would let me fall, but I'm falling

And I'm falling
Black and blue
It's what I need to do


Lyrics submitted by jesusfreak04

Black and Blue Lyrics as written by Ingrid Michaelson

Lyrics © Spirit Music Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Black and Blue song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    This is a song about being an abusive relationship and overcoming it.

    This is a very detailed and kind of out there interpretation, but I've decided that the whistling at the beginning of the song represents her getting some sort of scholarship or job opportunity, it could easily be a friend who has been helping her or maybe it's someone she found who loves her right or just her own strength and determination, but whatever the whistling represents, it makes her realize that she is letting this boy manipulate and physically abuse her. (oh I think i got you figured out...but now I see)

    She realizes how everyone else who probably have been trying to talk to her about it is right (everybody know than I'm a mess, everybody knows you stole the heart from out my chest) and how she never should have believed his apologies and excuses. (everything you ever said was a lie, you're hiding behind your sweet, your sweet goodbyes)

    -okay so I'm planning of choreographing this as a dance so- every time she says (black and blue) it symbolizes physical abuse and when she talks about loving him in the next line it represents the sick emotional and physiological abuse and manipulation that made her think that she wanted to be in this relationship (cause I fell for you, and in love with you)

    She starts to understand how when he said he would never let her go, most likely while comforting her about something, he meant that he would never let her leave him even if she wanted to (you said, you never would let me go, oh how could I ever know)

    He probably told her he would always catch her and (never let her fall) but now she feels like she's falling, so he's not quite keeping up on that promise.

    Then when the whistling sounds again it's her remembering her job offer or scholarship and how whatever it is, is probably her only chance at achieving a dream of hers and it fills her with determination to go after her dreams.

    That's basically what the second verse is saying, that she's never gonna give up and will keep working until she achieve this goal and to do that she will leave. (oh I know I'm never gonna stop...I'll be the one with all the sweet goodbyes) and she tells him this

    -in my dance at least- her boyfriend gets really pissed and beats her again but now she doesn't crawl back to him with love -in my dance- the emotional and physiological abuse is losing it's effectiveness and she just wants to get away. (2nd chorus)

    She starts to realize that she doesn't have to stay, that he isn't living up to his promises, that all that's going to happen here is that he's going to knock her down (falling...over and over)

    So she's just going to leave. It's going to be really hard at first and she's going to miss him for a while before she can mend her broken spirit but she's going to do it because that's what is best for her. (I'll get up...It's what I need to do)

    -in my dance- in the last chorus she's fighting back and getting ready to leave (last chorus)

    and as the song is winding down she looks back a little (black and blue...it's what I need to do) but then the whistling is back and she's at the campus or wherever the job offer was and she can finally pursue what makes her truly happy -in my dance-

    so, yeah, there's plenty of room for interpretation of the little details but I think the song was written with and abusive relationship in mind. If you choose to interpret it as something different and can back it up, feel free good for you.

    danceandmusic9on September 09, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think that this song could mean anything, really. It doesn't just have to be about a broken romance. It could be about anything that "let [something] fall". It could be about how when a child loses his/her innocence, the toy's perspective ("I'm black and blue, And in love with you. You said, you never would let me fall. You never would let me fall, but I'm falling.") or it could be about how things like responsibility and time let someone down, et cetera, et cetera.

    ilovehotcoco18on December 02, 2012   Link

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

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
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.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.