Burning Bridges

I think One Republic have always been vague in their direct meanings because they are amazing artists and art speaks to people in different places about different things by way of interpretation. So I don't think there's a solid, this is what they meant out there for this song. But I've also noticed that One Republic always has some spiritual implications in their songs...and to me this song is about a relationship with God! The only thing that can truly fill and complete you. We build bridges to other things that we were never intended to build...we run from the love that we were created for, and it's tiring and it never completes us. We can't really let go of that stuff on our own so we need to ask God to burn our bridges down...to set us on fire!! (Fire is a symbol of The Holy Spirit) There are several lyrics here that are not exactly right...one is "now I'll never sing the road that I could take"...instead it's supposed to be "now on every single road that I could take" which I think speaks of the relentless love and pursuit of God which shows up no matter how hard you try to avoid it! The other thing is, I don't think it says "girl you burn my bridges down" I think it says "well you burn my bridges down" But I think it's purposefully open to interpretation because lots of people relate more on the relational level, so they may see this as a soul mate deal...which I also believe in. I think God did create soul mates for some...but still, they can't complete you!

I believe this song is a giant metaphor that he has pieced together. From what I understand of the song, is that he has had negative experiences in relationships in the past, and he is hesitant about another one.

"You and I were meant to be Aint no doubt about it No way to hide that sort of thing Not waiting for something better Aint nothing better worth imagining" He knows that this woman is the love of his life, but he is still anxious about the future.

"I keep on running" He's continuously distanced himself from the idea of love, and he doesn't want to imagine it anymore, because of what someone else has put him through

"I want you to burn my bridges down." I think he is asking her to take down the "bridge" that he has created because of past pains that he has experienced. The metaphor of the bridge could also be thought of as a wall that he has put up to protect himself. Everyone has put up a "wall" or "bridge" around something in their lives, and in his case, he has ran away and distanced himself from the idea and feel love.

"Set me on fire" As for "set me on fire," when I think of fire as a metaphor, I think of passion. He wants her to bring back the passion that he had for relationships and love back into his life. He is yearning for the feel of passion again, and he needs her to light that fire inside his heart. In order for a fire to start, the most essential component is oxygen. She is his oxygen. She ignites the fire in his heart and burns his bridges down.

I absolutely love this song, and think that the acoustic version portrays the ideas above much better. In the acoustic version, there is a sense of pain, which you experience in love and overall gets its point across smoothly. The instrumentals help set the scene in the song. It's like hearing a song in a coffee shop. Its more intimate, and as a listener, easier to connect with.

To me, when he says "I want you to burn my bridges down," he is not asking the woman to cut him off from contact, he wants her to not let him retreat, or back out in anyway. He obviously knows he keeps on running away every time they get close, even though they love each other, so he wants her to make sure he never runs away, that he is completely burning with love and not scared of it.

For this interpretation, I assume that it is a male singing about a female, it could be the other way. I like to think it as this way, as Ryan is singing it and I am a guy who resonates with this song.

"You and I were meant to be Ain't no doubt about it No way to hide that sort of thing Now I’m waiting for something better Ain't nothing better worth imagining"

A guy and a girl used to date. They have broken up for whatever unknown reason. In hindsight, he realizes that they were destined to be, that they connected. Now, he is waiting hopefully for a relationship that is somewhat better and that he has nothing better to do than to imagine of it.

"I, I keep on running I’m building bridges that I know you never wanted Look for my heart You stole it away Now I’ll never sing the road that I could take"

In order to cope with the break up, he tries to run away from the hurt. I interpret "building bridges" as a way of getting over something. You know, like the saying "build a bridge and get over it". "I’m building bridges that I know you never wanted" - She doesn't like the way he moved on from the breakup. He reveals that she stole his heart away and that it it still remains with her. Now, he is not able talk and rejoice if they had stayed together.

"Listen, I Want you to burn my bridges down (down) I said I Want you to burn my bridges down (down, down) Set me on fire You set me Set me on fire You can burn my bridges down"

He wants her back, he doesn't want to move (burn his bridges). Unlike anyone else, she elicits a deep passion out of him (you set me, set me on fire).

"Send this out to sea You send it where you wanted You can take it note for note or not at all There’s no filling up your spaces with fictionary places Imaginary faces they don’t work at all"

He wants her to know how he feels now, he doesn't care if she pays attention to what he has to say or not, he wants to know that is no one that would be able to fill her void (no one who will be able to replace her, whether real or not).

Beautiful song. The acoustic version on the deluxe version is amazing, better than the original. Having the song stripped back on the acoustic version allows the lyrics to really be felt and touched by the heart on a totally different level.

I think it's about someone who has found his soul mate and they even realizing it, he is afraid to take the leap of faith. Then he builds bridges to have other options to follow, knowing that this is not what they want. So he asks for her soul mate burn the bridges he built to help you take the next step that is their life going forward.

I didn't understand this song at first too, I mean,"Burning Bridges"? What kind of song title is that? I had to listen tot he song a few times before I finally had some idea what this song means.

This song is somehow about a man wanting a woman to take the first step to turning their relationship to become a romantic one. He is likely just afraid to take the first step.

He keeps on running? He's scared of commitment in the relationship,so he builds these "walls" in between him and her, but what he really wanted is to become her partner as he as he wants her to burn his bridges down. In other words, to close the gaps in between them.

He wants nothing else but them to be together;that's the main point of this song!

-Perspectives from a 14 year old.

Like any piece of great art, I think this song means different things to different people, and that's a great thing.

I listen and hear the voice of longing, of emptiness, of fear. Bridges have been constructed to overcome obstacles, to join two areas together that (mostly by some natural occurrence) have been separated. Despite the gulf between these two points, he built bridges to get across, to form a joining, but that effort was futile. He felt in someway rejected each time he made it to the point he was aiming for. He realized the futility, used a bridge to escape, yet still he is haunted because now he has lost heart. This is not his first time to runaway in frustration. It is how he has learned to cope with disappointment and/or rejection. This time there is nothing he can imagine doing or being at this point. He's too exhausted at this point to continue and too demoralized to go back. He is asking these bridges be burn by someone who has the strength to do so, because he can't do it himself. To me this could a relationship with someone or with God. He wants to be set on fire, (symbolically not literally) to be renewed. Just as a great forest is renewed after a wild fire. The old and diseased are destroyed and the new and vibrant emerge. I lean toward this as a spiritual renewal. I have read of many instances of people on fire for God. People having burning desires which propel them to things they could never have imagined (which is mentioned in the lyrics). Basically he is pleading for a renewal; a new beginning because the past has robbed him of a future. There are several Biblical accounts of prophets spending time in the desert or wilderness before they accomplished great things.

Whatever this song means to you, it does cause you to think. Here we have said what it means to each of us. All of it is beautiful.

-interpretation from 55 years of life :)

To me this song is about being with someone and realizing that they're the ones and trying to get them to take that leap of faith together. "You and me were meant to be, aint no doubt about it, no way to hide that sort of thing" everyone around them realizes that they're meant to be together and now they've realized it. "Now I'm waiting for something better, aint nothing better worth imagining" he's realized that this person is their soulmate after possibly dating other people.

"Look for my heart, you stole it away" is my favorite part of this song. He's so in love with this person and they have such a pull towards eachother that he's had his heart stolen from his chest.

I think this song is mostly about two people have finally realized they belong together, but she realized before he had and he's put space between them because he hadn't realized they belong together yet. Then, when he does realize he loves her, there is this space between them and him asking her to burn his bridges is him asking her to fill the space and be with him.

Ever hear of the expression "Don't burn my bridges"? Ryan is trying to tell his lover that she needs to burn his bridges. To burn someone's bridges is too forget about them. Ryan built bridges, meaning he still might want to come back to her. He is telling her to burn them, because he can't seem to do it himself. It isn't easy for him to forget her, and he"s asking for her help.

"I want you to burn my bridges down Set me on Fire" (make me forget you)