Not About Angels

This song is written from the view of Hazel and Gus in The Fault In Our Stars. The lines at the beginning: "We know full well there's just time So is it wrong to toss this line? If your heart was full of love Could you give it up?" States that the both know it's just a matter of time before they will be torn apart by their circumstance, but that would anyone be able to throw away love if they had it? Basically saying that even though their time is limited, they are holding onto their love. "'Cause what about, what about angels? They will come, they will go, make us special oh oh oh" Refers to Hazel's and Gus's constant questioning of whether there is heaven or a God. Saying they will make us special refers to the idea of oblivion, how no one truly is special and there will come a time when we are all forgotten. But how to them, they seem special bc they are special to each other. "Don't give me up Don't give, Me up" Clearly this part is about asking the other to not give them up, whether it be through choice or through death. "How unfair, it's just our love Found something real that's out of touch But if you'd searched the whole wide world Ho oh oh would you dare to let it go?" Here it is being stated how unfair their situation is - how they found a love like this that is star crossed and never can truly work out bc of their situation. And again saying that regardless, how can you let a love like this go? "It's not about not about angels, angels" This last line states how this song isn't about angels, it's about them (Hazel and Gus). To each other, they are one another's worlds. They make each other special.

I totally can be off on some things but here's my take based on what I know about the book, Birdy, and the movie.

This song was used in The Fault In Our Stars when Hazel was driving away from a funeral, crying. I think it is talking about when you love someone, and you let that someone go, it's not always "setting them free". How could let me go, if you loved me? Is the main question. At least, that's how I take it.

My interpretation is that when you leave someone behind (or you are left behind) it's not always by choice, I also believe that it means that they thought there love was immortal, and forgot they were just any other couple, that anything could separate them, that they weren't different

It's about hesitating to love because of unfortunate events (such as death) that could tear them apart. Is it wrong to toss this line/is it bad if I don't say the things I want to say? The rest of the first paragraph the singer asking if you could give up your love. Angels are people that come and go in your life (possibly implying that we all die eventually, so they all end up leaving). Some make you feel special, and you fall in love. She continues to sing 'Don't give me up,' saying how she doesn't want the person to leave her/become an angel. She thinks it's unfair that she's learning to love and it's already being taken away (found something real that's out of touch). Sometimes it can be hard to find the one (searching the whole wide world), and she still isn't sure if she could give it up. She continues to hesitate and think about the "angels" coming and going. In the end, she realizes it's not about angels; that life isn't about death, but about love and the people that you love.

This song is about unconditional love. We know that life is limited, but there are things in this world worth fighting for. Regardless of whether our physical lives must end, this song begs the question of if you had a chance to experience the truest love, even knowing one day that this life ends and there will be loss, would you take it - would you love completely and unconditionally? She is asking not to "give me up" and asks "what about angels" as she knows that despite the physical end, true love itself will never die, it is always with us and ever present, even when we must leave this place.

They've found something special in each other that they know is hard to find. However, they are bound by time--they have limited time. They are full of love for each other, but don't want to give it away because of the limited time. But even death brings angels, who come back over and over again. So let go and give in.

However, I'm not certain about the last line.

Perhaps, the concept of angels is just there to serve as an excuse to go on and love, but in reality there is no coming back from death. We don't turn into angels. We can't make the living feel what we used to make them feel.

If I keep the fact that this is from TFiOS, it reflects off of Hazel, and her whole 'grenade' saying (I'm a grenade, I'm trying to limit the casualties). The first verse is about them being limited on time. Hazel knows she won't live for long. She isn't sure if she should give up her love for Augustus so she won't hurt him. The songs about her trying to decide whether or not she should let him go. The angels are people you can love; they come and go, and some of them make us feel special (Gus making Hazel feel like that).

My interpretation is that, they don’t want to let go of each other because you can only find love like that once, and if you let it go there’s no getting it back.

The lyrics are incorrect.

It's not "So is it wrong to toss this line?" it's "So is it wrong to dance this line". It's even in the official lyric video by Birdy.

youtu.be/z9gmhxv_ny0

Sometimes you meet the right people at the wrong time, sometimes you meet the wrong people at the right time. You hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Perhaps everything is destiny. Everyone appears and disappears as God intends. Angels come and go. I helped and was helped. The end and the beginning are the same. Grief does not change you. It reveals you.