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.
You walked into my house last night
I couldn't help but notice
A light that was long gone
Still burning strong
You were sitting
Your fingers like fuses
Your eyes were cinnamon
You said you'd stand for every known abuse
That was ever
Threatened
To anyone but you
And why should I know better by now
When I'm old enough not to?
While every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I can't decide over right or wrong
I guess sometimes you need the place where you belong
Some may sing the wrong words to the wrong melody
It's little things like this that matter to me
Others feel that you should stand
For every known abuse to hand
And all the things that they could never see
You said you stood for every known abuse
That was ever
Promised
To anyone like you
Don't you wish you knew better by now
When you're old enough not to?
When every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I can't decide over right or wrong
You left the feeling that I just do not belong
(do not belong, do not belong, do not belong)
One drink too many and a joke gone too far
I see a face drive like a stolen car
Gets harder to hide when you're hitching a ride
Harder to hide what you really saw
Oh yeah, you stand for every known abuse
That I've ever seen my way through
Don't I wish I knew better by now?
Well I think I'm starting to
When every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I lost the line between right or wrong
I just want to find the place where I belong
(why should you know better by now
When you're old enough not to?
I wish I knew better by now
When I'm old enough not to)
I couldn't help but notice
A light that was long gone
Still burning strong
You were sitting
Your fingers like fuses
Your eyes were cinnamon
You said you'd stand for every known abuse
That was ever
Threatened
To anyone but you
And why should I know better by now
When I'm old enough not to?
While every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I can't decide over right or wrong
I guess sometimes you need the place where you belong
Some may sing the wrong words to the wrong melody
It's little things like this that matter to me
Others feel that you should stand
For every known abuse to hand
And all the things that they could never see
You said you stood for every known abuse
That was ever
Promised
To anyone like you
Don't you wish you knew better by now
When you're old enough not to?
When every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I can't decide over right or wrong
You left the feeling that I just do not belong
(do not belong, do not belong, do not belong)
One drink too many and a joke gone too far
I see a face drive like a stolen car
Gets harder to hide when you're hitching a ride
Harder to hide what you really saw
Oh yeah, you stand for every known abuse
That I've ever seen my way through
Don't I wish I knew better by now?
Well I think I'm starting to
When every line speaks the language of love
It never held the meaning I was thinking of
And I lost the line between right or wrong
I just want to find the place where I belong
(why should you know better by now
When you're old enough not to?
I wish I knew better by now
When I'm old enough not to)
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Does anybody think that this song might be to do with an abusive partner? It’s definitely about a bad relationship, but there a few lines that make me think it might be really bad…
“One drink too many And a joke gone too far I see a face drive like a stolen car.”
And even the whole opening verse makes me picture a drunk, angry guy sitting on a couch, ready to snap:
“A light that was long gone still burning strong. You were sitting, Your fingers like fuses. Your eyes were cinnamon.”
And there are other things, but maybe I’m looking too far into it.
“Some may sing the wrong words to the wrong melodies Its little things like this that matter to me.”
Wrong words and wrong melodies… like when people say “I love you” then do something that proves otherwise? I know that feeling, so maybe that’s just me putting my own slant on it. But maybe she’s not being metaphorical when she sings:
“Others feel that you should stand For every known abuse to hand And all the things that they could never see.”
Hmmm. Just my take on it. Pray tell… what think you all?
Cue barrage of abuse ridiculing notion
I think you have it. That first verse to me sounds like she came home from work and found her ex sitting on the chair, angry (and maybe drunk).
this is one of my all time favorite songs.
mine too
I love beth's voice, I want to write a song and have her sing it.
Great song, saw her perform it at Bonnaroo 2004.
Song meaning is tough to identify. Seems a little ambiguous, but essentially about confusion, misunderstanding, and maybe deception in a relationship.
Great song, saw her perform it at Bonnaroo 2004.
Song meaning is tough to identify. Seems a little ambiguous, but essentially about confusion, misunderstanding, and maybe deception in a relationship.
Ok.. Firstly, Beth is an amazing songwriter. Amazing. Completely underated. But about this song, well there's been little analysis...
I think that it is basically Beth coming to an understanding that this is the wrong relationship for her. I think the basis for it is that this guy 'stood for everything' and 'every line speaks of love' and therefore, she doesn't get the attention or lavished as well as she'd like. As she writes, 'it's little things like this that matter to me.'
She comes to the realisation that she is 'hitching a ride'. That is, she really isn't there for the long haul and everything vanishes instantly: 'i see a face drive like a stolen car'. It's gone...
And the last line 'i wish i knew better by now, when i'm old enough of not to' is a plea to understand what is love! Something i share with Ms Beth Orton...
P.S. For the Beth fans, check out Ryan Adam's break up song, 'English Girls Approximately' which is about Beth Orton. It's brilliant songwriting!
@ Jesterboy80: it was my first thought too.
This song is totally about breaking up with someone (he probably was abusive), then he comes back to visit not too long after, and she sleeps with him, and she's totally lost and out of sorts as to what to do about the situation, him, and the previous relationship.
Great song. In my opinion, the song is referring to a relationship that is wrong for the singer, possibly with abusive tones.