| Duncan Sheik – She Runs Away Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Do you ever get the feeling that somehow a song was written about you? I am the girl in the song. I don't mean to flatter myself (the girl in the song seems quite mesmerizing), but I have honestly felt like I have been in this story. (I wonder if ZidaneTribal is my ex...) The story is that I have never given much to serious relationships. Perhaps I did in high school. Girls in high school always dream about being steady and serious with someone. To the point of forsaking their true selves in exchange for attention and security. Me... I realized years ago that I was not that girl anymore, and perhaps never was. I dated a lot. I enjoyed dating a lot. I enjoyed the friendship. The spontaneity. The innocence and the thrill of getting to know someone. My ex and I started as friends. I loved him long before I ever admitted it (to him or myself). But I was a free spirit. And not in the, "I want to keep my options open incase someone better comes along" kind of way. I was just super-independent and happy with myself and my life. I didn't need to constantly take "another step" in our relationship. I was perfectly fine with taking things slow. Enjoying the moment. Enjoying many moments. Why rush into a serious relationship? We were young. We had all the time in the world. I had no problem with things moving slowly. Hollywood has you meeting and dating and sleeping together all in a 2 hour movie. I wanted things to happen slowly and naturally. He became smitten with me. More so than I was with him. He wanted to get serious. He wanted to talk about things that I didn't want to talk about. "I'm not interested in a 'serious relationship'!" I said to him one night after he was trying to persuade me that we were more serious than we were. "Serious relationships are boring and restrictive. I just want to have fun and not worry about what we are or where we're at." He said, "How do you know what a serious relationship is? You've never given one a chance!!!!" I had no comeback. The strain wore on us. He wasn't satisfied and I was tired of worrying about it. "Ooh babe why don't you let it go? Happiness ain't never how you think it should be so". He had this idea that we had to be exclusive and have labels, "this is my BOYFRIEND", and have plans and goals, and marriage conversations should not be off the table. He "mystified the simple life" and "broke it down till there was nothing left". To him, if we weren't following the dating-serious-marriage path, then there was nothing left. I eventually became fed up. Exhausted. We broke up. Time passed. We got "back-together", which really means that we just started having fun again like old times... then always, without fail, he would want more. He was in love with me. Head over heels. I didn't want him to be. I didn't want to be in love with him, so I didn't want him to be in love with me. It was the elephant in the room. I didn't want him talking about his feelings for me. Eventually I'd become fed up and leave. And then repeat. Repeat. In time, I think he became resolved to the fact that if he wanted to be with me that he would have to keep his feelings to himself and just hope that maybe someday things would end up how he wanted them to be. "You may not see the end of it But luckily she comes around. It isn't what she talks about. It's just the way she is." He got good at biting his tongue and biding his time. But eventually his heart would get the best of him and in a weak moment his feelings would overflow and there he was again saying, "I love you and I need you." "And then you know there comes a time. You need her more than anything. You may believe yours are the wounds. That only she can heal." And then the fun would be over. Replaced by guilt. Here was my friend, my confidant. Hurting and wanting me so. So in love with me. He would walk through fire for me. But I wasn't there. Not in life. Not in our friendship. I just wanted to be young and innocent and silly. Fishing on an April afternoon. Skinny-dipping in the dark. Flying kites. Taking hikes. Making eachother laugh. Pure and innocent - I wanted to stay that way forever. Getting serious. Settling down. I wasn't ready. Perhaps he was more mature than I was. And all I could do is say, "I'm sorry. I just don't feel the same." And then there we were again. No more good times. He couldn't handle the torture anymore. And I couldn't handle the guilt. "Then everything will turn around. And she becomes so serious." And he would realize that, "What she choose to offer you. Was all that you could have." And I'd run away. Run far far away. Run anywhere but where he was. (...and she says) Ooh darlin don't you know The darkness comes and the darkness goes (...and she says) Ooh babe why don't you let it go? Happiness ain't never how you think it should be so But she runs away She runs away... She runs away... She runs away... It was a recurring tragedy. And a recurring dream. When we would eventually meet again - sweet joy! To be around him and be together again. But always ending awkwardly and tragically. His heart broken, me running away. The ending to the story is not in the song. I eventually realized my love for him. I grew up. I matured. It was like a veil lifted from my eyes. And I went to him. He had changed. He was better. He was happier. He was satisfied. He had given up on me. He had moved on. He had someone else. And that is the ultimate tragedy. Because I love him to this day. And always will. I am happily married to another man. But will always remember him and sometimes wonder what might have been. |
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| Duncan Sheik – She Runs Away Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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itunes - and it's in the upbeat version that beatriz refers too |
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| A Fine Frenzy – Near To You Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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So many good comments here. And metalsandman - i agree with you about how the adjectives, verbs could be a little better... unless... the lyricist really does mean them to be so "different". Allow me to throw a new idea into the ring: I don't think the lyrics make the new relationship seem "forced" so to speak, but instead, convey her apprehensiveness to opening up to someone new. I think when she calls her new relationship "different", she is not discrediting the new guy - but realizing the differences in the old and new... and yet... "enjoying it". Maybe enjoying isn't such a bad verb - maybe she wasn't sure if she would enjoy a relationship of a different nature and is proud to say that she is. I think that's what the song is about - the transition of letting an ex go and accepting someone else into your life. To illustrate, let me plug in my own experience here, and tell me if you can see how this song coincides. My first love and I were the best of friends for years, very close, but we were always off and on when it came to dating. Our relationship (when in session) was fun, restless, spontaneous, innocent, energetic, loving, passionate - like you see in the movies. Running naked through a field, watching the sun come up, snowball fights, moon-lit walks and heart to hearts, sweet whispers, staring contests, telling eachother our dreams, skinny-dipping, laying in silence together, lauging til our sides split - sounds perfect, right? Well it was to me anyway. It was "beautiful", but it was also "dysfunctional". We're talking years of being off and on dating - never because we hated eachother, but I blame commitment-phobia. Finally, I'll admit... I was the first to start wanting to settle down. "Fall in love... yadi yada yada". Not a conscious thing, but just felt myself settling (in how I thought, the choices I would make, etc). And who had i always thought of myself settling down with? You got it... except... he wasn't ready. I held on for so long, falling more and more in love, silently thinking I could sway him to want to settle down with me... but...long story short - he still wanted to be a free-spirit. The hurt was so deep that I had to break all contact with him and found out through a stranger that he moved away shortly after. That was over a year ago. Our story was so unique and so long and so deep and so perfect in my eyes. That when it didn't have the perfect ending, I was CRUSHED. My boyfriend now is the one who followed. When we started going out, I compared everything he did to my ex. I still wasn't over him. In some ways, I don't think I ever will be. But I am happy again and open to love again and it took time and a lot of patience on his part (like in this song). :) My boyfriend is so "different" from my ex - but I've grown to love the differences. He is more mature, more stable, more confident in things my ex wasn't, and vice versa. He loves me and has no problem saying things like, "maybe next year we'll..." or just "we or us" in the future tense about anything! But My boyfriend now would never run naked through a field with me. But he would talk politics with me all night. My boyfriend now doesn't really like fishing. But he loves taking me and teaching me sailing. My boyfriend now won't go running with me. But he will spend $10 more a month so we can work out together at his gym. My boyfriend now wouldn't want to dance with me in the living room. But he would buy me this CD and let me listen to it while he cooks me dinner. :) I still miss my ex sometimes (especially after writing all this) but I have grown to love someone new finally. And he loves me back !All those things I loved about my ex are now dear memories. My boyfriend is nothing like my ex, but his differences, while scary and strange to me at first, are now beautiful and dear to me as well. And he loves the cooky things about me too. And now I can say to him "I only know that I belong where you are". :) |
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| Alison Krauss – It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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For years this song has had me puzzled. Now, looking at the lyrics - it's so apparent. Her lover is constantly accusing her of being unfaithful. And she is recalling all the times she's had to try to convice him otherwise. More or less saying: "Remember when i told you i'd rather die than lie to you?" "Remember the last time you almost left, how I cried my heart out for you?" "And I won't deny that i've had opportunities to be unfaithful, and I can't prove I never was, but I'm telling you that I HAVEN'T cheated and no one could ever make me want to do that to you." He's left finally (convinced she's sleepin' around) and she's realizing that he just didn't love her. If he had - he would've believed her. If he had - he wouldn't have left. If he had - he wouldn't have constantly accused her of unfaithfulness.(which she is also realizing, that his accusations were really him looking for, "a reason to be unhappy with me".) He's hurt her so bad, so deeply, that she can't believe she let her guard down and let him. To the point she regrets all her pathetic efforts to get him to stay. I've had this CD for nearly a decade now and I could listen to it (this song in particular) for hours... Alison's voice is so absolutely beautiful. |
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| Damien Rice – The Blower's Daughter Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| i think it's so awesome that everyone here seems to have a true appreciation for such a beautiful song and unique artist. Songwriting is such a craft - can't say i haven't tried my hand at it a few times. I like TS's comment about how a whole new story can come from another inspiration. That is so true. Funny how no one here has tried to decode the line, "colder water" yet? I too like the story of the flute teacher's daughter - but perhaps we are trying to be too literal with a truly complex song. Damien probably wrote this while drawing from various conversations, feelings, moments he had with this girl that only he can know about. Like a lot of people here, I interpret the song to match one of my own life's experiences. I dumped a guy, to put it bluntly. How I tried to make it less painful for him by telling him how he'd be fine, it would get easier, he'd probably even forget about me someday... "just like you said it would be" - but he didn't. It's been 7 years now. Without going into detail, he's never got over me "no love no glory" even though he's gone on with his life and doesn't make contact with me anymore. The few times we would come into contact, how he'd go on and on so passionately about me and how he'd missed me "I can't take my eyes off of you" and i would just melt and even got back together with him more than once "did i say that i loathe you... leave it all behind?". But ultimately, it ended and we haven't spoke in a year "we'll both forget the breeze". To this day though, i consider him my first love and the melody and complexity of this song always sends me into a daydream of how we were. So emotional. | |
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