| Low Vs Diamond – Actions Are Actions Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
To me, the song is about a family member who has let you down, and the song takes you through the cycle of emotions that occurs as you watch your family member go through a struggle that you can't control. Early verses... I think it particularly fits well with siblings. "Growing up beside you, I watched your every move/everything you'd say, I'd say too/you could do no wrong" When they were young, they were both very close, and the subject of the song was admired. He never did anything wrong then; he was just a normal child. But, now, things have changed. As they aged, their relationship became strained. Perhaps the other sibling is doing something self-destructive or separating himself from the family. I think this aligns well with the emotions you feel when your sibling lets you down. You think back to your childhood, and you wonder, "How/why/when did this happen? Everything was great then. Now it's all different. I don't get why." Later verses... In the later verse, "them" could be parents, as if to say, "Can't you see your misery is hurting them?" And "me," your brother/sister? Again, the feeling is still confusion, as if to say, "I KNOW you. Why would you do this?" Ending verses… The "your actions are your actions are" lines could represent the point when the family finally starts to let go. At some point, you learn to stop blaming yourself or questioning what went wrong and how you can make it better, and realize "This is THEIR life. They're doing this to themselves. There is NOTHING I can do right now." And, because this process is so painful, the last lines make perfect sense as well. "Sometimes, he's nothing to me" Eventually, you learn to cope with the pain caused by this family member by becoming emotionally separate from them in some way. You learn to not believe the lies, not to get excited by short-lived recoveries, etc. You lose faith in them. You lose hope that they'll all of a sudden see how they're hurting you & get better. You become bitter about the pain, and you just say, "You are nothing to me now." "But I won't turn my face and look away. I still care about you/so desperately lost…" BUT, you cannot stop loving and caring about them. And you still watch, but you've learned now to not be hopeful. You're done questioning, "Why?" You're done with your pleas. You're done with expecting better. You're done with going out of your way to help them and then be hurt again. You're resigned, and you just think, "I love you, but you're tearing us apart, and you just don't get it." Anyways, I think the song could represent the breakdown of any relationship, but it works particularly well with a family relationship. I also think it is a good companion song to "Don't Forget Sister." "Don't Forget Sister" seems to me to be a brother's recounting and response to his sister's attempts to help him. This song could be seen as the sister's perspective--the sister's pain in unsuccessfully reaching out to her brother/the pain in watching him fall apart. |
|
| Low Vs Diamond – Don't Forget, Sister Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
I had a different take on the song… I think when the person is telling the story in the early verse, "you" is the person himself. He is the brother/the poor boy; the sister is his sister. For the first half of the song, he's telling his story in second-person. In the early verses, he's describing his life at that time. Perhaps he's getting in to some kind of trouble/is headed down a bad path/is losing himself, etc. He's ignoring his family. His sister comes to him worried/upset, says, "I know something's wrong with you, etc." & then reminds him that she loves and cares about him, etc. While he continues living the same life, he starts thinking about his family. He's listened/he's waking up. HE is drowning in a city filled with blue blood, and he is remembering his family and sister and they would say, "Can't you see your blood is thicker? Etc." Those two verses are like the family's plea to him: Leave this life. And he's starting to realize everything. In the "Burned out" verse, he's changing--he's realized "my answers are all wrong." He's ready to leave, he's himself again, he's ready for help, etc. It is in this verse that he stops referring to himself as "you" and everything becomes "I" again. Now that he's himself again or he's ready for help, he starts crying out to his family ("Show me where I need to run to"). Perhaps the "but the truth is that you're gone" represents the fact that he is having difficulties still making the decision. He WANTS to leave, he WANTS to go back to the family, but he just doesn't know how to stop making bad decisions or it's too difficult. Or maybe his family is receiving him differently, or he knows their relationship will be different. But, he wants everything back. He reflects again on what his sister said to him: Don't forget me. And, in the next verse, he follows his sister's words. He says, "I won't forget you. I KNOW we came from a good home. I'll never forget you." It's like his apology to his sister. And he ends saying "Sister, take me away with you" as if to say, "Sister, come save me. Come save me from this mess I'm in." I read this as a good companion song to "Actions are Actions," which I think describes the family's perspective coping with the person in trouble (the boy in this song). |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.