| The Lumineers – Ho Hey Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think the first lines "I been trying to do it right I been living a lonely life I been sleepin' here instead I been sleepin' in my bed I been sleepin' in my bed " have double meanings. If you read the lumineers lyrics, they are often double-edged with their meanings, as in they have both figurative as well as literal meaning. This particular line, I believe, has to do with a person choosing to "do the right thing" and stop attempting to maintain a relationship with an unavailable person (perhaps they'd been having an affair? Or perhaps she ended a relationship and he has decided to respect her decision and leave her alone?) Either way, he is all alone now, and sleeping in the bed he made (if you ever hear the phrase "you made your bed, now sleep in it", or living with the consequences of his actions. I think the next line "So show me family All the blood that I will bleed I don't know where I belong I don't know where I went wrong But I can write a song" is his way of saying "I have no idea what went wrong here, I did what I thought was right, I am giving and giving...but maybe it isn't my place to do so..." If the relationship in question is in fact an affair (either emotional or physical or both) then this line would make sense, if he truly felt that he did no wrong, that their love was so real that to express it WAS the right thing to do, then it would explain his confusion over his reflection of it, since in the end, it made no difference. Therefore, he wouldn't know what would have been the more appropriate action. IF, however, the relationship wasn't an affair, but is in reference to a man who was trying to win an available womans attention and lost, it could be his venting of frustration over pouring out all he could for her and still being rejected. "I belong with you, you belong with me You're my sweetheart I belong with you, you belong with me You're my - " obviously, he believes the two of them belong together, yet they aren't. "I don't think you're right for him Think of what it might have been if we Took a bus to Chinatown I'd be standin' on canal, and Bowery And she'd be standin' next to me" Probably the most loaded part of the song. As I mentioned in another response, Canal and Bowery are where a LOT of jewelery stores are located in New York, couples from around the country go there for engagement/wedding rings. Perhaps also, this place has significant meaning to the couple. The line "if we took a bus to china town..." this is something that can only truly be understood by the writer and the person the song is about, she apparently didn't go somewhere with him in China Town, a significant enough of a decision to have been mentioned in this song. Perhaps the most pivotal decision in their relationship. Obviously, this decision lead to her being with another "him" instead of the songwriter. "Love we need it now Let's hope for some Cause oh, we're bleedin' out"- he includes another in his statement "we're bleeding out" rather than just saying "Im bleeding out" meaning perhaps, she is hurting too and he knows/understands it, perhaps feeling hopeless like indicated earlier in the song because he doesn't know what is appropriate or what isn't. |
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| The Lumineers – Ho Hey Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I don't know how many people have been to New York, but Canal street is known for its jewelery, and Canal and Bowery were the intersection that was once labeled the "Diamond Capital" of New York. I think the line "Think of what it might have been if we took a bus to china town, I'd be standing on Canal, and Bowery..she'd be standing next to me." refers to her decision not to marry him over somebody else, that if she'd chosen him, they would be picking out her engagement/wedding ring right now. This song speaks to me too, but on the opposite end ;) An ex (a relationship that ended on good terms, not due to a lack of love, but a move and decisions regarding children from previous relationships) moved back into town a few years later, unexpectedly, and was hoping to rekindle what we'd had before. By that time I'd already been engaged to somebody else, who my children adored and is ALSO an amazing person. It was a TOUGH decision...very, very tough. Especially because our children got along so well (he now has full custody of his kids which is what enabled him to move them back to their home town, he'd followed them and their mother to another state so he could have joint custody), and we really do care. Yet he is respectful enough of me and my (now) husband to keep his distance...but for a while there it was hard for him (and me) to accept that what we had before couldn't be brought back. I think this song is about a man who loves a woman he can't be with, because she didn't "choose" him, even though she loves him. "I've been trying to do it right, I've been living a lonely life. I've been been sleeping here instead, I've been sleeping in my bed. Sleeping in my bed." -indicating he wasn't "sleeping" there before- Perhaps she is married and chose not to leave her husband for him, perhaps she is in a long-term relationship and isn't willing to break it off for him. | |
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