| The Beautiful South – Blackbird on the Wire Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song lyrics convey beautifully a distinct variant of unrequited love. The one where a male is in love with a female but she is oblivious to this and he is constrained from telling her because she is either unavailable and would reject him or - even worse - is available but would reject him. I think there is an additional characteristic where he is married (she has a "mouth to leave your wife") although if he got the chance he would give up everything to run away with her (he admits she has "legs to run away with"). But this is never going to happen, regardless of how much he desires it, and he is resigned to the fact that it is love from afar. In essence he is smitten with her but it is a one sided love that will never be reciprocated. She is off limits or outside his league and he knows that, but it only adds to an overwhelming sense of heartache, He knows he has to keep his feelings of love hidden and internal but he cannot ignore her and instead concentrates on every characteristic of her, as tends to be the case when one is head over heels in love with someone. So he worships the front and the back of her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, including things that others don't even notice. It is a hypnotic love but one that brings both joy and despair. The tears he cries for her are overt but are obviously not noticed by her. His heart is breaking even though they have never been in a relationship. It hurts to be in love with her but he cannot stop it - his romantic inclination towards her has no "off" switch. So like a blackbird on a wire he can't take prey on her (she is off limits/out of league), but he sees her all the time and all he can do is watch and cry as she gets on with her life. He has confided in close friends of his love and they have questioned it ("people come and ask me what I love you for") but no matter what anybody says he is simply in love and for him there is no getting around it and no getting over it. Of course people he converses with (including his beloved intended) come out with the usual "How are you?" not realising that their words are like a dagger through his broken heart. He feels like dying from this entire situation but what can he do? Let the tears flow and fall "down below.....down below". |
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