I think this song is about a man who is infatuated with a woman, who does not return the feelings he has for her. I can’t see this as being anything as more then infatuation, because she has never really given him anything he has perceived as ‘real’ to actually fall in love with, so it’s a fascination and the infatuation that comes with wanting to get to know someone you can never have. I think the reason she comes to him, and continues this charade is because she’s afraid in the lyrics ‘I know you can never be alone 'Cause it's just the bones you're made of’ the use of the comparison between her needs and the ‘bones’ denotes something she needs to survive, the fibre to her being and the structure to her life, though others can’t see them the validation she gains from men, is what she is made of, I think this is quite sad, and still he sees this and realises, and still he wants her.
The chorus strengthens this for me ‘And you laugh like you've never been lonely... And you laugh like there's hope in the story’ she’s playing a game, pretending that there will be a future to gain that small bit of reassurance someone will be there in the end, she’s putting on a charade in order to gain affection, always guarding who she is and never letting anyone in completely, and he’s completely fine with this, because she too gives him something, I imagine her presence is enough to allow him to play the fool, I think everyone can relate to a time they knew someone wasn’t completely interested and there’s been a small falseness in the way they act and though we realize this the urge to be loved completely overrules common sense.
I think the third verse is beautifully written, he’s basically calling her a coward, in realisation this is a pattern with her, although in truth he introduced her as someone, whose bones are made of this nature, and flirtatious nature, has still angered, perhaps more at him. ‘Oh go, silent as death on the first day of the snow Oh go, leave these fires burning’ This to me is him saying, yes sneak off while I fall in love, ‘silent as death’ she’s done this in such a sneaky manner, it reminds me of the time your little and you fall asleep in the cold and wake up to a ground covered in snow, you never saw it fall, it was just there so much cold and ice, this image is juxtaposed with the image of fires, symbolizing the love he has, the lust and passion she has ignited. ‘covert all those boys that search For love in your room’ Here I believe he realizes she has done this before, and again the use of the word covert, shows she was always in disguise. I also think the use of the word ‘boys’ shows that she turns these men into simple creatures, unaware and weak, with nothing but hope. He ends this verse 'Cause lust is just a child's game And you, you were always late to bloom’ My favorite lyrics in the song, this is where his anger surfaces slightly in a sort of sweet way, its him insulting her but in a kind way, like has afraid to say something to cruel incase she leaves, the fact he claims lust is a Childs game, he is calling her a child, that she doesn’t have the attributes of a woman that it takes to stand tall and be brave and allow herself to be loved, she runs before she gets too attached, like a scared child.
I think the last verse is somewhat misleading and can be interpreted in many ways, but this is mine, and a lot of people won’t agree, but I believe the person he is referring to when he says ‘you love him’ is someone she has history with that she can’t let go of, because she actually loves him, which is why she can never love anyone else, her heart is taken, but they can’t be together because the man she loves knows what kind of a person she is, I do believe this to be the case. The fact that he says ‘love like you've always been lonely’ shows with this person she can’t pretend, she can’t put on this mask, because she actually loves him, you can’t pretend when you’re in love with someone, all the composure and the elegance it just washes away and your just there, and I think maybe this is why the guy she loves cant return her love because she’s there just her and he see’s all this darkness inside of her that he can’t handle. But still Ben sings its ok, that you’re basically in love with someone else, I will take the pain away, I know your running around broken hearted, but I will render to you. I think the lyrics ‘you love him with all of your body’ are also quite sad, she loves him with everything, she may sleep with other men for validation and give them her body, but this man she’s in love with, she loves him with everything including her heart, her mind, all the real things inside of her that the singer has never experienced, still he claims its ok. Very sad: / |
