This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Ooh
I tried to love you
I thought I could
I tried to own you
I thought I would
I want to peel the skin from your face
Before the real you lays to waste
You told me I'm the only one
Sweet little angel
You should have run
Lying, crying, dying to leave
Innocence creates my hell
Cheating myself
Still, you know more
It would be so easy
With a whore
Try to understand me, little girl
My twisted passion to be your world
Lost inside my sick head
I live for you but I'm not alive
Take my hand before I kill
I still love you, but, I still burn
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Oh
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
I tried to love you
I thought I could
I tried to own you
I thought I would
I want to peel the skin from your face
Before the real you lays to waste
You told me I'm the only one
Sweet little angel
You should have run
Lying, crying, dying to leave
Innocence creates my hell
Cheating myself
Still, you know more
It would be so easy
With a whore
Try to understand me, little girl
My twisted passion to be your world
Lost inside my sick head
I live for you but I'm not alive
Take my hand before I kill
I still love you, but, I still burn
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Oh
Love, hate, love
Yeah
Love, hate, love
Lyrics submitted by pretty-in-punk
Love, Hate, Love Lyrics as written by Sean Kinney Layne Staley
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings

Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo

No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.

Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/

Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."

Indigo
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”