5 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
No Strings Attached Lyrics
Now the final curtain's fallen,
for no show goes on forever,
if the world's a stage - mine's empty.
Whilst upon it you'll tread never.
As the instruments lie silent in their coffins made of wood,
I rest assured they'd say these words - If say these words they could;
Whatever happened to the songs - the music that we made,
and the joy we shared together as on me your fingers played?
Are those symphonies forgotten - with our cases closed and latched?
Dreams now dusty, old and rotten - empty shells, no strings attached.
Amidst the dying candle-light,
I sit forlorn, alone,
a space once filled with laughter bright,
the place my heart called home.
Now the puppets are my company - but wood and straw can't speak;
though if by chance they came to life I'm certain they would weep.
What am I without your tender touch -
the hands to hold and guide me,
what purpose has a puppet with no puppeteer beside me?
I do not care I have no hair - my painted face is scratched.
but fear my wooden heart will shatter with no stings attached.
No mourners assemble in this white-elephant's graveyard,
a dearth of bloom upon my tomb - an absence of forget-me-nots.
For Romeo I understudied - this sepulchre dark and bloodied,
It's my final resting place - amongst these "cloak-and-dagger" props.
Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues.
Now last and least - the minstrel-takes his bow upon the stage,
he's played a fool and played the prince - but never acts his age.
And if for once not lost for words - I wonder what he'd say,
to win fair maiden, slay the dragon, keep dread foe at bay?
"Though I am not a wealthy man - my heart is pure and true,
and the only riches that I have - the love I feel for you.
Now my life is robbed of meaning
Iike a purse of hope that's snatched.
Must I spend my whole time dreaming -
living life no strings attached?"
No mourners assemble in this white-elephant's graveyard,
a dearth of bloom upon my tomb - an absence of forget-me-nots.
For Romeo I understudied - this sepulchre dark and bloodied,
It's my final resting place - amongst these "cloak-and-dagger" props.
Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues.
for no show goes on forever,
if the world's a stage - mine's empty.
Whilst upon it you'll tread never.
As the instruments lie silent in their coffins made of wood,
I rest assured they'd say these words - If say these words they could;
and the joy we shared together as on me your fingers played?
Are those symphonies forgotten - with our cases closed and latched?
Dreams now dusty, old and rotten - empty shells, no strings attached.
I sit forlorn, alone,
a space once filled with laughter bright,
the place my heart called home.
Now the puppets are my company - but wood and straw can't speak;
though if by chance they came to life I'm certain they would weep.
the hands to hold and guide me,
what purpose has a puppet with no puppeteer beside me?
I do not care I have no hair - my painted face is scratched.
but fear my wooden heart will shatter with no stings attached.
a dearth of bloom upon my tomb - an absence of forget-me-nots.
For Romeo I understudied - this sepulchre dark and bloodied,
It's my final resting place - amongst these "cloak-and-dagger" props.
Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues.
he's played a fool and played the prince - but never acts his age.
And if for once not lost for words - I wonder what he'd say,
to win fair maiden, slay the dragon, keep dread foe at bay?
and the only riches that I have - the love I feel for you.
Now my life is robbed of meaning
Iike a purse of hope that's snatched.
Must I spend my whole time dreaming -
living life no strings attached?"
a dearth of bloom upon my tomb - an absence of forget-me-nots.
For Romeo I understudied - this sepulchre dark and bloodied,
It's my final resting place - amongst these "cloak-and-dagger" props.
Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Sounds like failure and hopelessness to me.
At surface level the song is about a one-time musician who gives up and moves on. His unstrung instruments represent a lack of hope and meaning, a lack of a passion the man once had.
Toward the end Martin speaks of a minstrel who once had meaning in the music he made and joy he created. Now he's "living life no strings attached", or without passion or purpose.
I don't understand the significance of graveyard.
Perhaps "Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues." means that this kind of dull person demeans and lessens art.
At surface level the song is about a one-time musician who gives up and moves on. His unstrung instruments represent a lack of hope and meaning, a lack of a passion the man once had.
Toward the end Martin speaks of a minstrel who once had meaning in the music he made and joy he created. Now he's "living life no strings attached", or without passion or purpose.
I don't understand the significance of graveyard.
Perhaps "Your kiss turns princes into frogs - and passion-plays to monologues." means that this kind of dull person demeans and lessens art.
White elephant is an idiom for something that's invaluable. I agree that it's about hopelessness and failure, though. On the surface, it does seem to be about a musician who gave up on his dreams but it can be taken as a huge metaphor. Great song.
This song fits in with the overall theme of Vintage Whine -- heartbreak. Throughout the album the implication seems to be that the speaker (presumably Martin himself) was in a relationship with a woman, but she did not take it seriously and left him abruptly. The phrase "no strings attached" is generally used as a positive way to describe a casual relationship, but here Martin uses it negatively, as he wanted to be attached to this person. "For Romeo I understudied" -- he was ready to die for his love.
"Your kiss turns princes into frogs, and passion plays to monologues." The woman apparently left him with a kiss goodbye, which Martin seems particularly bitter about. It's also referenced in the song Bury Me with the line "so to say farewell like Judas is the thing I find absurd."
I absolutely love this song, and these are possibly my favorite lyrics of all time. The way he uses instruments, puppets, and then himself as a minstrel as a metaphor for the despair he feels is brilliant.