Fade Into You

"I want to hold the hand inside you" is a metaphor for wanting to intimately connect with the other emotionally. "I want to take a breath, that's true" to me means that with that person you feel at ease and can be yourself, as opposed to feeling repressed and not true to oneself when with anyone else. You are wanting to feel free to finally express your feelings for the person instead of hiding them. "I look to you and I see nothing I look to you to see the truth" means that you are looking to see if they have the same feelings for you but are unable to tell, leaving you feeling unsure and insecure. "You live your life, you go in shadows" is about watching the person go on with their life never knowing how you feel, and shadows referring to how you see them as mysterious, and not forthcoming with their true feelings. "You'll come apart and you'll go black" I think of as meaning you see the person go through their dark periods, such as being hurt by another love interest, never knowing you care. And how past hurt may have caused them to become closed off to you and unable to perceive the feelings you have for them. "Some kind of night into your darkness Colors your eyes with what's not there." refers to a factor unknown to you that has caused them to be unable to perceive your feelings for them, also possibly perceiving you as another potential source of pain, though your desire is to comfort them and ease their pain.

(Alternately, "you live your life, you go in shadows, you'll come apart and you'll go black, Some kind of night into your darkness colors your eyes with what's not there" is also a flipped perspective- speaking to the general "you" as in yourself or anyone who is in that state of wondering how the other one feels while simultaneously hiding your own feelings from them. It refers to the emotional ups and downs you cycle through. You live your life you "go in shadows" means you go on living with your feelings hidden. You'll "come apart" is referring to feeling unable to keep your emotions in check and sort of losing your mind wondering, in private possibly breaking down emotionally and "going black", as in mentally going into a dark place and feeling discouraged and thinking the worst. Or even just the sort of void of not knowing, lack of understanding the other one's feelings.)

The chorus is somewhat abstract, so it is open to many interpretations. This is purposeful and is part of the appeal of song. That said, this is my interpretation:

"Fade into you" refers to the union you wish to have, or are finally having, with your beloved which is a gentle, gradual sort of merging. Your beloved is very much like yourself, and you feel so at ease that you could just fall into them and become as one. It is a feeling of comfort and relief after waiting so long for the embrace. It also refers to the gradual easing in of the union which is inevitable because you are unable to control that you are being pulled together by unseen forces. Or perhaps you intentionally set out from the beginning to gradually ease into the romance because your beloved is so shy and introverted, or would be spooked by grand gestures. "Strange you never knew" refers to it seeming so strange to you that feelings so immense could go unnoticed by your beloved for so long.

The second verse is interchangeable between yourself and your beloved, as well as anyone with similar feelings for someone. "A stranger's light it comes on slowly" is referring to the gradual nature of the romance, both parties a little apprehensive to share their feelings or jump into anything so powerful. But it feels natural, no reason to force anything but to just allow the inevitable "destiny" of your love for one another to wash over you slowly and gently. "A stranger's heart without a home" is simply referring to you both being lonely and out of place in this world, never feeling "at home" with anyone before. "You put your hands into your head" means you finally take a step toward bringing your dreams into a tangible reality, in this case it refers to finally taking a step toward the possibility of a relationship, probably by finally telling them how you feel.. "And then smiles cover your heart" refers to the feeling of excitement when you take that leap of faith of telling them how you feel, and the butterflies and joy once you realize the feelings are mutal. So simply put, you finally tell your beloved you have feelings for them, and you are overjoyed when you see they feel the same.