She sits alone by a lamp post
Tryin' to find the thought that's escaped her mind
She says, "Dad's the one I love the most
But Stipe's not far behind"
She never lets me in, only tells me where she's been
When she's had too much to drink
I say that I don't care, I just run my hands through her dark hair
Then I pray to God you gotta help me fly away
And just let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be
This morning I woke up alone, found a note standing by the phone
Sayin', "Maybe, maybe I'll be back someday"
I wanted to look for you
You walked in, I didn't know just what I should do
So I sat back down and had a beer and felt sorry for myself
Sayin' let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be
No, no, no, no
Let her cry let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, ah
Last night I tried to leave, cried so much I could not believe
She was the same girl I fell in love with long ago
She went in the back to get high
I sat down on my couch and cried, yellin'
"Oh, mama, please help me"
Won't you hold my hand and
Let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be
Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing, if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be
Ah, let her be
Tryin' to find the thought that's escaped her mind
She says, "Dad's the one I love the most
But Stipe's not far behind"
She never lets me in, only tells me where she's been
When she's had too much to drink
I say that I don't care, I just run my hands through her dark hair
Then I pray to God you gotta help me fly away
And just let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be
This morning I woke up alone, found a note standing by the phone
Sayin', "Maybe, maybe I'll be back someday"
I wanted to look for you
You walked in, I didn't know just what I should do
So I sat back down and had a beer and felt sorry for myself
Sayin' let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be
No, no, no, no
Let her cry let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, ah
Last night I tried to leave, cried so much I could not believe
She was the same girl I fell in love with long ago
She went in the back to get high
I sat down on my couch and cried, yellin'
"Oh, mama, please help me"
Won't you hold my hand and
Let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be
Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing, if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be
Ah, let her be
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The lyrics tell the story of a patient man in love with a woman who is an irresponsible alcoholic. He keeps trying to save her and salvage the relationship, even as he sees the toll it is taking on him and the probable futility of his attempts to keep it together. Darius Rucker said he wrote the song about one of his own past relationships, but swapped the gender roles - that in real life, he was the irresponsible one and his girlfriend was the long-suffering partner who tried to keep things together.
Darius Rucker acknowledged that he originally wrote the song as a country song.
Think of the timeline of the song as watching a movie on rewind. It starts with the present and goes back a little bit in the second verse, and further yet in the third.
For continuity I'm going to jump to the third verse just to keep the timeline straight. "Last night" he says he tried to leave her. It didn't take long before he realized she really is the girl of his dreams. She goes out back to relax a little with a totally unimportant drug and he gets some alone time to contemplate how crazy he was thinking. He breaks down confused and remorseful.
The second verse he goes back to "this morning". It could actually be the morning of that day, or just a morning in the blur of days that pass by while he battles with himself. At any rate we can assume it's in the recent past. He wakes up after feeling more attached to her than ever from his actions the "night before" just to find a simple note sitting by the phone telling him it's over. In addition it says there's a chance he could have her again. She comes walking back in the door and he realizes the gravity of the situation. Now he is in some crazy in between situation with a woman that he finally just realized he truly loved. He can't bring himself to just walk away from her so he decides to take his chances with "maybe" He sits down and does what any logical man would do, drink it all away.
He starts in the present time with the first verse. Looking at her from afar and seeing how things have changed between them now that they are separated, but he still cant pull away. She doesn't open up to him the same way she used to, and he misses that. He is caught in the infamous friend-zone, and takes that attachment because it beats being alone. His only saving grace is sometimes she has a few too many and spills it all. He can't deny his attachment, he just wants to disappear.
The chorus is repeated so many times because it symbolizes what he tells himself every day but can't bring himself to actually do. He knows it's best for him to just let her be, but at the same time, tomorrow sounds like a great day to start, until tomorrow is upon him, so maybe the day after, and then the day after. Endlessly procrastinating what he knows he has to do because deep down he knows he can't actually bring himself to follow through.
you are absolutely correct .
it is in reverse
The song references the definition of a "stipe" meaning of a mushroom a stipe (/ˈstaɪp/) is the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. ( circumcision / ancestral roots ) (a birthmark) features of the stipe are required to make a positive identification of a mushroom... someone whom is of the same root and or faith (someone trustworthy)
-if referencing from a woman's point of view saying " father (dad)s the one she loves the most , "stipes" not far behind..
men look for women who remind them of their mother and women do the same with their father. (not love .. its true passion.
No matter what she does to hurt herself or others "including him" , its not a worry , he lets her be.. lets her get all temptations out of her system .. she comes home from drinking the fruits or grapes or wines ( the sins of life) (irresponsibilities) (forbidden fruits) sweet nectars... and still comforts her all the same as she needs both until she matures... "she was the same girl i fell in love with long ago" =
he's speaking in the same reference as his mother .. the first woman, first love of life. its the simplicity of life living in the moment as the glass reflects back at you. its the first message of the illusion. what it all comes down to is "we all need to know what its like not to have someone" you never know the value of what you have until its gone ... "memories" erased or grudged upon or regret from selfishness ...
'and just her cry if the tears fall down like rain.
let her sing if it eases all her pain.
let her go, let her walk right out on me
and if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be.'
Let her cry...if the tears fall down like rain
- in this part of the song he's saying that he's going to let her do what she needs to make herself feel better and he's just going to let her go and if in the morning, the sun still rises and his world is still in tact, then he'll just let her be because he loves her that much.
'last night i tried to leave,
she cried to much i just could not believe
she was the same girl i fell in love with long ago.'
- and in this part of the song he is saying that he see's this girl who is so weak and so fragile and he just can't believe it's the same girl he fell in love with in the beginning.
i don't know. just my opinion, i guess. i've been there, done that...and i'm so glad it's over with. but at the same time, i'll never forget that time in my life.
It was really cool because he was strumming "She Talks to Angels" all the while he was telling the story, and then when he was done he kinda segued into the first chords of "Let Her Cry." I didn't realize what song he was introducing until that minute.