Crestfallen

What the…? How come no one sees this song the way I see it? No one else seems to hear the bitter insincerity in his voice. I mean, think about the line “who am I to need you when I’m down? It’s not saying that he doesn’t deserve the person, it’s a hurt and angry line, very sarcastic. The song isn’t one of self-loathing and believing you don’t deserve some one, it’s a song of anger mixed in with pain. Everyone seems to be taking every line for it’s literal meaning, but just from listening to his voice you can tell that it’s not. I dunno, I could be way off track, but that’s how I’ve always seen it.

For me, this song... means a lot. There was this girl that I liked a lot -- loved, even. I loved her a lot. I followed her around as a 'friend' for a little more than a year, then I finally decided to take a step and tell her I was in love with her. Well, she had a boyfriend and everything between the two of us began to break down and withered into nothing. I went into it thinking, 'We're not getting any younger,' and 'All I've got to lose is her,' but now I feel old and foolish and I really have lost her completely.

So who am I to her, now? In all the ways Billy describes, just what does it make me? She was never meant to belong to me.

This song is the exact way i feel about my ex-gf. every line fits so perfectly.We are lesbians, she says she is bisexual. She is Russian, and says bc of family stuff she won't come out of the closet. The line "your life is not your own" makes me think of her situation. I don't think her decision to not come is wrong, bc i know she doesn't want to hurt her parents. but i also feel that bc she wasn't truly happy with me, i kinda put her in the same situation, that her family did. i worry a lot she wasn't happy bc then she would have had to be living another life that wasn't authentic. She says some times she wantsto have a family "the natural" way she says. Plus, i think because of my depression and anxiety and just how i am in general, she could never really fall in love with me. i kept getting scared and angry. this is what the line "you were never meant to belong to me" means to me, she deserves someone who shines the way she does. the line "who am i...to ask you why, to tell you no" reminds me of when we would talk after the breakup, i would ask her why it was over and tell her no, that there was still hope, even though i knew inside it was over for her and i understood why.
After our breakup, i went crazy and ended up being hospitalized. All i wanted was to close my eyes and when i opened them to be back in bed with her, one of many nights we'd spend side by side. but whatever loved or respect she had for me was gone, only sympathy. and after my moodiness during the relationship and insanity after the breakup, who was i to need her, or tell her i did? i wish i could ask for another chance, another postponement of the inevitable, even just to talk... "along the way, i lost my faith"... when we began, i had faith that i could be a positive person in her life, someone who could support her and accpt her for who she is. now, a year later, i feel nothing but selfish, as i ask "who am i?" and the question comes back as so far from the person i wanted to be for her.

This song means a lot to me. I went out with my ex from December '07 to August '08. We were madly in love. I treated her like crap because I was an idiot. I lied to her at times, I didn't tell her the whole truth, etc. November of '08, I began thinking about her again and wanted to get back together. She had a new boyfriend and they've been together ever since. And me? I'm still hoping that she'll come back to me one day. Won't happen. She doesn't want me to talk to her anymore. Billy Corgan is a tragic genius.

it's probly about somebody that was so selfish and had finnaly realized how miserly he was...and he realized all of it too late and his girlfriend left...eloborate...

terrific song. billy is a genius. I think it's probably about a guy who is apologizing to a girl he was once with. he may have treated her like crap and now he feels sorry for it and wants her back but sees it won't happen for them.

soooo sad.

i agree...the first line "who am i to need you when i´m down" is so sad...

I see this song in similar light...however, I think Billy portrays someone with low self esteem and therefore feels he's let his opportunity with a girl go. He may have treated her like a saint but the girl didn't appreciate it...so Billy ends up thinking he's not good enough. Who is he to think he's "good enough" for her? Now he's asking for a second chance. I'd love to ask Billy who the song was for, what it's exact intent was, and what result(s) occurred.

I see it similarly to y2doggy, I sort of feel that maybe before a certain time he thought he had a chance but never reached for it. Once the opportunity passed he begins to think that maybe he doesn't have a chance at all anymore, hence the line "who am I to you? along the way I lost my faith"... So now he feels he's just some sap who isn't good enough...

Love this song, it hit me cause that's what happened with a girl I used to know... Hard to be in this position, but Billy once again made misery beautiful. He's a genius.

Billy's such a sap. And that's why he rules! He's the voice for all the sappy people!!! He sings what people want to say...but he's not afraid to do it. Billy has left a big impression in the music history books. My buddies and I are already planning our trip to Cleveland when he's inducted to the Hall of Fame with the rest of the Pumpkins...we were guessing in the year 2016. Never too early to plan.