Come Undone Lyrics
Signed, with a home tattoo, Happy birthday to you was created for you.
(Cannot believe you're taking my heart.. to pieces)
Now we'll try to stay blind, to the hope and fear outside,
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind
And blow me in to cry.
Who do you love?
When you come undone.
Who do you need?
Who do you love?
When you come undone.
Chill, is it something real, Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingers
(Cannot believe you're taking my heart.. to pieces)
Now we'll try to stay blind, to the hope and fear outside,
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind -
And blow me in to cry.
Who do you love?
When you come undone.
Ok...bear with me, this is a little long winded...
Mine, immaculate dream made breath and skin The perfect pure woman, seemingly created for him
I've been waiting for you Hes kept single, waiting for a woman like her to arise
Signed, with a home tattoo, He tattoos her name on himself
Happy birthday to you was created for you The tattoo is a gift, a promise to this woman
(can't ever keep from falling apart At the seams Can't I believe you're taking my heart To pieces) She sees his love, his devotion, but shes scared, shes been hurt before...shes afraid to care.
Oh, it'll take a little time, Time heals all wounds
might take a little crime sometimes you have to do something dangerous...nothing ventured, nothing gained
to come undone now To come undone, to admit to your feelings, and open up
(PRECHORUS) We'll try to stay blind They will ignore
to the hope and fear outside what other people say, that it will last, or it wont last, whatever happens is thier affair, no one elses
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind He wants her to stay the same, dont change he loves her like she is
And blow me in to cry and when she thinks she cant take it anymore, he'll be there for her
(CHORUS) Who do you need, who do you love When you come undone (repeat)
(Verse 2) Words, playing me deja vu Deja vu, meaning seeming to happen again..he fears she might just be going through the motions
Like a radio tune I swear I've heard before She might not actualy love him back, shes just regurgitating the words back to him
Chill, is it something real He tries to stay calm, to try to think logicaly about love
Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingers He wants to know if something so deep can be fake
(Can't ever keep from falling apart At the seams Can I believe you're taking my heart To pieces) She answers him, letting him know that she is giving in to her emotions, and cares about him
Lost, in a snow filled sky, we'll make it alright To come undone now They are lost in love together, and they will face any problems they have in the future together...
I dunno
I think Anthony gets it.
I think Anthony gets it.
I totally agree with you!! I now finally get what the song means and love it even more.
I totally agree with you!! I now finally get what the song means and love it even more.
Yes!!! This is exactly what it should mean!!! Thanks a lot!!!
Yes!!! This is exactly what it should mean!!! Thanks a lot!!!
I think this song is all about discovering / uncovering your true feelings, which is not always easy (might take a little time, might take a little crime) but once you do, the truth comes out and you "come undone" and then you know who you really love and need and you're in peace with yourself. It's not always easy to admit who you really love and need, even to yourself.
Definitely the best song by Duran Duran to date.... I've always thought it was about loving someone so much that it drives you crazy but I might be wrong.
@pheebgirl maybe toss a narcissist into its meaning...
@pheebgirl maybe toss a narcissist into its meaning...
It's obvious to me this song combined with the official video is about breaking gender barriers.
I can't believe nobody discusses the guy (husband) in the video taking of his 3-piece suit to expose lingerie underneath and then putting on lipstick!!! It couldn't be more symbolic that the woman in the water is really his "inner female" wanting to 'come undone' and break free. The guy is a tranny!! He feels like a woman trapped in a man's body. Remember the scene where the hammer smashed a barbie and football - those are symbols of gendered identities.
Yes, in the beginning of the video he is having sex with a woman in the bed. The woman he indeed may love - reflects his deep knowing of what he really is and what he really wants to be. The little girl comes into the room and hides under the bed with a sad/worried look on her face. She is there to express the hidden truth.
The wife blends up a smoothie with vodka, to deny what is really happening in her marriage.
The older couple that is shown sitting on a bench and then driving and then a fire breather breathes fire into the car - remember that scene? That is reflective of the inauthenticity of living one's entire life in a lie. The fire-breather expresses and symbolizes the lyrics of "hey child stay wilder than the wind and blow me in..." The fire breather is the wild part of him (the part that wants to expose himself) that combined with the elderly couple is a foreshadowing of the future he would have staying married and denying a part of his life.
I thought it was about his "inner feminine" and breaking free of masculine bonds, but then it was just too apparent that it was more about him actually feeling feminine (like a woman) inside. Because there is no symbolism that shows that him breaking the 'masculine barriers' brings him closer to her. After all... she is drinking, the video doesn't show them happy in the end etc.
Further lyric analysis
WoW - this one is so apparent:
"~Chill, is it something real ~Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingers" - This is saying he felt the chills while being intimate with her and thought for a moment he might really have feelings of being sexually attracted feelings for her but he then realizes it is just the homo-erotic/homo-sexual turn on he is getting from sucking her fingers which are phallic like (the oral pleasure)
The lyrics about, "cannot ever keep from falling apart.. at the seams can I believe youre taking my heart.. to pieces" Is about the TRUTH that must come out of him. THE TRUTH ALWAYS WINS. The wife is falling apart because she knows he is not sexually attracted to her - he wants to BE a woman.
"Mine, immaculate dream, made breath and skin, Ive been waiting for you, Signed, with a home tattoo, happy birthday to you was created for you."
This is harder to decipher because it's saying that his perfect dream has materialized. I think it's complex... his perfect dream is complete with his perfect life - but there is a dissatisfaction, the person he really wants to be (a woman) THAT IS who the happy birthday was created for.
It must be difficult to want to be the opposite gender but yet have to be married to someone who is the gender you want to be and can't leave that person because your whole world would "come undone" - so ultimately who would he need, who would he love if he came undone? Only Himself
Remember, this song was written in the early 90s when transgender was still VERY taboo (well, it still is) but even more then. It was a feeling from being ostracized from any type of normal life. How could he ever have a relationship with anyone, male or female after "coming undone" after coming out with his secret?
Anyway, that's what I think from the totality of the video and lyrics. I mean, why didn't anyone even mention the video scenes?? It amazes me people just purposely left that out. Disclaimer: I am a white, heterosexual female.
Honestly, I don't think the lyrics are structured perfectly as far as conveying any meaning clearly and effectively. I think the focus was on the music production.
Honestly, I don't think the lyrics are structured perfectly as far as conveying any meaning clearly and effectively. I think the focus was on the music production.
However, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. It's possible this song was originally written to mean something otherwise, but THE VIDEO clearly makes it about gender identity confusion in a marriage. I don't have much to add, but a few other bits of evidence:
However, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE ABOVE. It's possible this song was originally written to mean something otherwise, but THE VIDEO clearly makes it about gender identity confusion in a marriage. I don't have much to add, but a few other bits of evidence:
In the beginning, a knot (marriage) is tied, then comes undone in a purple sash (could symbolize an illusion of power and "royalty" in the union...more abstractly bisexuality). I...
In the beginning, a knot (marriage) is tied, then comes undone in a purple sash (could symbolize an illusion of power and "royalty" in the union...more abstractly bisexuality). I think color of sash should be considered, because at the very end, a knot is tied/comes undone again, this time in a gold sash. I think this might represent the "Golden Rule" or justice in general, and the "Golden Years" broken.
Also to add to the above is that in the picturesque scene of the old couple on a bench, their legs are immersed in polluted floodwater with trash floating in it (marriage polluted by lies).
Then beneath the surface of a water tank, with sharks circling in this "other world" (being threatened to suffocate and get attacked), there's a chick who sheds her chains (and her mermaid tail) and swims freely as a woman. That's when it cuts to the golden sash "coming undone." To suggest a step further, now there's the issue of who to love and where to go from there...because there was a form of love there that wanted to hold everything together for as long as possible, but it fell apart anyway as the secrets pushed their way to the surface.
Again, I think any way you look at it, the lyrics weren't meant to be artwork in and of themselves. It's difficult and nearly impossible to say who he's talking to and when; it could be any of three (himself, his wife, or his woman alter-ego) or all of them. BUT IF YOU GO BY THE VIDEO, a meaning is there as described above. And at the end of said video it seems "coming undone" refers to both people in the marriage: the husband with his secret, and the wife with her inability to ignore/react well to it, both having a part of them that still wants to cling to the marriage and make it work (it doesn't).
This was written just to compliment and agree with the most previous post, though. Haha.
@miti You are absolutely incredible interpreting this legendary song that is probably one of the best ever written withing its class. Song is very complex and highly difficult to decipher, so thank you for making it up for us. You are right on!
@miti You are absolutely incredible interpreting this legendary song that is probably one of the best ever written withing its class. Song is very complex and highly difficult to decipher, so thank you for making it up for us. You are right on!
Simon wrote this song to Yasmin, his wife, as a birthday present.
Love it!!!!!
I heard a live version of this once...at the beginning, Simon says, "This is for anyone who is falling in love for the first time, because when you come...you come undone." So take that for what it's worth.
It's a song about a woman's infidelity, written mainly from the point of view of the lover whose arms she run into every time she and her husband have an argument (which she probably instigates.)
(Mine, immaculate dream...I've been waiting for you) The lover is always there to fulfill needs. He is always waiting for her.
(Happy birthday to you was created for you.) The lover makes her feel like the center of the world.
Refrain (from the woman's point of view): (Can't ever keep from falling apart.. At the seams) She always finds a reason for conflict with her husband. (Can't I believe you're taking my heart.. to pieces) She feels guilty for continuing to repeat her infidelity. She blames her lover.
(Ahh, it'll take a little time, might take a little crime to come undone) The lover knows that no matter how often she tries to break it off, she will find a reason to continue cheating on her husband. (Now we'll try to stay blind, to the hope and fear outside,) He knows she could work it out with her husband if she wants, but he ignores the idea of losing her.
(Hey child, stay wilder than the wind) The lover tells her to pursue the freedom she feels when she is with him. (And blow me in to cry.) Sexual and emotional innuendo combined to express the feeling of orgasm and her feelings of guilt.
(Who do you need? Who do you love? When you come undone.) The lover continues to reinforce her need for him, encouraging her to return to him.
(Words, playing me deja vu, Like a radio tune I swear I've heard before,) He always hears her say they should stop, but she always returns. (Chill, is it something real, Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingers) She tries to become hard-hearted, but the lover makes love to her anyway.
(Lost, in a snow filled sky, we'll make it alright, to come undone,) The experience of making love makes them forget where they are and let's them feel justified in their infidelity.
A master piece!!
simon le bon....you're a god!!! this is possibly the best song by duran duran....YAY!!!!