I Remember

this song is about a man that cheated on his wife/girlfriend and the perspectives of both of them. it starts off with the woman who is remembering the first time she met the man and how much she loves him but ends with the line "nothing is taking me down, except you, my love" to express how hurt she is by what he's done. then the man sings his perspective. he says "i hope my sanity covers the cost to remove the stain of my love" meaning he hopes the fact that he is normally sane and faithful is enough to help the woman get over the fact that he cheated on her. (the "stain" of love refers both to the sexual side, i.e. cum stain, and the emotional side-he uses the word stain, suggesting that the pain of it can never be removed) he goes on to say that god will forgive him for what he has done but he can never forgive himself. in the chorus-type part of the male part he's saying "i wanna hear what you're gonna say about me, ... if you're gonna live without me, ...what you want" he means he wants her to go ahead and tell him how horrible he is and that she should leave him and then tell him what she wants from him to make things right. Damien Rice is always so amazing at capturing the true emotions of all situations. In this song, the woman who has been wronged, seems very calm, almost happy, but mostly nostalgic. This may not make sense to some of you but if you have ever been cheated on or hurt by someone you love, you might recognize that feeling of calmness before you explode. It's as if the person who cheated is hurt more by the act than the person being cheated on. They can't bare to live with the guilt of what they've done.

this song is perfection. i love how it gives the little details that you always notice "i remember it well, there was wet in your hair" its so poetic. its beautifully pure.

i believe this song is a story being told from two different perspectives... lisa sings from within the relationship, she talks about how it began and remembers it fondly, and then expresses later that she needs him there and she can't believe what shes found and how lucky she is to have found it... and nothing can destroy her happiness... except maybe the end of them. damien then comes in and is telling the story from the end of the relationship. he's heartbroken and in his first verse is explaining the ways he's been trying to get over her- meaningless nights with different girls, trying hopelessly to find the joy he had before. then he is yelling at her and expressing all the pain he is going through and asking her what it is she wants... maybe if he gives her that thing, she'll take him back... or maybe he believes she is putting him through all this pain because he did something, and he needs to rectify it...

Unlike some post I've read, for me this song is coming just from one person but this person is very confused and have mixed feelings toward his/her love...

I want to share how I can closely relate to this song: First part is the loving and tender part, where you don't want the relationship to end and remember how well it was at the beginning... "i remember it well the first time that i saw your head 'round the door 'cause mine stopped working i remember it well there was wet in your hair you were stood in the stair and time stopped moving" This is without doubt the begging of the relationship, where everything is magical and time stops when you are with the person you love.

"i want you here tonight i want you here 'cause i can't believe what i found i want you here tonight want you here nothing is taking me down" At the beginning of the relationship when you feel so blessed with your new love and where all you want to do is to be with your love and you know there's nothing or nobody that can 'take you down' from loving that person.

"i remember it well taxied out of a storm to watch you perform and my ships were sailing" When you would do anything and everything to see the person you love, you would leave all the other things, because what matter most at that moment it was him/her.

"i remember it well i was stood in your line and your mouth your mouth your mouth your mind" 'Your mouth... your mind' I think this refers to when the relationship comes to the point where you are kissing your partner, but it crosses your mind 'is he/she feeling like me right now?', 'what would she/he is thinking right now?'. Maybe the partner is not mentally available for a relationship... and you wonder...

"i want you here tonight i want you here 'cause i can't believe what i found i want you here tonight want you 'cause nothing is taking me down 'cept you, my love.." You miss him/her a lot. You want him/her and nothing can stop you, except of course, him/her with his/her actions... Right now I'm in a relationship where my bf of a year told me he was gonna get engaged with me this year and married the next, he promised me he would stop smoking weed 'cause 'I didn't deserve that kind of man'... and he has broken all his promises... He doesn't know when he wants to get married anymore, but he says he IS going to marry me. And he's been smoking weed lately, when he knows he breaks my heart, he just thinks about himself... And I've talked with him and beg him to do something (look for some type of maybe psychological help) 'cause I really don't want to leave him, and I want to be there for him... But he's just crushing me and 'nothing can take me down, 'cept him' doing nothing to improve our relationship.

Here comes the other side where you just want to shout at the person who is hurting you (me in this case..) so much... "come all ye lost dive into moss i hope that my sanity covers the cost to remove the stain of my love paper mache" You start expressing your real feelings about the situation, your are lost, confused, getting crazy because of this love and how it's dying and you just can't do anymore about it.

"come all ye reborn blow off my horn i'm driving real hard this is love this is porn god would forgive me but i, i whip myself scorn, scorn" Your feelings are really strong, you are 'driving real hard'. You know 'God would forgive you' cause you've done nothing wrong, but you punish yourself and feel guilty about it, when you are just guilty of loving too much. Here comes my actual situation again. I knew and even told him that I didn't want to be with a person that chooses a drug over me... I told him I would leave, but I didn't. I keep hoping he will change, that he'll understand someday what I'm going thru and how much I love him and keep hoping he's going to stop... But I know better... deep inside I always knew this was going to happen sooner or later and I know it's so wrong from my part to not stop this misery and I feel guilty for letting him hurt me and staying...

"i wanna hear what you have to say about me hear if you're gonna live without me hear what you want i remember december

and i wanna hear what you have to say about me hear if you're gonna live without me i wanna hear what you want what the hell do you want? " These verses explain themselves... The version of my life: I keep asking him what does he wants? If he just wants to keep doing drugs... and he says he is sorry for hurting me and wants me above all other things but keeps smoking. And I know that's not the truth and even tell him but he can't accept it, he says 'that's not true'. I just 'wanna hear what you want. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?' </3

From celestial hopes and expectations to the depths of dismal despair, this song covers some of the most poignant emotions I have ever heard put to album. The utter torment in Damien's voice is unforgettable, he really does feel the anguish that his lyrics portray. As for Lisa Hannigan, she is absolutely gorgeous, her voice being exquisetly powerful and yet subtle. Seeing this gang live was a treat and no mistake.

.they both express emotion in their voices amazingly. the lyrics also amaze me, so beautiful.

I've always read the lyrics.. "Come all ye lost. Dive into moss."

Anyway, I belive this line: "I wanna hear what you have to say about me hear, if you're gonna live without me I wanna hear what you want I remember december.. I wanna hear.. what you have to say about me hear, if you're gonna live without me I wanna hear, what you want what the hell do you want.." is about a breakup.

I agree with you WW and WF, they do express their emotion soo well. You really can feel exactly how Damien does when he sings, it's truely amazing how good, well-sung music can have true rule over your emotions!

I think this song is about a women in love and how she chooses to express it. And wonderfully he then shows how a man expresses it, 'blow of my horn, stain of my love' - you mucky pup

I like how it is portraying a relationship from both angles. She is still in love with him, but thinks feels underappreciated and ignored so she feels forced to end it. And he's pissed off for this, not sad and humbled like her. I think it describes how more relationships end than we realize.