There comes a time when you swim or sink
So I jumped in the drink
'Cause I couldn't make myself clear

Maybe I wrote in invisible ink
Oh I've tried to think
How I could have made it appear

But another illustration is wasted
'Cause the results are the same
I feel like a ghost who's trying to move your hands
Over some Ouija board in the hopes I can spell out my name

What some take for magic at first glance
Is just sleight of hand depending on what you believe
Something gets lost when you translate
It's hard to keep straight
Perspective is everything

And I know now which is which and what angle I oughta look at it from
I suppose I should be happy to be misread
Better be that than some of the other things I have become

But nobody wants to hear this tale
The plot is clichéd, the jokes are stale
And baby we've all heard it all before
Oh I could get specific but
Nobody needs a catalog
With details of love I can't sell anymore

And aside from that, this chain of reaction,
Baby, is losing a link
Though I'd hope you'd know what I tried to tell you
And if you don't I could draw you a picture in invisible ink

But nobody wants to hear this tale
The plot is clichéd, the jokes are stale
And baby we've all heard it all before
Oh I could get specific but
Nobody needs a catalog
With details of love I can't sell anymore


Lyrics submitted by AgathaKavka, edited by ShootTheM14, strskeptic

Invisible Ink Lyrics as written by Clayton Scoble Aimee Mann

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

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Invisible Ink song meanings
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    General Comment

    To me, she's a girl who is trying to tell someone something that he just doesn't understand. No matter how hard she tries to explain, or illustrate, it's invisible to him. I love the line "I feel like a ghost who's trying to move your handsover some ouija board in the hopes I can spell out my name." She's trying really hard to make him understand and to love and value her, but in the end, it's her doing all the movement and work like someone playing Ouija. She knows things have lost the glamour of their initial attraction, but she can't explain why and he doesn't see it the same way she does, so they can't fix things. My other favorite line is "I suppose I should be happy to be misread, better be that than some of the other things I have become." I think she's saying that in a way, it's good he doesn't understand... because she doesn't think he'll like the person she is now, anyway.

    This is a wonderful song, and sends chills down my spine along with most of Aimee's other songs.

    ShatteredPoetesson October 16, 2004   Link

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