This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
When she said that you were through
I thought that there was
Nothing that I could do
Just because she ran right here
Doesn't mean I interfered
Now I'm wondering
If we can feel the same
'Cause she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
She once told me how she felt
Didn't just want me
To hear it from someone else
There were unknowns she couldn't know
But she hoped you two would grow
And when you didn't
She was brought to me in pain
And she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
If it's just a little fling
A simple thing
I'll try not to pretend
If it's just for jealousy
She's using me
That might be hard to mend
Oh what else can I do
But try to give her
More than she got from you
And when she wakes up suddenly
And she says your name to me
I'll just hope it's force of habit
And not need
'Cause she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
Oh tell me what is fair
When nothing's wrong and
She just stares
Like she's just waiting
I thought that there was
Nothing that I could do
Just because she ran right here
Doesn't mean I interfered
Now I'm wondering
If we can feel the same
'Cause she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
She once told me how she felt
Didn't just want me
To hear it from someone else
There were unknowns she couldn't know
But she hoped you two would grow
And when you didn't
She was brought to me in pain
And she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
If it's just a little fling
A simple thing
I'll try not to pretend
If it's just for jealousy
She's using me
That might be hard to mend
Oh what else can I do
But try to give her
More than she got from you
And when she wakes up suddenly
And she says your name to me
I'll just hope it's force of habit
And not need
'Cause she keeps whispering your name
She keeps on whispering your name
Like she's just waiting
Oh tell me what is fair
When nothing's wrong and
She just stares
Like she's just waiting
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I think, if a woman was singing it, what's happened is that she (person A) has split up from her boyfriend and hes got a new girlfriend (person B) who happened to be good friends with person A and when he decides to break up with person B she runs to person B's house and person A lets her stay but person B is still pining after him.
If a man was singing it I think it may be from the point of someone who either has a good friend or a brother who has got the girl he fancies. He decides to split with her and she runs to the persons house where she thinks she'll be better off even though she still loves him and that the person singing just wants them to all get along together.
@Joyet <br /> Alternately, all three parties could be female, which was always my take when I heard Alison Moyet cover this song. <br /> <br /> Hers was the first time hearing it for me, so I was then unaware that it had been written by a male with the same gender pronouns in the lyrics.<br /> <br /> Either way, her voice is just dripping with emotion as always. I love a female vocalist with a lot on the low end of their range.
As someone mentioned, it might have differing dynamics relative to gender. The song was written by Jules Shear, who happens to be male. Alison Moyet just didn't bother to change the gender pronouns, which works just fine.
-but, pretty much, yeah, a straightforward love-triangle lament that the one you love still holds feelings for another. Made all the more haunting when that person remains with you while plainly pining for another.
Bonus trivia: Jules Shear is also the author of "All Through The Night", popularized in a beautiful cover by Cyndi Lauper. ; )