Length of Love

Well, to me, the song is about falling for someone, whether it's infatuation, a crush or some kind of actual love. What happens is this- You want to be with the person. You get cheery and everytyhing is new. Consequently, you're spending less time with your friends, maybe you never find time for them while you're buzzing over this amazing person you've fallen for.

You think "maybe I should spend more time with my old friends soon", but you keep putting it off and after a while, hence the line "I've had no sense of time since we started this thing out"

Your friends will begin to see your relationship as someting that's got you locked away from the actual world. And you know that people will be saying this about you, and therefore you tell your special one that "There is a bitter breed, oh sweetheart They will be watching you sometimes With their bitter hearts"... And in the same breath you say "But we are through with these"...

You think that you're doing a romantic thing by giving up everything for this one person. If circumstances were different, you might have been right, but the situation doesn't require you to give anything up to be with this person- you just choose to cut everything else out of your everyday life.

And you still don't see that it's all because you're seeing the whole shebang through pink love-goggles and if you'd just take them off for a while and be rational, you'd see that you're basically getting too involved in something that's still new, fresh and passionate. The passion doesn't have to die just because you decide to hang out with your old friends every now and then, but you don't see this and you think "this is the lengths I'll have to go to in the name of love".

I think the line "We want strong summer love, the most robust of blood // Just to stay awake" simply means that this new thing is exciting as hell, and you think it has swept you into a dream world, but in fact it's just because it makes your life less boring (the "just to stay awake"-line hints at this, methinks)

And to me, "salacious removal" could easily mean "getting removed from your previous life because you're feeling frisky/horny/whatever". ANd this is what you should combat.

In short: If you have a crush on someone, don't lose your brain into the big cauldron of infatuated passion, and try to stay in touch with what your life is about and waht gave you meaning before.

the lyrics are wrong, it's COMBAT SALACIOUS REMOVAL

I wonder why he always makes up his songs? I mean, that's a silly thing to say. I mean, why he feels he gets a better song by not writing what he knows?

Maybe this song has the answer. The public contain the vicious breed that prey on celebrity spouses.

I like that he claims he feels timeless, and can only observe the length of their relationship as if it's an actual physical length, like a creeper. Reminds me of the opening lines of Take you on a cruise - "i'm timeless like a broken watch".

i think he's also talking about his penis. seriously

This is one of that "personal" songs that really come out directly of your heart and you don't want to tell everyone what inspired you to write it cause it totally screws it for you.

Pikka Bird: your essay is pretty good, pretty long too =p I have to admit that, but like most love songs it can mean something totally different to someone else so no one will know what paul was thinking of when he wrote it but he gave us an amazing song to enjoy =)

This song, for me, is pretty clear? Its about dating someone you tecnically shouldn't, such as an exs best friend or your friends ex etc. ("I've got friends in need, sweetheart ")

"since we started this thing out" makes it sound like such a big leap. A big decision and a big moment.

In normal circumstances he could start dating this girl and see what happens, they could gradually fall in love etc. but with making such a big leap as to go public with someone he shouldnt be with according to others he has to convince her that, "This could be destiny" and that its worth all the grief they'll get off others.

Hes trying to say that ofcourse those with "Bitter hearts" will always say crap "They will be watching you sometimes With their bitter hearts". But he wants uncomplicated "summer love"

its about his dick lol

paul banks said he would never reveal the meaning of this song i have no idea what it means, maybe there is no measure of how much love you can give

Hum... This song is beautiful and it's Vale's new favorite song ! It's very very cool and sentimental to me...

It's also my favorite song off Antics. It seems it's not one of the most popular ones though. I think the lyrics aren't too obscure: it's about how far someone can go for love. He went too far and he has to get bnacl to "his friends in need". The "complex salacious removal" is him saying no to sex. The second verse about about wanting "strong summer love", something that he sees in teenagers maybe?