Notice me
Take my hand
Why are we
Strangers when
Our love is strong
Why carry on without me?

Everytime I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
And everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face, it's haunting me
I guess I need you baby

I make believe
That you are here
It's the only way
I see clear
What have I done
You seem to move on easy

And everytime I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
And everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face, you're haunting me
I guess I need you baby

I may have made it rain
Please forgive me
My weakness caused you pain
And this song is my sorry

Ohhhh

At night I pray
That soon your face
Will fade away

And everytime I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
And everytime I see you in my dreams
I see your face, you're haunting me
I guess I need you baby




Lyrics submitted by spickly

Everytime song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

181 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +5
    General Comment

    I believe that the song and the video coinside more closely than people think. I don't really think it's about reincarnation as in reborn physically, but more so mentally. Britney and Justin were having problems. Things went wrong. Britney felt like a part of her died. She and Justin tried to get back together (hence the guy saving her in the bathtub) but things didn't work out. Britney was reborn then, because a part of her life was gone. She no longer was the same person after her breakup with justin. So long, goodbye, the end. Take a hike :)

    TraLaLaon June 20, 2005   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    Britney Spears is miles away from anything I would listen to, I admit I have a broad taste but I tend to lean towards guitar driven music, rock, hard rock, some metal but basically anything that is finely crafted and meaningful.

    Perhaps that's why I respect this song so much because it is the opposite of anything she has ever done and because she wrote it herself. Whilst every other song I have heard by her has been throw away trash with over processed vocals and hollow lyrics this song has true feeling, it's written from real experience and as a result everyone can relate to it.

    It's not even as if she has attempted to display a hidden intelligence or depth, the lyrics are very simple but drip with meaning and sentiment and for the first time you can actually hear her natural voice and it sounds half decent! Even the live SNL rendition on youtube goes a long way to answering those who claim she is unable to sing.

    If it was any other song by her I would hate it but this song is just so beautifully honest and mournful and while normally she is one of the worst offenders for spewing artificial nonsense with no relevance to anyone's life but this song is the opposite, even the piano goes through you, the first time I heard it my spine tingled and as much as I HATED to admit it I loved the song right away.

    This is such a simple song but it's sincerity is undeniable and that is why you will find the most unlikely people admitting to liking it.

    I'm a big, hairy, grumpy kinda fella but 30 seconds of this song has me wanting to blub like a baby and reaching for my phone to text my wife how much I love her.

    Like I said, all her other music is awful but this song connects with me in a way only a few songs ever have, it's tragic and fragile and honest and it's beautiful because of those things.

    I didn't choose to like this song, it pained me to admit I liked this song but I truly believe there are few people who's hair doesn't stand on end when listening.

    This song is so different, so superior to anything else she has ever done because it has EFFORTLESS SINCERITY.

    IMO

    deefatmanon August 16, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I don't really like Britney Spears all that much, but I have to agree that the suicide stuff is all fake. You need to re-watch the video and it shows her bleeding from the head, then she sinks. The video is talking about reincarnation. Right when she dies, a new baby is born.

    LostProphets417on April 23, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This is the ONLY song that I like from Britney Spears. I think it's rather relaxing in some ways.

    xangelicxon August 26, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is just so gentle and pretty. I love it. Beautifully sad.

    personno.1on July 26, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    she wrote this song. she puts her fingers more in this work. you can feel her emotion. it's so britney spears. so good.

    sdlucianon March 21, 2010   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    The meaning of this song is so obvious its hilarious that so many people have got it wrong! It is so obviously about Britney and Justin.

    Notice me - Justin is ignoring her and focussing on moving on with his life and it upsets her Take my hand - she wants him to pay her attention again Why are we Strangers when Our love is strong - she knows they both still love eachother and wants to get back together but they're strangers now because he's too stubborn and proud to give her another chance, and won't let her back into his life Why carry on without me? - she knows he still loves her but won't admit it so she asks him 'what is the point of carrying on without me because we both know you still love me'

    Everytime I try to fly I fall without my wings I feel so small - everytime she tries to move on she messes up (random las vegas marriage, kf marriage etc.) and feels like crap I guess I need you baby - she is reluctantly admitting she needs him and she made a mistake And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, it's haunting me I guess I need you baby -she cant stop thinking about him

    I make believe That you are here It's the only way I see clear - she imagines he's there coz it makes it easier, which anyone who has gone thru a break up with someone they love can probably relate to What have I done - she admits she made a mistake with the cheatin You seem to move on easy - it hurts her that he's movin on easy, gettin successful and more famous gfs like cameron Diaz

    And everytime I try to fly I fall without my wings I feel so small I guess I need you baby And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me I guess I need you baby

    I may have made it rain - the rain are his tears which she caused by cheating, also doubles as a ref. to the rain in CMAR Please forgive me - she asks for his forgiveness My weakness caused you pain - her weakness refers to her cheating which hurt him And this song is my sorry - her apology

    Ohhhh - she's longing and miserable

    At night I pray That soon your face Will fade away - she knows he wont come back and so even though she longs for him she knows she has to forget him so she prays his face will fade from her mind

    And everytime I try to fly I fall without my wings I feel so small I guess I need you baby And everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me I guess I need you baby

    It seems like they were in love but Britney cheated (hence why he was so bitter, because if it was his doing he wouldnt really make bitter songs like "cry me a river" and "what goes around comes around.") She cheated and he broke it off even though he still loved her, she still loved him but initially didnt care that much about the split, but after he started to move on she realised she missed him and wanted him back and loved him, but it's too late because even if he still loved her, he was too proud to give her another chance because she hurt him so much; she knows she messed it up and this song was her apology to cry me a river, and he replied to this with "what goes around comes around."

    LeiNotton October 08, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This is the first and one of the three songs out of all Britney's songs that I love. I'm so surprised (impressed) that this song was actually written by her. How come this is even better than those written by professionals? The lines are simple, yet the feeling within is strong. 'Everytime I see you in my dreams I see your face, you're haunting me' Those unforgettable faces do haunt us somehow. It's usually hard for broken pairs to move on, and obviously it's been tough, extremely tough for her to, and Justin was already moving on quite well. Not a Britney fan, but undeniably this is a touching song, it made me wanna pray for her. It's a touching, miserable, sad song ('this song is my sorry')and I've to say, I love it.

    ycmmduzkon April 08, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is about what she did to Justin Timberlake. I look back and he released "Cry me a River" in 2002, and she released "Everytime" in 2003.

    She's basically saying she's sorry for everything she did.. "My weakness caused you pain, and this song is my sorry"

    This is one of my favorites by her... They were young..it didn't work. Poor thing..I am sure that song had some painful meaning for her..

    mizzmoxxieon August 04, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i was never a huge fan of Brit, until this song. Hearing reminded me of all the times i've felt broken, sad and hurt by guys. I think it touches all girls, but esspecially those in situations similar to this. It's cool to hear songs like this from her. It's really heartfelt, and desrcibes my love life perfectly. I love the part "i make believe that you are here, its the only way i see clear."

    forelsket segon April 15, 2004   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
nominative was the case they gave me
Wow, Owls!
1
Album art
shoestring (web of dharma, with dr chud)
Michael Graves
Album art
what's love got to do with it (remix)
Warren G
1
Album art
Du var inte där för mig
Lisa Ekdahl
1
Album art
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in "There was a time you opened up every doorway you didn't mind if everything wasn't your way" then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else, "Don't pull away that goes against what you told me I look in your eyes I realize what you've sold me is love in a vacuum" so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it, "I think you've changed but you insist that that's not true" quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum", "You look so strange, so distant that you're hardly you Now I can see how you have been acting different You say it's me but I know that it isn't it's love in a vacuum" but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines "You will be lonely if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have, "Love in a vacuum and that's not enough love in a vacuum You will be lonely you'll be the only one who feels this way You will be lonely if you leave me alone You will be lonely you'll be the only one who feels this way it's just not enough" you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment, "You will be lonely you'll be the only one who feels this way it's just not enough and just wait you will be lonely Love in a vacuum Love in a vacuum and that's not enough Love in a vacuum". 'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song. Quintessential Aimee Mann.