Gone For Good Lyrics
The train is getting way too loud
I've got to leave here, my girl
And get on with my lonely life
Just lay the ring on the rail
For the wheels to nullify
I let you stay and you paid no rent
I spent twelve long months on the lam
That's enough sitting on the fence
For the fear of breaking dams
In the logic of love
And go out of my head
You love a sinking stone
That will never elope
So get used to the lonesome, girl
You must atone some
Don't leave me no phone number there
To put that poisoned pill to your ear
But now I stand on honest ground
You want to fight for this love
But honey, you cannot wrestle a dove
So baby, it's clear
But you sat on your hands
And lost your only chance
Go back to your hometown
Get your feet on the ground
And stop floating around
In the logic of love
And go out of my head
You love a sinking stone
That will never elope
So get used to the lonesome, girl
You must atone some
Don't leave me no phone number there
i think the worst feeling about this song, is realizing its about you.
Pretty much, yeah. Can't say it any better than that.
Pretty much, yeah. Can't say it any better than that.
I agree with you 100%.
I agree with you 100%.
I was in a relationship for almost a year that I didn't want to be in. It sent me into depression. I coped with it in all the wrong ways.
I was in a relationship for almost a year that I didn't want to be in. It sent me into depression. I coped with it in all the wrong ways.
Two verses that encapsulate this experience:
Two verses that encapsulate this experience:
"Untie me, I've said no vows The train is getting way too loud I've got to leave here, my girl And get on with my lonely life"
"Untie me, I've said no vows The train is getting way too loud I've got to leave here, my girl And get on with my lonely life"
and
and
"It took me all of a year To put that poisoned pill to your ear But now I stand on honest ground"
"It took me all of a year To put that poisoned pill to your ear But now I stand on honest ground"
Don't hold emotions in.
Don't hold emotions in.
My last boyfriend had customised ring tones on his phone for his favourite peeps and had this song for me, when I called him. Ironically, he broke up with me 3 weeks ago cause he was no longer in love! I think this song is about a guy who has tried to break up with his girlfriend cause he realizes that there issues are unsolvebale, she doesn’t see it that way and is trying desperately to keep the relationship going. It sounds like they have been down this road one too many times and he has realized that’s it all over (took me all of the year to put the poison pill to your ear), he's decided that he can’t just stay with her to keep her happy – and free of loniliness. He’s utterly determined to end it as much as she is equally determined to make it work. He’s found the fatal flaw in the logic of love – that you can love someone but not be “in” love with someone.
Your way of interpreting it relates so much to me.
Your way of interpreting it relates so much to me.
and yes, all should listen to the version of this song off the 'So Says I' EP much better.
and yes, all should listen to the version of this song off the 'So Says I' EP much better.
@justcallmeparis I think you've nailed it. I've always seen this song as about a guy who wants out of a relationship, tried to get her to end it (the poison pill), and has finally had enough.
@justcallmeparis I think you've nailed it. I've always seen this song as about a guy who wants out of a relationship, tried to get her to end it (the poison pill), and has finally had enough.
I though that the meaning of this song was clear, until I saw the diverse opinions here. This is definitely not about the lack of commitment of the 1st-person-voice. In fact, up until he had a "turn in [his] head" he wanted to marry her. His problem was that he, like Hamlet, was unable to make a decision.
The voice is saying things like "you sat on your hands", "atone"... this chick could get with the idea that they were engaged. She was a bad fiancé. Anyway, he plants a "poison pill" in her ear, which is a strategy used in business to increase the likelihood of negative when someone want to attempt a hostile take over. Here it's meant to say that he knew that she was screwed up but rather than just calling her out for her bad behavior, he sabotaged the relationship, which by the way is not cool, but I guess he stoped because he says he's standing on high [moral] ground... I guess he's doing the right thing. He probably tortured her emotionally after he found out she was being a dog with his best friend.
He's also saying that in the end she wanted to salvage the relationship... she wanted to fight for it... by calling himself a dove he's saying that he wants peace, which may be a double entondre for (1) he's not going to oblige her conversation on the subject because to him it's a done deal or "clear" (probably ignoring her... giving her the silent treatment), and (2) He finally wants peace and tranquility in his life with a cheatin' woman, so there is no fight left in him.
Now it's her turn to be the lonely one... you don't know what you have until it walk out on you.
J. Mercer is the best writer of our time... amazing.
What is a "sinking stone" a metaphor for?
@twoxlove The sinking stone may be a reference to "I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be. That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea" from St. Louis Blues by WC Handy. Earlier in the song reference is made to Teen Angel by Mark Dinning. The dove reference might be Elliott Smith's True Love, "tranquil as a dove people that have lost their true love." There is a lot going on in this song. Could probably find more if spent some time on it.
@twoxlove The sinking stone may be a reference to "I got the St. Louis blues, blues as I can be. That man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea" from St. Louis Blues by WC Handy. Earlier in the song reference is made to Teen Angel by Mark Dinning. The dove reference might be Elliott Smith's True Love, "tranquil as a dove people that have lost their true love." There is a lot going on in this song. Could probably find more if spent some time on it.
It might be about a guy wanting to leave his girlfriend/wife after she cheated on him. If you listen to the live version on the So Says I EP he says "Get your feet on the ground and stop fucking around"
I don't think it really changes the meaning between the album version and EP (demo) version. I think most people use "fucking around" to mean "wasting time" far more often than to mean cheating. I think she's just a flighty person and he doesn't want to commit to her because of it.
I don't think it really changes the meaning between the album version and EP (demo) version. I think most people use "fucking around" to mean "wasting time" far more often than to mean cheating. I think she's just a flighty person and he doesn't want to commit to her because of it.
@chachi0222 I like it better as "Floating around." To me, floating implies she is somewhat aware of the problems but is hovering in uncertainty while hoping they resolve themselves, similar to the narrator. "Fucking around" implies she's confident and committed and has no idea of his emotions.
@chachi0222 I like it better as "Floating around." To me, floating implies she is somewhat aware of the problems but is hovering in uncertainty while hoping they resolve themselves, similar to the narrator. "Fucking around" implies she's confident and committed and has no idea of his emotions.
i do find a fatal flaw in the logic of love and i thank this song for putting words to that feeling. geniuses.
It's quite evident there is guy wrting this song, and he's been suffocated so much to the point he's telling her to go away. She wants to fight for this love, but he's incapable of loving that way. He criticizes her for wanting all these things and not doing anything about it; except waiting for it to come round. She just sits on her hands and cuts her own wings. He's waited and waited for it to change, but now he's tired of it.
and the IS a fatal flaw in the logic of love... you want it but you don't work for it. you love the person but you've still decided to leave. "Don't leave me no phone number there..." is a great line, cuz surely he'd try to call her again, since it was so difficult for him to put the poison pill to her ear.... LOVE THESE LYRICS.
I think that they were engaged, but he left her because he couldn't handle being in love. I haven't read over all comments, so sorry if i'm reiterating anything.
"I let you stay and you paid no rent I spent twelve long months on the lam That's enough sitting on the fence For the fear of breaking dams"
A way for him to somehow take the blame off of himself. He no longer is going to keep his thoughts to himself. He's no longer afraid to "burn bridges"
"It took me all of a year To put that poisoned pill to your ear But now I stand on honest ground"
He couldn't tell her how he felt for a year, but now that he has, he wants to get away quickly. Now that he's told her, the guilt has gone away. He feels better.
"You want to fight for this love But honey, you cannot wrestle a dove So baby, it's clear"
She never did anything to "fight" for their love. She's too weak. He blames her too.
AVC: In "Gone For Good," you talk about the "fatal flaw in the logic of love." What is that flaw?
JM: I guess I felt that there were too many things that love relied on, or that love required—one of them is physical attraction. I think I was just going through a period where I had this girlfriend who… Whether it's true or not, I felt that she was attracted to me for the wrong reasons. I was just having issues with this girl, and the thing that I really wanted from her was this pure, sort of regular love. And she was this person who had been through all kinds of shit emotionally, and I felt like she liked me because of the band and stuff. If somebody loved you for your money, it would give you the same feeling. Then it put me in this state where I just kept thinking about the nature of attraction and of love, and just how basically unfair it is; just how much it relies on the physical side. And that's such an important part of it, and it's something that I love about it, but in that situation, I just felt like it was artificial or something. So that fatal flaw in the logic of love would be that love is essentially a selfish act sometimes—it's something you take from someone, or you seek out because of this very instinctual animal side, the lust side of things. Therefore it's inherently unfair. I mean, there are people who won't be considered attractive, and they'll be left behind. We have this thing where we think that there's something universal and true about love, that somehow it's what's inside that counts, when in reality, to a certain extent, that's just not true. It's not actually what counts the most, and that's the fatal flaw. It's a really cynical look at it.
It sounds like the song is about a man who was engaged to this girl, but gets cold feet and decides to leave her. He is realizing that he's done a lot for her and she has done next to nothing for him, and he doesn't want to be with a person who just takes. The song is him explaining the reasons for why he left, such as:"You want to jump and dance, but you sat on your hands, and lost your only chance" meaning he was put off by how unconfident and unsure of herself as she was at times. he'd been with her over a year, and it took him that long to decide he couldn't go through with it. The part about "You love a sinking stone, who will never elope" is about how his love is fading, and he's decided he will never marry her, even though she really does love him. Finally when he does tell her, she is shocked and obviously feels terribly sad that her soon-to-be-marraige has fallen apart. However, he feels no regret and tells her "go back to your hometown, and stop floating around" (meaning he wants her to get her life back under control near her family/friends so that she can be happy again later) He wants her to get used to the feeling and not to mope about it; (again, "stop floating around") "dont leave me no phone number there" means that he doesn't want to contact her again, he just wants them both to move their separate ways.
The speaker is explaining how he wants to leave his girlfriend/wife after a year of being together. I think they are just married, perhaps engaged, since he mentions his vows and the ring. I think he's struggled with the decision because he doesnt want to hurt her feelings but has finally worked up the courage. He is telling her to go home and forget abot him because he is too fleeting to be in love with her. In the end, he feels better for being honest and getting his true feelings out in the open.
I can totally relate to this song, because sometimes it's really hard to share your true feelings. In the end though, its better to be honest even if it does hurt the other person.