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"
In a dream that I cant seem to shake she is standing alone.
By the fence I see tears in her eyes,
why she cries, I just dont know.
What a mess that I make of my days.
Then theres you, you're a mess to be made.
The dream starts to fade away..
So youre leaving for months at a time,
I'll help you out the door.
Once your gone I'll just stare out the window.
Please could you please come back home.
What a mess that I make of my days,
trying to save myself, save myself.
Then theres you, your a mess to be made.
a canvas only paint could change.
And a voice on the other end of the phone,
says, "why dont you write a song about it."
Well here it goes.
I was raised on something that you'll never know.
Id' hate this place if it werent for the waves,
if it werent for the fact that you love it. Where they measure a man on the money he spends,
well my love is not a bank statement.
What a mess that i make of my days,
trying to save myself, save myself.
Then theres you, you're a mess to be made,
a mess to be made, a mess to be made,
and the dream starts to fade away.
By the fence I see tears in her eyes,
why she cries, I just dont know.
What a mess that I make of my days.
Then theres you, you're a mess to be made.
The dream starts to fade away..
So youre leaving for months at a time,
I'll help you out the door.
Once your gone I'll just stare out the window.
Please could you please come back home.
What a mess that I make of my days,
trying to save myself, save myself.
Then theres you, your a mess to be made.
a canvas only paint could change.
And a voice on the other end of the phone,
says, "why dont you write a song about it."
Well here it goes.
I was raised on something that you'll never know.
Id' hate this place if it werent for the waves,
if it werent for the fact that you love it. Where they measure a man on the money he spends,
well my love is not a bank statement.
What a mess that i make of my days,
trying to save myself, save myself.
Then theres you, you're a mess to be made,
a mess to be made, a mess to be made,
and the dream starts to fade away.
Lyrics submitted by jessay
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The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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Silent Planet
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Yo La Tengo
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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,
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/
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
This is one of my favorite songs by the Format.
First of all, I always hear the start of the second verse as "So you're leaving, four months at a time," which to me means that the girl he's singing to is a student who goes away for entire semesters.
"I'll help you out the door," goes along with this because he knows she has to go, but can't let her go. "Once you're gone I'll just stare out the window, please could you please come back home?"
It reminds me a lot of my relationship. My girlfriend and I go to separate schools in different towns, and watching her leave to go back to school is one of the hardest things I'll ever have to do.
"In a dream that I can't seem to shake she is, she is standing alone," is his insecurity. He's terrified their relationship is going to end because of the distance, and all he can see is them each ending up alone.
"What a mess that I make of my days, trying to save myself, save myself. Then theres you, your a mess to be made." I see this as his admission that he's having trouble dealing with the separation. His life is crumbling because all he can think of is the pain, and he sees her as having a high chance of leaving him, or finding someone else, giving her a reason to leave him: "A mess to be made."
Anyway, this song is to me the story of my initial fears before my girlfriend and I began the 'long distance' stage of our relationship. Insecurity and unfamiliar distance are both very frightening and uncomfortable aspects to add to a relationship, no matter how much you love someone.
Hope someone got something out of this (my first) contribution to this site.
Cheers.
I don't think it's really about four months at a time but I love your interpretation all the more, I am very much in the same exact situation as you and I wish she could just come back home, I play this song on repeat constantly thinking about her and the whole "Insecurity and unfamiliar distance are both very frightening and uncomfortable aspects to add to a relationship, no matter how much you love someone. " is just spot on, go SteveRahey!