The Good Life

Inmates

52 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Inmates Lyrics

	


When you said you loved me, did you really love me? 
Or did the words just spill out like drool on my pillow? 
Because I was naked when you said those words
But I felt covered in your whispered worship
And as you passed out fast on my shoulder
I imagined a child 
Waiting so sad and still for his mom to arrive

Did she leave you an orphan 
In that big brown leather chair? 
Said, "Don't you move a muscle, kid 
I'll be back in twenty years" 
You were scared, you were lonely 
But you must've been aware
Life is a series of callouses, this is just another layer
So build them up, tough it out, yeah, that's your skin
Don't let anyone under there

When you said you needed me, did you really need me?
Or was it just someone? Oh, you'd take anything
Am I first on that list of yours, or am I second, or third? 
So who's that ahead of me, some harlot from Pittsburgh? 
Or Detroit, Santa Fe, or San Diego? 
I know you're so alone 
But how much affection does one guy really need?

Did you date a lot in high school? 
Were you always chasing girls? 
Couldn't you find some young valentine 
To steal your heart for good? 
Were you content, or contemptible? 
Are your memories pleasant? 
Or is it a string of endless flings of bitter resentment? 
Seems that what you want and what you need doesn't mean a thing
We're just here for the taking

When you said you'd hurt me, did you think you hurt me? 
Are you really that cocky? Oh, what a heartbreaker! 
Well, I've got my armor, yeah, I've been through some battles before
And I met your old girlfriend, she said, "Baby, don't bother" 
She told me you told her you'd hurt her
Funny, how familiar 
So how much of this relationship was rehearsed?

Did you act out as a child? 
Were you always crying wolf? 
Attention starved, you tried too hard 
Just to get someone to look
Now you're the wolf in second-hand clothing
I'm the sheep in a pleated skirt
It's an awkward form of payback 
But if it works for you it works
It's that I recognize your off-white lies
Still, I lie beside you, and that's what really hurts 

When you said you'd leave me, well, why haven't you left me? 
What are we still doing here, so desperate for company? 
There's a greyhound on Jackson Street
There's an airport in Council Bluffs
Hell, there's a car in the driveway; fifty ways to get lost
But as I hold you and listen to you sleeping 
I'm starting to wonder if you really believe 
That you'd ever really leave

Would you leave me an orphan
In that big brown leather chair? 
The one you've lugged around from town to town
For all these years
It's the trophy of your childhood
Like a shark's tooth or gator skin boots
But this one holds you prisoner; it holds me prisoner too
What we need to set us free is to let go of each other
Let go of everything

When I said I loved you, it was because I loved you
When I said I needed you, well, I really need you
Yeah, I guess you hurt me
For once you're a man of your words
Well, guess what? I'm leaving 
I can't be your prisoner

I won't

	

Submitted by

rengalous On Oct 04, 2004

Album of the Year

Off the Beaten Path

The Competition

O'Rourke's, 1:20 A.M.

Your Birthday Present

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.

52 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

Cover art for Inmates lyrics by Good Life, The

by shineitdown

18y ago

i wish i had written this song.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by oonah.

17y ago

I usually do not have the patience to listen to an entire nine minute song, except for maybe this one. it's so beautiful and honest. My interpertation is based from my own personal experiences..which i will not get into here. This to me i about a very lonely, empty, man who takes, and takes and takes from the women in his life. He is desperate for affection and cannot be fulfilled from the woman(women) who love him. It's an awful feeling being with someone who is just using you. Yet, you stay anyway because you love them.

It’s that I recognize your off-white lies Still, I lie beside you, and that’s what really hurts

beautiful. so sad.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by wonderfulmetropolis

16y ago

My favorite line is probably from the acoustic version of this:

Seems that what you want and what you need get's stuck between Your lack of good judgment.

Users:

Reply · 1 Share

by cuppincakes 15y ago

First... I made an account for the sole purpose of commenting on this, haha.

I would have to agree, that line is simply amazing.

Not Valid

by Imposs1ble

20y ago

This could quite possibly be my favorite nine minute song of all time. I mean that in all seriousness. Even with my extreme iPod syndrome that requires me to switch songs constantly, I can always play this one all the way through. Just a beautiful sound. Done with the fanboy rant now.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Tromperie

20y ago

This song is... amazing. The entire song just intertwines, making it one thought, but then it has so many different parts. It's simply beautiful and probably the only song I can sing all the way through a capella.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by funnyhowfamiliar

20y ago

this is my all-time favourite good life. tim kasher is fucking incredible. respect, dawg.

im drunk off white wine.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Friction!

20y ago

This is my favorite Good Life song, and probably the best song i ever heard from Tim, including his Cursive stuff. He sang it alone on stage when i saw him in DC, and i swear everyone was staring at him as if he was a God. It was amazing.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by cuddledumplin

20y ago

I love this song. I love her voice, and I agree that this song is great. Honestly, I've only recently gotten into the Good Life. I never thought Tim could sing. Not that I mind the Cursive screaming )I love Cursive), but I think he's a good singer.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by guitarchik

20y ago

I adore this song. It just reminds me of a late-night conversation between two people who know the relationship is doomed. They're bringing up all the old hurts and accusations. The conclusion is inevitable.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by i rock

20y ago

i love the acoustic verson with just tim. it's amazing.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

...