Here on these cliffs of Dover
So high you can't see over
And while your head is spinning
Hold tight, it's just beginning

You come from parents wanton
A childhood rough and rotten
I come from wealth and beauty
Untouched by work or duty

And oh, my love, my love
And oh, my love, my love
We both go down together

I found you, a tattooed tramp
A dirty daughter from the labor camps
I laid you down on the grass of a clearing
You wept but your soul was willing

And oh, my love, my love
And oh, my love, my love
We both go down together

And my parents will never consent to this love
But I hold your hand

Meet me on my vast veranda
My sweet, untouched Miranda
And while the seagulls are crying
We fall but our souls are flying

And oh, my love, my love
And oh, my love, my love
And oh, my love, oh my love
And oh, my love, my love
We both go down together


Lyrics submitted by sethbrown

We Both Go Down Together Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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We Both Go Down Together song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    It would be very nearly impossible for it to be a prequel, lest Leslie have died directly from her mother's impact -- never having been born at all, but it was implied that she was "birthed" in the lyrics, so again, there's no way this could be a prequel. Furthermore, it was stated that Leslie was "birthed down a dry revine" while the girl in this song would have been washed away into the ocean.

    As for this song, I think it is about suicide, the opening lyrics being the end of the story -- "Here on these cliffs of Dover / so high you can't see over / and while your head is spinning / hold tight, it's just beginning"

    It is hard to say, though, whether or not the girl jumped alone or if the boy did in fact push her, up until that point, believing he would jump off with her. "We both go down together" is sung very vindictively, but he pledges his allegiance to her several times throughout the song. Overall, I think it is about a dual suicide, off the wonderful white cliffs of dover.

    halationon March 16, 2005   Link

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