Save Your Scissors

He has the voice of an angel.

City And Colour's first single is "Save Your Scissors", a song that addresses an on-again off-again relationship that Dallas had for many years, in which a girl wanted him to be somebody that he essentially wasn't. "It's sort of a metaphor for girls who have tried to change me from who I am and what I want to be, into what they want. And it's like, no, save your scissors for somebody else. Don't try to change me cause it's not gonna work." In one lyric he asks: "Why does it always seem that every time I turn around, somebody else falls in love with me?" Dallas explains: "I think that a lot of girls tend to think I'm somebody who I'm not, or I'm something different from what I am. I don't say that in a conceited way. I think when you put yourself out in the public eye people think they have a relationship with you that they really don't."

From an interview he did.

Either way, it's a beautiful song, and amazing to hear live.

When I listen to this song, I believe that Dallas is referring to a situation where someone has feelings for you but they aren't returned.

"maybe next time will be the right time and maybe next time will be your time"

• Maybe the next time the person falls for someone, it will be mutual?

"So save your scissors For someone else's skin My surface is so tough I don't think the blade will dig in"

• Basically save your love for someone else, because I'm too confused/different/messed-up to return the feelings right now. Give up because I don' think you can make me feel for you.

"Save your strength Save your wasted time There's no way that I want you to be left behind"

• I don't want you wasting your time on me, and end up on your own because you've spent your life being hung up on me.

"So why does it always seem That every time I turn around Sombody falls in love with me."

• This situation is a common occurence.

"This has never been my sole intention And I have never claimed to have patents on such inventions."

• It's not my intention on wooing girls.

This is just my opinion. But I believe it to be accurate as it doesn't really leave any un-answered lines. Tell me what you think.

Wow, I've been reading everyones comments and they're about suicide?...

Whilst thats a posibility, Look at the rest of his work, they're not very... suicidally based..

To me, I suggest, that this is partially, to do with ex girlfriends, or, malevolent / malicious people... If we take it in the example of and argument;

'So go on And I will refrain' - ' Go on, say what you will, i'll 'refrain' and just take it'...

'And I'll keep on running this neverending race' - The endless arguments / confrontations that he could be having with a certain individual...

'maybe next time will be the right time and maybe next time will be your time' - 'Maybe next time, you'l be able to get to me, maybe next time will be the time that person will be sucessful in getting to him...'

'So save your scissors For someone else's skin' - scissors being the harsh words, so, save them, don't bother, because they wont bother him/ hurt him because...

'My surface is so tough' - He is thicked skinned...

'I don't think the blade will dig in' - those harsh words will just run off...

'There's no way that I want you to be left behind' - yet he shows compassion, he's saying, 'dont bother trying to hurt me, it wont work, i don't want you to loose your friends? or so forth, so, just stop and we'll forget it happened..." ? (this, will make more sense if my translation, of the last verse was true)

'This has never been my sole intention And I have never claimed to have patents on such inventions' - No idea on this, maybe a personal dig at someone that has said something?

'There is something that I must confess to you tonight.... And that is I expect nothing less from you tonight' - now, this, could be about an ex girlfriend, what if, he knew that she was always malicious deep down? so here he is 'confessing' that he had always known... if this is true, then then whole song would be somewhat of a warning to an ex girlfriend, telling her, to, 'save her malicious / harsh words' as they're not going to hurt him, he has always known that she wasn't that nice, and this confirms it...

this would probably make sense of the middle verse about paterns on inventions and falling in love?...

thats just what I'm thinking...

I totally disagree that this is about cutting or suicide. I think he is saying that he was in some sort of relationship with a girl, and she was trying to change and alter him, hence the "scissors". I think he's saying, "save your scissors for someone else's skin", as in I'm not going to become the cookie cutter person you want me to be, so you're wasting time, so go find someone else to configure. I love this song.

Holy shit

this is the first song i listened to of his side project, and i'm in love

i love the tempo, the lyrics are really beautiful, and yeah, he has a really nice voice

such a departure from Alexisonfire, and i kinda like that....

Telling someone to chill out? Maybe telling them not too worry too much about their weight; or telling them not to commit suicide?

i wonder what "everytime i turn around somebody falls in love with me" means???

this song is about an on again off again relationship dallas had with a past girlfriend and how she wanted him to change for her and he wouldn't

i have the feeling this might be about his growing fame and performing.

it deals with the "every time i turn around somebody falls in love with me" which would be all the groupie type girls..

and the whole "There is something that I must confess to you tonight " line which could just be his confessions through song, on stage.

and i think the whole save your scissors part is about refusing to change himself to better market his work.