She lifts her skirt up to her knees
Walks through the garden rows
With her bare feet laughing

I never learned to count my blessings
I choose instead to dwell
In my disasters

I walk on down the hill
Through grass grown tall
And brown and still
It's hard somehow
To let go of my pain

On past the busted back
Of that old and rusted Cadillac
That sinks into this field
Collecting rain

Will I always feel this way
So empty
So estranged?

And of these cut throat busted sunsets
These cold and damp white mornings
I have grown weary

If through my cracked and dusty
Dime store lips
I spoke these words out loud
Would no one hear me?

Lay your blouse across the chair
Let fall the flowers
From your hair
And kiss me
With that country mouth
So plain

Outside the rain is tapping
On the leaves
To me it sounds like
They're applauding us
The quiet love
We've made

Will I always feel this way
So empty
So estranged?

Well I looked my demons in the eyes
Lay bare my chest
Said do your best
To destroy me

See I've been to hell and back
So many times
I must admit
You kinda bore me

There's a lot of things
That can kill a man
There's a lot of ways
To die
Yes, and some already did
And walk beside me

There's a lot of things
I don't understand
Why so many people lie
It's the hurt I hide that fuels
The fire inside me

Will I always feel this way
So empty
So estranged?


Lyrics submitted by ewb, edited by superninjakitteh

Empty Lyrics as written by Ray Lamontagne

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Empty song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    I think it's about someone who has been through tough experiences that changed him completely and left him feeling drained of emotion. And now he's watching the woman he loved find joy in the simple things in life, and he's realizing that there's no way that they can ever fully understand each other again, as she still posesses some kind of innocence that he has lost to the demons that he has been battling. At first he laments the tragedy and frustration of the situation- he wants so badly to love her like he once did, but she will never be able to see life from his point of view. They walk through a beautiful meadow and all he notices is the rusted car sinking in the mud; she sees a beautiful sunset, whereas his is "cutthroat" and "busted." He wonders if he is alone in these feelings and is afraid to express them for fear of judgement or ridicule. Even after making love, he realizes that the empty feeling still has not gone away, and he realizes that after facing his deepest fears and radically changing his view of life, the relationship can no longer work. And finally, he accepts his new view of life when he realizes that despite the pain his emptiness causes, it is important to share it with the world instead of lying about it out of fear as most people do. He embraces his emptiness; t is the force that pulls the creativity out of him and allows him to put something meaningful out into the world.

    maggiemaeeon November 20, 2007   Link

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