So it's a private education,
and it's not getting any easier,
but if it's any indication,
well I feel a little weaker now.
And it's a private education,
so I present you with your degree.
A degree of separation goes a long long way when schooling me.

So forgive me for what I have done,
and forgive me for what I might do,
and redeem me to everyone,
as I submit myself to you.

You could wear me 'round like your best dress and I, I wouldn't mind,
you could ruin me in one long night and then cast me aside,
you could turn your mind back to your past and I couldn't change your heart,
or kiss your scars,
or find your heat there in the dark, dark, dark, dark, dark.

So it's a private education,
and I'm feeling like an innocent.
Though I feel a little guilty now,
since I've sinned against myself again.

So forgive me for what I have done,
and forgive me for what I might do,
and redeem me to everyone,
as I submit myself to you.

You could wear me 'round like your best dress and I, I wouldn't mind.
You could ruin me in one long night and then cast me aside,
you could turn your mind back to your past and I couldn't change your heart,
or kiss your scars,
or find your heat there in the dark.

I wanna learn you good,
I wanna read your text,
I wanna cut you deeper,
wanna cut you best.
Now my cautionary ways are swept aside,
I fear you not,
all my past disclaimers and alibis,
I've now forgot,
you could turn your mind back to your past and I couldn't change your heart,
or kiss your scars,
or find your heat there in the dark, dark, dark.

So it's a private education,
and it's not getting any cheaper,
I wear the cost around like a wound, and I'll try not to bleed all over you.


Lyrics submitted by enigmatic_jess

Private Education Lyrics as written by Joshua Pyke

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Private Education song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

9 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song totally touches me, its about being so into someone that you would do anything, even let them treat you like crap, just to be with them, but that someone doesn't love you back even though you would give them everything and eventually you have to deal with that. The ending is so sad, "I wear the cost around like a wound, and I'll try not to bleed all over you." it's like, this hurts so much, but I'll try not to effect you because it's not your fault.

    lixyon October 08, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i absolutely love this song~

    forbidden_snowflakeon April 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Me too.. it's possibly my favourite of all time.

    SnootFrackon January 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Simple. The fear of falling for someone and being hurt for your troubles.

    trinity_tragedyon March 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song! It makes me want to sing and dance and hug somebody. Josh Pyke is amazing.

    meg;on June 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this all about falling for someone who's not feeling the same as you in the relationship. Putting your heart out there again and again. Being knocked back promising never to get hurt by that person ever and then going back all over again even though you know how they feel. Thats how i see it, kinda a been there done that thing

    LilCATon October 02, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is amazing, it means so much to me. I can see where he's coming from, i'm in the same situation. I love a boy, i'd do anything, even though i know he dosnt love me back. The ironic thing is, that boy got is who introduced me to josh pykes music in the first place. x

    adelaidepykeeeon March 10, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Lixy, you put it beautifully. :)

    nleslieon August 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Lixy, you put it beautifully. :)

    nleslieon August 23, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new. This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus. Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness". The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1. All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy. And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns) There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Album art
The Spy
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Album art
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.