This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I burned my hand, I cut my face
Heaven knows how long it's been
Since I've felt so out of place
I'm wonderin' if I'll fit in
Debbie and Charley said they'd be here by nine
And Deb said she might bring a friend
Just my luck, they're right on time
So here I go again
I'm gonna smile my best smile
And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style
Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see
That learning to live again is killing me
Little cafe, table for four
But there's just conversation for three
And I like the way she let me get the door
And I wonder what she thinks of me
Debbie just whispered, "You're doin' fine"
And I wish that I felt the same
She's asked me to dance, now her hand's in mine
Oh, my God, I've forgotten her name
But I'm gonna smile my best smile
And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style
Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see
This learning to live again is killing me
Now here we are beneath her porch light
And I say what a great time it's been
A kiss on the cheek, a whisper goodnight
And I say, "can I see you again"
And she just smiles her best smile
And she laughs like it's going out of style
Looks into my eyes and says, "We'll see"
Oh this learning to live again is killing me
God this learning to live again is killing me
Heaven knows how long it's been
Since I've felt so out of place
I'm wonderin' if I'll fit in
Debbie and Charley said they'd be here by nine
And Deb said she might bring a friend
Just my luck, they're right on time
So here I go again
I'm gonna smile my best smile
And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style
Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see
That learning to live again is killing me
Little cafe, table for four
But there's just conversation for three
And I like the way she let me get the door
And I wonder what she thinks of me
Debbie just whispered, "You're doin' fine"
And I wish that I felt the same
She's asked me to dance, now her hand's in mine
Oh, my God, I've forgotten her name
But I'm gonna smile my best smile
And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style
Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see
This learning to live again is killing me
Now here we are beneath her porch light
And I say what a great time it's been
A kiss on the cheek, a whisper goodnight
And I say, "can I see you again"
And she just smiles her best smile
And she laughs like it's going out of style
Looks into my eyes and says, "We'll see"
Oh this learning to live again is killing me
God this learning to live again is killing me
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
Learning to Live Again Lyrics as written by Don Schlitz Stephanie Davis
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It sounds like someone that's been set up on a blind date after loosing someone close that they cared very deeply about about. There's another couple that have arranged it and at the end it almost seems if he rocognises the same feelings he has in his date.. There's a sad irony in the lyrics "learning to live again is killing me" sometimes we have to go through dark spells so we can learn again to appreciate the light.
yeah lollylicious is right on track there, he's really hurt from his past relationship that recnetly ended and is having trouble dating again and 'learning to live'
Anyone else think that The girl is also learning to live again, and that this is revealed after she says "we'll see"
I got kind of a different meaning from it, not that she is learning to live again, but that she is forcing the smile and the laugh in an attempt to let him down easy. Since she probably knows his previous relationship problems she doesnt want to just say no, but she doesnt want to lead him on either, so the forced smile and ambiguous "we'll see" is her way of turning down an emotionally injured and obviously depressed individual who might not be able to handle rejection well in his stage of recovery.
Learning to live again is something that we do when we find ourselves with a broken heart. Often times when we have been with someone for a long time. As he is on this blind date he wishes to hide the lose of his hurt or Broken heart. This is so common with me. ( NOt that I have had many broken hearts) it speaks the words that I have a hard time saying to myself. Leanring to live again is just the vary thing I do, when going on a first Date again with someone new.
I think that this song is about either breaking up with a long time lover or loosing them through death, and trying to be able to get over that person and act like that nothing is wrong. By doing this "I'm gonna smile my best smile And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see That learning to live again is killing me. " One part that I am not to sure about is when he says "Oh my god I have forgotten her name" I have always wondered if he forgot the persons name he was dancing with or a deeper meaning that he has forgotten that person's name that he has lost or had died.
Either way this is a great song one of Garth's Best
I agree with pilongo! It does seem she is Learning to Live Again because "She just smiles her best smile and she laughs..." This is a sad song but I love it!
I have a different interpretation...
It would seem that this song is set back after the War (due to phrases like 'cafe', and it just gives me a vibe that it's set in the mid 40's - early 50's). The man has come back from the war and is trying to fit in again.
The woman, on the other hand, seems to have lost someone in the war, and is trying to learn to live again just like the man, which explains the last verse. The last verse stands out and add a bunch of meaning to the song...
A great song by Garth! It's about a guy who broke up with his wife/girlfriend. He took a long time away, being depressed, etc. THEN his friend Debby said she may hook him up with a friend of hers, a blind date. He meets her and he likes her, and it seems like she likes him. When he asks to see her again, she says, "we'll see". Maybe that's not the answer he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear "yes!" Then he sang, "God, this learning to live again is killing me!"
Two young teenagers from 2 different states. Oklahoma and New Mexico. The Front porch is PLAINS st Clovis New Mexico.