Tallymarks Lyrics
and all this time still afraid of boys
it's in the winter
it's in my head
well don't look now
i think it's under my bed
and it builds like snow and it keeps us apart
and i drop drop tears like tallymarks
and i'm keeping score so i keep us apart
and i think i already did
well i think i might miss you enough to say so
there you go i just said it again
and i did too but i came back
so don't don't don't explain love to me
love love love is not why we leave
it is real life dreams, make-believe people
you can't build cathedrals out of finger steeples
and it builds like snow and it keeps us apart
and i drop drop tears like tallymarks
and i'm keeping score so i keep us apart
and i think i already did
well i think i might miss you enough to say so
there you go i just said it again
there you go i just said it again
steady on my mind
steady on steady on steady on my mind
steady on my mind
surely surely i want love just as bad as the next
but deeper down in my, deeper down in my
bones
is where it sets
and it builds like snow and it keeps us apart
and i drop drop tears like tallymarks
and i'm keeping score so i keep us apart
and i think i already did
well i think i might miss you enough to say so
there you go i just said it again
there you go i just said it again
i feel like this songs about being afraid to let someone in because they've hurt you before. she really wants to trust this relationship, but it seems like she has abandonment issues cause of her dad leaving her "that same winter my old man made tracks, and i did too but i came back." anyways she really misses whoever the song is dedicated to, but can't muster enough courage to just tell him outright.
I believe this song is about a relationship that has ended but Thao still can't stop thinking about how it was and wants to give it another try.
I believe this song is about a relationship that has ended but Thao still can't stop thinking about how it was and wants to give it another try.
"I can't explain it I'm afraid of noise And all this time still afraid of boys"
"I can't explain it I'm afraid of noise And all this time still afraid of boys"
Thao's afraid of getting into arguments and still weary of relationships.
Thao's afraid of getting into arguments and still weary of relationships.
"It's in the winter It's in my head Well don't look now I think it's under my bed"
"It's in the winter It's in my head Well don't look now I think it's under my bed"
It's in the winter could refer to the past -- the relationship is in the past and she's still thinking about it but...
It's in the winter could refer to the past -- the relationship is in the past and she's still thinking about it but she trys to hide it, but not very well. Hence why it's under her bed.
"And we drop drop tears like tallymarks And it builds like snow and it keeps us apart"
This part explains how the relationship was, she was always crying, hurt and upset with the other person.
"And I drop drop tears like tallymarks And I'm keeping score so I keep us apart"
She kept track of every time she was hurt by the other person and decided she was hurt too many times so she broke it off.
"But I think I might miss you enough to say so And I think I already did Well I think I might miss you enough to say so There you go I just said it again"
She regrets breaking off the relationship but is still afraid to admit that she misses the other person.
"That same winter my old man made tracks And I did, too, but I came back"
This part may be saying that it's in her nature by ways of her father to leave people. But she's still her own person and she came back. (?)
"So don't don't don't explain love to me Love, love, love, is not why we leave It is real life dreams, make-believe people You can't build cathedrals out of finger steeples"
Thao is saying that she knows what love is and that people who are in love still leave each other because of prior dreams or for people that they just met -- "make-believe" in that when someone is new they seem more interesting since they are not as well known it's harder to see their flaws. She then goes on to say that it's silly to do that because those things are not real and have no foundation.
"Steady on steady on steady on my mind Steady on my mind Steady on steady on steady on my mind Steady on my mind
Surely surely I Surely surely I want love just as bad as the next But deeper down in my, deeper down in my Bones Is where it sets"
I think this just goes back to saying that she misses the other person and is always thinking about them.
I think in this song she is talking generally about relationships at a young age, where you know they're going to end because you have so many dreams that you want to come to reality and can't really stay in a relationship while making those dreams come true. However, she is in a relationship that has ended, just like all those previous to it, and she knew it was going to end, but it's hurting more than it should for just a young relationship. She's surprised at how much she misses the person after they've broken up.
"and we drop drop tears like tallymarks and it builds like snow and it keeps us apart and i drop drop tears like tallymarks and i'm keeping score so i keep us apart"
I think this part is talking about all her previous relationships. She cries over them, but they are just tallymarks because she knows they were bound to end because she is not ready to settle down. However, with each "tallymark" she is becoming more and more afraid of being vulnerable with someone, and this keeps her "apart" from the new person she is dating. Perhaps this is what caused the breakup.
"so don't don't don't explain love to me love love love is not why we leave it is real life dreams, make-believe people you can't build cathedrals out of finger steeples"
This part seems to be her explaining that she knows how to love, but love isn't the point of the relationships she's had in the past. She says love is not why we leave, we might love a person, but leave because of real life dreams and we can't realize those dreams vaia "finger steeples", aka we can't expect our dreams to come true just because we are with the right person, we must make those dreams come true for ourselves.