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"
Well the times are gettin' hard for you little girl
I'm a hummin' and a strummin' all over God's world
You can't remember when you had your last meal
And you don't know just how a woman feels
You didn't know what rock and roll was
Until you met my drummer on the Grey tour bus
I got there in the nick of time
Before he got his hands across your state line, yeah
Now it's the middle of the night on the open road
The heater don't work and it's oh so cold
You're lookin' tired, you're lookin' kinda beat
The rhythm of the street sure knocks you off your feet
You didn't know how rock and roll looked
Until you caught your sister with the guys from the group
Halfway home in the parking lot
By the look in her eye she was givin' what she got
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
Oh, woman you're a mess, gonna die in your sleep
There's blood on my amp and my Les Paul's beat
Can't keep you home, you're messin' around
My best friend told me you're the best lick in town
You didn't know that rock and roll burned
So you bought a candle and you lived and you learned
You got the rhythm, you got the speed
Mama's little baby likes it short and sweet
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
Alright! I didn't know you had a rock and roll record
Until I saw your picture on another guy's jacket
You told me I was the only one
But look at you now, it's as dark as it's gone
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
I'm a hummin' and a strummin' all over God's world
You can't remember when you had your last meal
And you don't know just how a woman feels
You didn't know what rock and roll was
Until you met my drummer on the Grey tour bus
I got there in the nick of time
Before he got his hands across your state line, yeah
Now it's the middle of the night on the open road
The heater don't work and it's oh so cold
You're lookin' tired, you're lookin' kinda beat
The rhythm of the street sure knocks you off your feet
You didn't know how rock and roll looked
Until you caught your sister with the guys from the group
Halfway home in the parking lot
By the look in her eye she was givin' what she got
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
Oh, woman you're a mess, gonna die in your sleep
There's blood on my amp and my Les Paul's beat
Can't keep you home, you're messin' around
My best friend told me you're the best lick in town
You didn't know that rock and roll burned
So you bought a candle and you lived and you learned
You got the rhythm, you got the speed
Mama's little baby likes it short and sweet
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
Alright! I didn't know you had a rock and roll record
Until I saw your picture on another guy's jacket
You told me I was the only one
But look at you now, it's as dark as it's gone
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned
Once Bitten Twice Shy Lyrics as written by Ian Hunter
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Such a lyrical poet - fabulous imagery - rock 'n' roll lyrics at their best
THe song means something when Ian sings it, as opposed to another band