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Say You, Say Me Lyrics

Say you, say me
Say it for always
That's the way it should be

Say you, say me
Say it together
Naturally

I had a dream,
I had an awesome dream
People in the park
Playing games in the dark
And what they played,
Was a masquerade,
From behind the walls of doubt
A voice was crying out

Say you, say me
Say it for always
That's the way it should be

Say you, say me
Say it together
Naturally

As we go down life's lonesome highway,
Seems the hardest thing to do
Is to find a friend or two
That helping hand,
Someone who understands
when you feel you lost your way
You've got someone there to say:
I'll show you

Say you, say me
Say it for always
That's the way it should be

Say you, say me
Say it together
Naturally

So you think you know the answers,
Oh, no
Well, the whole world's got you dancing, that's right, I'm telling you.
It's time to start believe,
Oh yes,
Believe in who you are
You are a shining star.

Say you, say me
Say it for always
That's the way it should be

Say you, say me
Say it together
Naturally

Say it together
Naturally
8 Meanings

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Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

It's not a love song per say, but more of a friendship song. It basically tells about the friendships of the 2 main characters (Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines) who are two really good dancers - trapped in Russia during the Communist era (in the 80's). Say you, say me - basically telling that they can believe and help each other. Say you believe, I say I believe, together we believe - that's the way it should be. I'll help you, you help me, we'll help each other - naturally. It is written like as most song are as a poem with a lot of metaphors. Look at the lyrics how it relates to their characters in the movie. It is one of my top favorite movies of all time.

White Knights

Oops! I mean - White Nights

LOL...a syndrome where you pick the youngest, most gullible virgin (or close to it) and have sex with her before she learns who she's with.... Cute. Really classy.

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

Lyrically, this song doesn’t have any kind of logically cohesive meaning. It reads like something a 13-year-old who speaks English as a second language would’ve written. Each verse has very little to do with the other verses in the song. It does not tell a story or even offer any kind of coherent progression of thought in terms of expressing a romantic idea or philosophical observation or musing on some kind of overarching theme. It just jumps from one random thought to another, put to music and broken up with the nonsensical chorus “say you, say me, say it together naturally” which makes no grammatical sense. If it wasn’t for Lionel Richie‘s memorable vocal stylings, a hummable melody and that catchy bridge that beaks into a brief rock groove, and the fact it was used a the featured song in a hit movie, I wonder if anyone would’ve ever cared about this song. But there are plenty of examples of great hit songs that don’t really have any discernible meaning in the lyrics. Plenty of songs have charted based solely on the artist’s performance and a catchy hook.

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

I'm pretty sure this is a love song- (as many songs are) The words "I love you" however is never mentioned in the song. but if you fill it in after each "say you..." "say me..." then the song suddenly makes sense. The rest of the lyrics allude to love of a deep friendship sort not the carnal lust type.

Say you "i Love you" Say me "I Love you (too)" Say it together, naturally "I Love You"

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

I like to hear this as a love song (romantic love) but of course its original use in film (1985's WHITE NIGHTS) is intended to describe the platonic love between two close friends I think that this song is about:

The POWER OF LOVE (whether it be romantic or platonic), that can be so STRONG.

LIGHT OVER DARK What i love is that light over dark theme that recurs: the power of love is the light that ALWAYS overcomes the dark of doubt, the uncertainty caused by those who lie or masquerade and even the shadow of loneliness

As for the Chorus, i agree with Tambre 2: I think it is about ADVOCATING to the power of love, we need to actually each and one of us, SAY WE LOVE in order to change things, to clear away all the darkness and replace it with LOVE.

My Interpretation

I remember watching this movie in awe, at a time when the Cold War still defined who we were as a world, divided into camps, afraid to let go of old fears, old hatreds, old ways of thinking there could only be one way to go. The Olympics in Sochi Russia have ended, with reminder that in 1980, winter games were not attended by Western athletes, for political reasons that no longer apply. Wars still are fought, people still die, but East and West, North and South are struggling to come together, with hope for better futures for us all....

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

This song sounds really dated (it's one of those songs that just screams '80s), but it's a beautiful song.

That it does and you are correct!

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

I like the song, but I don't really understand the meaning.. What exactly does "Say you, say me" means? And why is that "Say it for always" and "Say it together, naturally"? And how can a masquerade be played? Maybe it has different meaning in the 80s?

Ah,I'm too stupid to figure it out.Hope someone can answer me.

My favorite lines in the song: " As we go down life's lonesome highway, Seems the hardest thing to do Is to find a friend or two That helping hand, Someone who understands "

The "masquerade" refers to the mask (figuratively) they wear. The first stanza tells about that all they can do (Barrishnikove and Hines) is try not think about how bad it is for them in Russia and forced to dance (since they are great dancers). That long to escape (out of USSR). Watch the movie, and it will help understand the lyrics. Without the movie, it's just a cryptic song.

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

wow i agree with Tambre2, makes sense. love this song

Cover art for Say You, Say Me lyrics by Lionel Richie

The cleverest bit about this catchy song is the “Say you, say me” refrain. It sounds like Tarzan trying to speak English. In fact its sheer vagueness forces us to imagine what the singer is trying to say.

“Say you…” love me? - you are my friend - you trust me - you believe in me etc. “Say me” - means I’ll same the same thing to you.

It can’t be anything nasty because the music and the voice quality fills in the gaps for us — very daring song writing!

 
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