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Shivers Lyrics
I've been contemplating suicide
But it really doesn't suit my style
So I think I'll just act bored instead
And contain the blood I would've shed
She makes me feel so ill at ease
My heart is really on its knees
But I keep the poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
But my baby's so vain, she is almost a mirror
And the sound of her name sends a, a nervous shiver
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
I keep her photograph against my heart
For, in my life, she plays the starring part
All alcohol and cigarettes
There is no room for cheap regrets
She makes me feel so ill at ease
My heart is really on its knees
But I keep the poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
But my baby's so vain, she is almost a mirror
And the sound of her name sends a, a nervous shiver
Down my spine..
(A nervous shiver)
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
Down my spine
But it really doesn't suit my style
So I think I'll just act bored instead
And contain the blood I would've shed
My heart is really on its knees
But I keep the poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
And the sound of her name sends a, a nervous shiver
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
For, in my life, she plays the starring part
All alcohol and cigarettes
There is no room for cheap regrets
My heart is really on its knees
But I keep the poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
And the sound of her name sends a, a nervous shiver
Down my spine..
(A nervous shiver)
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
Down my spine..
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This song has a pretty straightforward meaning, I'd say -- the boy is tormented by a girl who is vain and self-obsessed. He cares for her enough to keep her picture by his heart, but just the sound of her name makes him feel sick and ill at ease, knowing the impossibility of their relationship. He probably wishes he didn't love her; he can obviously see all the problems with her personality... but that doesn't change the involuntary shiver he feels when he thinks about her.
I think the "she's almost a mirror" line is sort of interesting, since a mirror reflects everything around it. It's probably just supposed to mean that she looks in the mirror so often that she could basically be one, but it could maybe mean that her vanity forces him to look at his own reflection and judge himself based on her standards. Just a thought.
Anyway... I've heard critiques that say this song is sort of corny. And it sort of is. But I still love it. Youtube the live Boys Next Door version of it... Nick Cave is so young & adorable & genuine in it. Lovely.
So yeah, corny or not, this song still sends shivers down my spy-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-ine. =)
The song and the lyrics are all about heroin. It's nothng to do with a guy pining for or missing a girl. The give away is in the 'my baby's so vain' line. Do you get it? Vain/vein?
The song and the lyrics are all about heroin. It's nothng to do with a guy pining for or missing a girl. The give away is in the 'my baby's so vain' line. Do you get it? Vain/vein?
The reference to the shivers down my spine is an allusion to the rush that smack gives you.
The reference to the shivers down my spine is an allusion to the rush that smack gives you.
And in this stanza;
And in this stanza;
I keep her photograph against my heart For, in my life, she plays the starring part A love could hold off cigarettes There is no room for cheap regrets
I keep her photograph against my heart For, in my life, she plays the starring part A love could hold off cigarettes There is no room for cheap regrets
The third line is "all alcohol and cigarettes"
The third line is "all alcohol and cigarettes"