I'm dying to catch my breath
Oh why don't I ever learn?
I've lost all my trust,
Though I've surely tried to turn it around

Can you still see the heart of me?
All my agony fades away
When you hold me in your embrace

Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place
Give me something I can believe
Don't tear me down
You've opened the door now, don't let it close

I'm here on the edge again
I wish I could let it go
I know that I'm only one step away
From turning it around

Can you still see the heart of me?
All my agony fades away
When you hold me in your embrace

Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place
Give me something I can believe

Don't tear it down, what's left of me
Make my heart a better place

I tried many times but nothing was real
Make it fade away, don't break me down
I want to believe that this is for real
Save me from my fear
Don't tear me down

Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place
Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place

Give me something I can believe
Don't tear it down, what's left of me
Make my heart a better place
Make my heart a better place


Lyrics submitted by binni

All I Need Lyrics as written by Robert Westerholt Sharon J. Den Adel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

All I Need song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

24 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    To me the song is about a woman who has been hurt in the past many times and because of that, it's destroying her current relationship. Which she's trying desprately to save, but she's unsure how and pleads with him.

    "You've opened the door now, don't let it close."

    "Can you still see, the heart of me."

    Etc....

    She just needs him to guide her through the darkness to the other side and make her, "heart a better place."

    Eternaldreamspaceon March 21, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Not to sound emo or anything,but this song reduced me to tears.It's so beautiful!

    SharaelCherinon February 24, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song is about being on the brink of a relationship, perhaps. She's been hurt over and over in the past until she shouldn't really trust anything anymore, but she does, she keeps trusting and hoping. She's begging him to be real, to love her and give her a reason to believe in love. She's hoping that just this once things will come out right and history won't repeat itself. She's begging him not to hurt/betray her like so many others before him have.

    apcs_foreveron June 22, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think... is about someone that has been hurt over and over... she/he is trying to change that, her heart has been destroyed so many times that is hard to give and believe in love. Finally she met someone and she's singing to this new person. don't tear me down again, now that you are in my life and you seem different please be who you seem to be. She's in the edge because she's not sure about this new love she's afraid and wants to run and turn around because she thinks that maybe history will repeat itself. She knows that all her agony fades away when he holds her, all the past... all the pain all the desillusion.. so basically is a song to a new love.. hoping this time will be for real... and her heart not to be broken all over again.

    mzindependent7on August 12, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    We all know someone who sees another relationship as the cure to a broken heart. These poor souls leap desperately from one loser to another, each time believing that the next time will be with the right one. Eventually they lose their ability to trust and all their self-esteem.

    But even the desperate get lucky, and the desperate know this. That hope is what keeps them going after so long. These people hope that they will find someone who can repair their hearts so they can be happy again. I know all of this because I used to be one.

    Within Temptation succeeds because their songs connect with fans, and this is one of their best. Sharon Den Adel has an amazing voice (and she's hot).

    DarkAxelon February 07, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Nothing emo about a song making you cry.Emo is a term tossed around to loosely nowadays.

    Yeah,this is a beautiful song and among my favorites off WT's new album.Appears to be about someone who was left and is now dealing with the feeling that nothing in life is truly real.They are asking for a second chance at life and love.

    SammaeLon February 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song.This is my favorite song on WT's new album. My favorite lyric of the song is " I've tried many times but nothing was real "

    [B]orderline[C]reepon March 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The lyrics according to the website: I’m dying to catch my breath Oh why don’t I ever learn? I’ve lost all my trust, though I’ve surely tried to turn it around

    Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace

    Don’t tear me down for all I need Make my heart a better place Give me something I can believe Don’t tear me down You’ve opened the door now, don’t let it close

    I’m here on the edge again I wish I could let it go I know that I’m only one step away from turning it around

    Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace

    Don’t tear me down for all I need Make my heart a better place Give me something I can believe

    Don’t tear it down, what’s left of me Make my heart a better place

    I tried many times but nothing was real Make it fade away, don’t break me down I want to believe that this is for real Save me from my fear Don’t tear me down

    Don’t tear me down for all I need Make my heart a better place Don’t tear me down for all I need Make my heart a better place

    Give me something I can believe Don’t tear it down, what’s left of me Make my heart a better place Make my heart a better place

    mhortonon April 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think maybe its about a relationship that hasn't ended yet, but she fears it is about to perhaps because they are fighting etc, or maybe just because all her previous relationships failed. Now she is pleading with him to stay because she needs him. "I want to believe that this is for real Save me from my fear Don’t tear me down" and "You’ve opened the door now, don’t let it close"

    mhortonon April 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song is about being on the brink of a relationship, perhaps. She's been hurt over and over in the past until she shouldn't really trust anything anymore, but she does, she keeps trusting and hoping. She's begging him to be real, to love her and give her a reason to believe in love. She's hoping that just this once things will come out right and history won't repeat itself. She's begging him not to hurt/betray her like so many others before him have.

    apcs_foreveron June 22, 2007   Link

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

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Blue
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.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.