"When You're Alone" as written by and Bruce Springsteen....
Times were tough love was not enough
So you said sorry Johnny I'm gone gone gone
You said my act was funny
But we both knew what was missing honey
So you let out on your own
Now that pretty form that you've got baby
Will make sure you get along
But you're gonna find out someday honey
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
Now I was young and pretty on the mean streets of the city
And I fought to make 'em my home
With just the shirt on my back I left and swore I'd never look back
And man I was gone gone gone
But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming
And send you crawling like a baby back home
You're gonna find out that day sugar
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
I knew some day your runnin' would be through
And you'd think back on me and you
And your love would be strong
You'd forget all the bad and think only of all the laughs that we had
And you'd want to come home
Now it ain't hard feelings or nothin' sugar
That ain't what's got me singing this song
It's just nobody knows baby where love goes
But when it goes it's gone gone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
So you said sorry Johnny I'm gone gone gone
You said my act was funny
But we both knew what was missing honey
So you let out on your own
Now that pretty form that you've got baby
Will make sure you get along
But you're gonna find out someday honey
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
Now I was young and pretty on the mean streets of the city
And I fought to make 'em my home
With just the shirt on my back I left and swore I'd never look back
And man I was gone gone gone
But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming
And send you crawling like a baby back home
You're gonna find out that day sugar
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
I knew some day your runnin' would be through
And you'd think back on me and you
And your love would be strong
You'd forget all the bad and think only of all the laughs that we had
And you'd want to come home
Now it ain't hard feelings or nothin' sugar
That ain't what's got me singing this song
It's just nobody knows baby where love goes
But when it goes it's gone gone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you're alone
When you're alone you ain't nothing but alone
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!
In the refrain, he says "But when you're alone, you're alone". He knows that one day she will regret that she left him and will suffer from loneliness (despite being in "pretty form")
In the third verse he talks about how he managed to move on after their divorce, and that he still missed her a lot and felt like a "baby crawling home". By which he means that the old love that they had hid him again, and made him want to come back to her
Then he continues with "when you're alone you're alone", which clearly makes his situation look even more sad - he is lonely and miserable when alone (simply - single)
In the last verse he says that he knew that the same thing that happened to him in third verse would happen to her. Her feelings towards him eventually returned... BUT!
His feelings towards her disappeared. He says that "when love goes it's gone gone gone". It doesn't mean that he lost feelings for her forever but most likely they are LONG gone.
He is leaving her with the sad refrain, which is the only thing she got left to understand - "when you're alone, you're alone". She is going to experience the worst things connected with those words (rejection, loneliness, sadness, failure, etc.)
I was hoping that this line wasn't true: "Nobody knows, honey where love goes. But when it goes it's gone, gone." But if Bruce said it, it must be true
Bruce certainly got that right as I've learned at regular intervals.