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"
How are things on the west coast?
I hear you're moving real fine
You wear those shoes like a dove
Now strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night
Well, how are things on the west coast?
You keep it moving to your soul's delight
Now I've tried the brakes
I tried, but you know it's a lonely ride
How are things the west coast?
Oh, I'd move Heaven behind those eyes
Today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
But I don't want to take your heart
And I don't want a piece of history
No, I don't want to read your thoughts anymore
My god
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
How are things on the west coast?
Hear you're moving real fine tonight
You wear those shoes side-to-side
Ah, strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night
Well, how are things on the west coast?
Yeah, but you're an actress and I don't identify
Today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Say it
But I don't want to play the part
And I don't want a taste of victory
No, I don't want to read your thoughts anymore
My God
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Say it
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Let it come
'Cause I've got a chance for a sweet, sane life
I said, I've got a dance, and you'll do just fine
Well, I've got a plan with forward in my eyes
Let it come
Well, I've got a chance for a sweet, sane life
I said, I've got a dance, it moves into the night
Well, I've got a plan with forward in my eyes
But today my heart swings
I hear you're moving real fine
You wear those shoes like a dove
Now strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night
Well, how are things on the west coast?
You keep it moving to your soul's delight
Now I've tried the brakes
I tried, but you know it's a lonely ride
How are things the west coast?
Oh, I'd move Heaven behind those eyes
Today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
But I don't want to take your heart
And I don't want a piece of history
No, I don't want to read your thoughts anymore
My god
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
How are things on the west coast?
Hear you're moving real fine tonight
You wear those shoes side-to-side
Ah, strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night
Well, how are things on the west coast?
Yeah, but you're an actress and I don't identify
Today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Say it
But I don't want to play the part
And I don't want a taste of victory
No, I don't want to read your thoughts anymore
My God
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Say it
'Cause today my heart swings
Yeah, today my heart swings
Let it come
'Cause I've got a chance for a sweet, sane life
I said, I've got a dance, and you'll do just fine
Well, I've got a plan with forward in my eyes
Let it come
Well, I've got a chance for a sweet, sane life
I said, I've got a dance, it moves into the night
Well, I've got a plan with forward in my eyes
But today my heart swings
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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.
Well ..... I think the song is about a boy who is deceived by his girlfriend and he doesn't know what to do with it (...today my heart swings) he doesn't know whether leave her or pretend that nothing happens and about the actress prhase I think it means that she is not good to hide it......well that's my opinion