I got nothing where I've been
Will you bring me there again?
No one ever understands
You won't change to help

I got lost inside a lie
Every smile, you made it die
I'm not real and you know why
Can I run again some more

Can I be there all the time
Can I stop the wondering why
Will I crumble, will I fly
And I've got to make you

Will I be in time to see
Will it roll all over to me
Can I fake it just to be
You know I can't take you on
On

Built a picture yesterday
Built a picture of a moment my love
My love
My love
My love

You have time for me again
But you flatten me instead
Try to be the things your said
Like I almost had it

But I don't ever have it all
And I'm sweating trying to stall
Til I think I heard a call
But you're just laughing along
On
On
On

Built a picture yesterday
Built a picture of a moment my love
My love
My love
My love


Lyrics submitted by xdvr

Crumble Lyrics as written by Joseph Donald Mascis Jr

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Crumble song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    Is it "held a picture yesterday" instead of "built"?

    I dunno, I could be wrong, but that's what I hear

    hoobidtyon May 15, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Yay, first comment.

    Seems to me like Mascis is addressing the passing of time in relation to himself--it appears too non-confrontational in most of the lines to give the impression that he's addressing a person/lover (despite the repetition of "my love"--maybe a metaphor for the good times of his life?). It feels instead like a message about mid-life crisis, or something similar. I'm only seventeen, but I can see where he's coming from, with aging and everything that comes with it. In any case, the lyrics are bittersweet and very melancholic (the kind I like), and J's riffs and soloing are incredible, and the rhythm section backs him up admirably. Beyond is a great record--arguably one of their best (certainly the best rock album of the year, with music sucking nowadays). It's certainly the best comeback album I've ever heard (yes, better than Back In Black). Amazing band.

    I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks.

    Joe Mattresson July 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    These lyrics seem very wrong; maybe I will stop being lazy and transcribe some correct ones soon. Either way, kick ass song.

    asSTARSfallxon June 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think Joe Mattress has the most accurate interpretation. The song is wanting to go back to a happy place in your life, before all the change. "I've got nothing where I've been", "will you bring me THERE again." he wants to go back to the place he was before. "built a picture yesterday", "built a picture of a moment, my love". Remembering old times when things were better, now he doesn't know if he will "crumble or fly" and it scares him to the point of desperation to return to "where he's been".

    camparsion March 27, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think it's about a girl that led him on but was always in the friend zone even when she was single

    Jagrobby182on August 08, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    2 years later I have a new perspective on these lyrics. I think the song is about feeling presured to pretend to be someone you're not just to satisfy other people(in this case a girl). "I got lost inside a lie", " I'm not real and you know why". Then he asks himself if this fasad he built, ("built a picture yesterday") will "crumble or fly". At the end of the song it seems as if his act has crumbled

    "But I don't ever belong* (real lyric) And I'm sweating trying to stall Til I think I heard a call But you're just laughing along"

    camparsion November 05, 2014   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    After learning to play this song on guitar , I noticed numerous incorrect lyrics...some small but nevertheless can change the meaning of the song.

    Verse 1 " I got nothing, where I been? will you bring me there again? no one ever understands you won't change to help us?"

    *there's definitely another word after help. it could be "us" or"this" or "it" which would make sense, but i hear a TH sound like "both" or "oath". I can't figure this one out.

    Verse 2 "I got lost inside a lie every smile you made it die I'm not there and you know why and I run to get some more"

    Verse 3 "Can I be there all the time? Can i stop to wonder why? will I crumble, will I fly? and I've got to make it"

    Verse 4 "will I be in time to see? will it run all over me? can i fake out just to me? you know i can't take it on"

    Chorus "held a picture yesterday held a picture of the moment that I want??? My love (x3)" *i'm pretty sure there's more after "moment" to finish that line. it isn't very clear but I think it's "held a picture of the moment that I want...my love(x3)"

    Verse 5 "You have time for me again but you flatten me instead try to be the things you said like i almost had it"

    Verse 6 "But I don't have it at all and I'm sweating trying to stall till i think i heard a call i look,you're just laughing on"

    *I listened to quite a few live versions of this song and it seems as though J Mascis himself can't even recall the lyrics. he bounces between using verse 1 and 2 and once i awhile some other line,the chorus part he sometimes says "our love"

    Necrosis99on August 22, 2019   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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Mountain Song
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."
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
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.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.