its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
She was sixteen and six feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled, started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said
"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"
Maybe for you, now
But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-luck fake competence was getting weak
And for a sec' I thought I sounded sweet
But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice, I heard myself speak
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do
I'll probably do
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
You'll probably call me a fool
and say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame, what a lame way to live, but what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do
I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you, now
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled, started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said
"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"
Maybe for you, now
But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-luck fake competence was getting weak
And for a sec' I thought I sounded sweet
But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice, I heard myself speak
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do
I'll probably do
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
You'll probably call me a fool
and say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame, what a lame way to live, but what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do
I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you, now
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
Lyrics submitted by jackieboy37
A Martyr For My Love For You Lyrics as written by Jack White
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Spy
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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Lord Huron
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"
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Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I agree with you!