Love For A Child

I think the picture of "Jesus and his friends" is actually "the last supper". It symbolizes betrayal and abandonment, so this represents the betrayal between his parents.

"taking drugs and making love at far too young an age" seems to correspond to the drug abusing problem and infidelity of his parents.

But I don't understand the meaning of "work the floor"... can anyone explain its meaning?

divorce, divorce, divorce

The obvious theme of this song definetly relates to Mraz's childhood and his parents' divorce. The chorus "empty cup....a little bit more of innocense" could refer to him looking back now on his childhood, and realizing that in a lot of areas, he grew up too fast. And because of his parents' divorce, it was easy for Mraz to get into drugs and stuff("easily ignored). He was forced to deal with things far beyond his maturity level and because of that got involved with drugs and such very young. Now that he acknowlages this, it's like in the chorus he's almost wishing he hadn't been exposed to all of it, and he want's his life(empty cup)- which has priorly been filled with not so innocent experiences- to now be filled with richer, more fufilling experiences.

How he would like to believe it was all about love for a child means, I think, that a lot of decisions parents make when they're getting divorced revolve around their children. A lot of couples stay together just for their kids, but also a lot of times they separate because they think that's what's best for their children. I'm relating to this from experience -- how it's easy to be ignored, especially when you're younger and your feelings are not exactly taken that seriously. The parents are all like, "We're doing this for you, we both love you so much and we just want you to always be happy," that it makes the kid feel guilty, and then confused when the parents kind of ignore the kid because they're dealing with their own divorce issues, legal and emotional. "Working the floor" is totally what happens during divorces, especially at the very beginning. Two Christmases, two birthday cakes, and the ability to keep a lot of things private because there aren't as many people involved in your life as consistently. You're left to your own devices and encounter a lot of things that are above your maturity level, and looking back, even though it was nice to get away with shit, what you dealt with at such a young age seems really unfair and almost inappropriate. And in the end, people say it's for the best because they made certain decisions, like moving out, or custody rules, or paying for everything 50/50, because they want to be happy but most of all they want you to be happy because they love you. It would be nice to think that, that it all revolved around you because they both loved you so much, but in the end you realize that although they wanted you to be happy, a lot of the decisions were made for themselves and they unfairly affected you.

for those of you confused with the beginning lyrics :here's a picture on my kitchen wall Looks like Jesus and his friends involved There's a party getting started in the yard There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive Was I too young to see this with my eyes?....

He is having a flashback..he is recalling his childhood..and he happens to be remembering certain details. He is basically setting up the story for the listener

this is completely my interpretation but i think the first verse is a little vague because he is understanding it from a child's perspective. i think the first line about the picture on his kitchen wall is referring to the irony that they display religious symbols but his parents are doing immoral things.

i think the next part about the people in the car is him seeing as a little boy, one of his parents cheating with someone.

also, i the next part about the chemicals and the pool is him recalling one of his parents explanations for drunkenness. the way he says "apparently" in the song makes me think that this is him recalling the story later in his life and realizing how ridiculous it is. i think one of his parents was drunk and passed out, hit his head, and passed out in the pool.

then the rest of the song is pretty self explanatory, but i also think he is being sarcastic when he is talking about the two christmases and birthday cakes.

So here is my interpretation

There's a picture on my kitchen wall Looks like Jesus and his friends involved (The Last Supper, just like Jesus's last day, its his last day of innocence.) There's a party getting started in the yard (His parent fighting) There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive (a parent I think mother cheating) Was I too young to see this with my eyes?

By the pool last night, apparently The chemicals weren't mixed properly (His mother wasn't thinking clearly) You hit your head and then forgot your name (a sarcastic satement of how the mother forgot her name and how her last name means she is married to his dad) And then you woke up at the bottom by the drain (hitting rock bottom) And now your altitude and memory's a shame (He learns his mom isn't all what he thought she was)

What about taking this empty cup and filling it up With a little bit more of innocence (he lost a lot of innocence when all these events happend) I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young It's okay to be easily ignored (I think can go two ways either the parents just simply ignored him and worried about their own problems or they kept information from them because he was too young) I like to believe it was all about love for a child (he likes to believe it was a round about way to take care about him)

the rest is pretty explicit

wow. i just realized what this song was about. i didnt really pay that much attention to it until now.

its pretty sad. my parents divorced so i know how it feels. but it wasnt that dramatic.

but i really dont understand like lyrics. i know what the song is about. but i dont understand the lyrics. like "theres a picture on my wall..." and "by the pool last night..."

"There's a picture on my kitchen wall...Looks like Jesus and his friends involved" just refers to the "Last Supper" portrait. Everything else talks about what kids go through a divorce....

maybe the couple getting steamy was one of his parents with someone else. the pool thing i don't really get. the chorus seems so happy and cute. the last verse is about how his parents were so caught up in their own issues they didn't pay any attention to him. and secretly kids want their parents to check up on them and what not because they know it shows that they care.