Quiet Times

Dido explained the meaning of this tune to Canada.com (cited from songfacts.com) "A very personal song about being close to someone who is depressed and won't admit it. It's the hollow feeling of being with someone without actually being with them, if that makes sense."

For me, this song is about a relationship in doubt… at least the speaker is contemplating the future of the relationship, maybe because it’s progressed past the initial glow (“we knew how to make each other happy and there was hope of everything”), or maybe because of some difficulty caused by the relationship (“I’ve seen another side of all I’ve seen”) – thus, the necessity of “quiet times” for the speaker to reflect…

This song could also be saying that the speaker loves the other person more than that person loves them (“I won’t be taken in”) and it is with the coming of “these quiet times” that they finally realize it…

Despite the warm, early morning vibes of this song, these “quiet times” speak of a gloomy end, of emotional distancing… I’m totally feeling this song right now, and the quiet times of my own relationship…

I know it's not its real meaning, but for me this song talks about my first girlfriend and me. We were happy together but we went apart for long and every once in a while we see each other for short periods, only to realize that I still love her but she doesn't think of me anymore.

Incredibly sad song. I think it's about having to still be friends with a former romance that the narrator isn't over.

Could be about a romance that she can no longer pursue, even though she still sees the other person occasionally. A couple of the other songs on the album deal with death but I don't think it quite fits here though. Either way this is a beautiful song and one that's been on repeat in my playlist quite a few times.

I think it's about a relationship that has lost it's zeal and love and she knows that their relationship won't be what it was and that's it's going downhill and when he's not there emotionally and physically it leaves her in quiet times. She knows the relationship will end soon and she's just anticipating it.

Very good song, but also very sad.

And I miss you And I want you You're not coming back And I need you But I can't have you, even when you're here

That part made me cry a bit. It's just heartbreaking. :(

I think her lover is depressed and withdrawn. She loves him but she has given up hope that they'll be happy again together.

Wanting something you cant have perhaps?

"I cant have you.. even when you're near"

Great song.. I can relate

I think this song explains perfectly what it is like to lose a loved one to Alzheimers. My mother has a disease very similar to alzheimers and this song explains exactly how it feels.

"You ask me where I'd go tonight I'd go back to today last year We knew how to make each other happy and there was hope of everything"

Before you knew that they were sick.

"Now I miss you. Now I want you. But I can't have you, even when you're here."

Because they're not here anymore. It's just a person that looks exactly like them. And that just makes you want them to be there all the more.

"I suppose I have to take you with me, broken mind, I'd rather leave you here So forget everything you've seen and known erase every idea"

You want to leave them so that you don't have to watch them forget who you are. Forget who THEY are. But you can't because you're afraid they'll forget you faster if you aren't there to see them enough. And then they forget anyway.

"If you walk up in the street And you hold my hand and smile Well I won't be taken in 'cause I know how it turns out"

The little glimpses you catch of them every so often are almost as painful as they are precious.

"Now I miss you. Now I want you. You're not coming back. Now I need you. But I can't have you, even when you're here"

You know they're never going to get better. They're still here but they aren't.