Sink or Swim

i guess this is about falling in love, but also thinking about opportunities, "what ifs" and just not being sure about the future - it might work out and they'd "sail away forever more" or they wouldn't and they'd be a "shipwreck on the shore". i love how he also portrays the feeling of being in love the melody in the voice and stuff like that.

i think he kinda wants to tell the girl he loves her, and it's all up to him, you know, they might sink or swim. the last 2 lines kinda say it all. he wants to know if they can last, but he's not sure. so amazing. it's awesome, how this song has this feeling of freedom, and the chorus is just charming.

I'm not quite sure why, but this doesn't really strike me as a "love song". The first few times I heard it I thought it was, but now when I listen to it, I think it has a different meaning. I kinda think that this is a song about someone feeling confused or overwhelmed, almost unsure about how to express themselves. (Not in a love way, though) They feel almost "torn"; there's something that they want to do, and they're analyzing the pros and cons. Something is almost holding them back. "Caught in the middle of a crossfire, lost my balance on a highwire, trying to figure out what to do" basically says "I'm confused, I can't seem to think what the right thing to do is".

I agree that it is most likely about love, but it reminds me of Suzanne Collin's CATCHING FIRE (the second book in the HUNGER GAMES series).

I might be overanalyzing it but to me its about going back to an ex that you really love but no matter how many times you two have tried it doesnt work.

"Pushed to the edge of my reason, Everywhere around me it's treason, I don't want to do that to you. "

and

"Hearing the song in your laughter, A melody I chase after. No one else has done this to me."

Those two speak that to me a bit more. The treason being the going back to something that didnt work before.

"Take a deep breath, No more time left, This is what I thought I wanted, Why am I afraid?"

This line shows that how your heart feels and differ from what your mind fears from past experiences.

"Kamikaze airplanes in the sky, Are we going down or will we fly? This could be a shipwreck on the shore, Or we could sail away forever more.

This time, it's sink or swim."

The chorus is just wondering if it'll work or not. Last line saying this is the last time, it'll work or not

Again, I probably am missing the obvious meaning, but in personal experience with feelings for one person and dating them more then once over a long period of time this song really embodies how I felt.

Yeah, it's probably just a love song, but it has a nice "love is a battlefield" metaphor running through it with the "crossfire," "kamikaze airplanes," and "shipwreck." It probably isn't much deeper than that, but I can't help thinking it would also be suitable as a statement about the sociopolitical climate in the U.S. right now. Apart from the second verse, which seems to directly address a romantic partner, most of the song could easily be about the chaos of terrorism, economic collapse, climate crisis, and political betrayal that is threatening our country. In fact, when I first heard this song and didn't have a chance to listen to all the words carefully, my overall impression was that it was a war protest song.

In my opinion, I think the girl he's in love with is in a serious relationship with another person. He's also friends with this girl, though, and she doesn't know how he feels. At one point, he was friends with the guy, too, but that relationship has been strained by the feelings they both share for this girl.
"Caught in the middle of a crossfire" could be implying that the person she's with knows that he loves her, and there's sort of a back and forth between them, a constant tension brewing just below the surface. "Lost my balance on a high wire" is saying that he's tried balancing his feelings and his friendship with the girl in the past, but he just can't make it work. He loves her too much and he can't make himself look at her as just a friend. "Trying to figure out what to do" Should he tell her he loves her and ruin her relationship with this guy that she obviously really likes, or should he continue to hide his feelings and remain friends to avoid getting shot down? "Pushed to the edge of my reason" At this point, he has no idea what he should do. No matter what he does, he has the potential of getting hurt, and the potential of hurting her. "Everywhere around me it's treason" If he tells this girl he loves her, she'll leave the guy she's with. In spite of everything, he was close to this guy once, and doesn't want to hurt him, either. But if he doesn't tell her, he's betraying her in a way, too. "I don't want to do that to you" He's afraid of hurting her, of telling her he loves her and making her leave that other guy to be with him and then realizing he doesn't want to be with her or screwing the relationship up somehow. He doesn't want her to be hurt. "Kamikaze airplanes in the sky" He's at war with his emotions. "Are we going down or will we fly?" He wonders if a relationship with this girl would work out. If they would go all the way, start a family and get married or if they would crash and burn and lose the friendship they have now. "This could be a shipwreck on the shore" If he tells her how he feels and they get together, but it ends, it's going to end badly. He's planning on having her leave the guy she's with, so if their relationship doesn't work out, he would have basically ended two relationships for her rather than just one. "Or we could sail away forever more" On the other hand, if they work, they're going to really work. None of that on off stuff, none of those pointless fights, no petty relationship drama, just the two of them 'forever more'. "This time, it's sink or swim" This is his last chance. It's now or never. If he doesn't tell her now, she's going to end up with this other guy, so he has to decide weather he's going to take that plunge or let her slip away. "Hearing the song in your laughter" He loves to hear her laugh, simple as that. "A melody I chase after" He wants to be the one making her laugh rather than her current boyfriend. "No one else has done this to me" He's never felt this way about anyone else before. "Take a deep breath, No more time left" These two lines go together. This is literally his last choice. I like to picture the girl in a wedding dress, about to walk down the aisle with this other guy, but that's probably just me being dramatic. Either way, if he doesn't say something right now, he's going to lose that chance forever. No more chances, no more holding his tongue. He has to either tell her or not. "This is what I thought I wanted, Why am I afraid?" Again, these lines have to go together. At this point he's made his choice. Either he's told her, and she's left this guy to be with him, or he hasn't and she's staying with the other guy forever. If he told her how he felt, she's said she felt the same and he's terrified. This is what he wanted, but his mind is telling him that his friend who she was with is going to hate him for this. He's scared he's going to hurt her, going to screw it up, and he doesn't know if he'll be able to get passed that, If he let her stay with the other guy, he still got what he thought he wanted, but now he's terrified he's just let the love of his life slip through his fingers. He still loves her, but it's too late.

That's my interpretation. You may not agree, but it's just how I thought it sounded. (: