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.
Some things we don't talk about
Rather do without
And just hold a smile
Falling in and out of love
Ashamed and proud of
Together all the while
You can never say never while we don't know when
Time and time again
Younger now than we were before
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Picture you're the queen of everything
Far as the eye can see
Under your command
I will be your guardian when all is crumbling
Steady your hand
You can never say never while we don't know when
Time, time and time again
Younger now than we were before
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
We're pulling apart
And coming together again and again
We're growing apart
But we pull it together
Pull it together, together again
Oh, don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Rather do without
And just hold a smile
Falling in and out of love
Ashamed and proud of
Together all the while
You can never say never while we don't know when
Time and time again
Younger now than we were before
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Picture you're the queen of everything
Far as the eye can see
Under your command
I will be your guardian when all is crumbling
Steady your hand
You can never say never while we don't know when
Time, time and time again
Younger now than we were before
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
We're pulling apart
And coming together again and again
We're growing apart
But we pull it together
Pull it together, together again
Oh, don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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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"
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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.
This is how I see this song, only because of the current situation going on in my life. I think it may be about a girl who is walking out of his life. They have been friends forever, but never became anything more. "Some things we don't talk about, rather do without and just hold a smile" They each have been "falling in and out of love" but either way, they have remained close. But something changed, he wants something more then just that friendship. Maybe she has actually found someone to spend the rest of her life with, even though that other guys isn't right for her and it made him realize. He believes "you can never say never" hoping that they will be together one day. He proceeds to tell her how he feels. He says "picture you're the Queen of everything, far as the eye can see" because she thinks she holds the world in her hands at the moment, but he knows eventually she has to realize that other guy isn't right for her. He continues to say "I will be your guardian when all is crumbling, I'll steady your hand." Meaning, he will always be there for her.
A girl that I have known since I was very young, just got engaged. To a guy that she should totally not be with, he lies, and she falls for it. Her and I never became anything more then best friends, even though we tried dating a couple of times. Both of us were at different stages during those times, and I had my own demons that I had to overcome. I pretty much prevented anything from happening between us. Then I realized she was everything I wanted, but I was too late. She had started dating one of her ex's again, the same ex that treated her like trash, and tried to change her from the person she was. And now they are getting married, and I just want to yell "Don't Let Me Go!" But I guess I have dug my own grave.
Wow....thats really....unexplicable and sad...and a realy good point on the song.....all i got to say is whatever you do...dont give up...cause if she's your best friend...she loves you and respects your opinion...you've been there most of her life:)
my situation is simliar to yours. ive been best friends with a boy for a long time and we both like each other yet he doesnt wanna risk the friendship and he's preventing anything from happening between us but i know he'll regret it someday when i finally get tired of waiting. but in the words of the song title ' never say never ' things might work out for you and that girl. especially if you tell her the truth about her fiance.
Amazing how sometimes two people find it hard to get their lives in synch. Love the title "Never say Never" though. Life always has its odd way of upending our expectations so it's important to stay open.
im with you all the way. i think the meaning youve chosen for this song would be the best. im sorry to hear about you and your girl though. horrible how things end that way, isnt it?
you hit the nail on the head man
wow, you really got it right, and this is exactly whats going on in my life, i know how you fell 100%!
Dont ever let her go, i agree with if shes your best friend and youve known her for a long time she would respect what you have to say. Maybe its not to late...
I like the way you express yourself.<br /> And I hope everything works out for you.<br /> Life is wonderful even though sometimes it may definitely not feel like it.
Perfect. This song flawlessly captures that situation in music, phenomenal.
I created an account on this site just so I could say that DistantNFaded is totally right. Great job man
I just created an account just to reply to this. I just cried. I feel like I am in the same situation with my high school boyfriend. we have been so back and forth and now he is dating someone and I just have this horrible feeling they will get serious and things between him and I wont work out. Every part of me tells me we belong together. I love this song, it gives me the smallest bit of hope.
me and my current girlfriend were best of friends. impenetrable. she was dating my guy best friend, and they broke up she went through a stage of a few boyfriends.. and i the long run, i was there, she broke up with them, for me weve now been dating for almost a year. and this song.. truly describes how i felt.<br /> distantnfaded, go for her. fuck what the guy says, theres still hope, be the guy that runs in when the priest asks for objections. if it as meant to be, it will work itself out. trust me on that.<br /> <br /> if you liked the meaningness on this one,<br /> try: your guardian angel - the red jumpsuit apparatus
Your interpretation fits my situation exactly. I heard it today and looked it up to see what it was about. I was listening to it while I read your post and it made me cry.
This is too much. My story is the same. Only I am the engaged girl. Well, very recently ex-engaged girl. Are you who I think you are? Please be him...
you can't let her go! fight for her! she's the one you want, and you're going to sit back and watch her walk away, especially when you knew the other guy is no good. go after her, take her back! or you're going to wish your whole life you had. you'll regret you sat back. go get her, who knows, she could be sitting there waiting for you.
Just don't give up! I've learned the hard way that regrets are much more painful if you don't give it a shot. Full force :) <br /> The song also reminds me of a boy from back then. But our story just left unfinished. And I cant help wonder "what if?"
I agree with what you wrote, and now you've highlighted why this song always sticks out. <br /> <br /> In the summer I go down to my step dads parents caravan, and in august last year I might some awesome people including this guy, not ugly, not amzingly attractive but everything was so perfect. The way he acts, laughs, thinks, talks and just everything else. Basically I'm in love with him but my best friend Ciara (for the propose of this comment) started getting it on with him and she knew how I felt and he eventually broke her heart. So we're both hung up on him. And this year I was supposed to go again but because of reasons I can't, and never ever can agin, so I'm gonna lose the love of my life and can't deal with that!
You pretty much said it DistaNtfaded
I'm in the same situation. It's hard when watching your best friend love someone else.
the perfect voice for sad love songs
I think that everyone that has posted before me makes good points, and I think that maybe this means something different to everyone, depending on what is going on in that person's life.
To me, I think it is about a girl that is confused and trying to walk away from something great but still holding on because she doesn't know what she truly feels. They both know there is some tension in the relationship, but are too comfortable to face the facts, and they just keep things the way they are: "Some things we don't talk about, Rather do without and just hold the smile."
It seems like the guy wants things to keep progressing, but that can't happen because the girl doesn't know what she wants. He is ready to give her the world and devote himself completely to her and make her the queen of his everything. Maybe he knows that he can be everything she needs, so he tells her not to let him go.
They "pull apart and come together again and again" because they are on and off, hot and cold. She will pull away, then come back because he is there to be her "guardian when all is crumbling" and to "steady her hand."
Perhaps you can tell that I am getting this explanation from events right now in my life!!! Well, those are just some of my thoughts. Tell me what you think...
I signed up just to say I agree with you 100000%. In fact, that's EXACTLY what's going on in my life right now, to the tee! I hope it works out for you man.
I also agree with your take on this song. I am going through the EXACT same thing in my life right now.
MusicMan08 you just described my situation word for word and its freaky.Apparently youre not the only one who is going through that situation...thanks for the interpration..Hope it all works out for you!
Hmm, i totally thought iwas the only one going through something even remotely similar to this lol... but i guess all 5 of us are going through if not the exact same thing, but atleast freakishly similar situations... i hope things work out for you guys.
this is why i love this site (and music in general) so much..just realizing that you're not the only one having to deal with things and taking comfort in the fact that other people feel the same way as you and are trying to cope the best way they can. needless to say, i am experiencing the exact same thing as depicted above..hope things work out well for all :)
Well I believe I have to "jump on the bandwagon" as well here. Although with me, it's situation that has already passed and now I'm with that guy who's always been there for me, if even in the distance while I was figuring out what I truly felt. Yet it went on for about 5 years of us just doing what is mentioned in the first 2 lines of this song.. but I think that time of "pulling-apart-and-coming-together-again-and-again" made it that much sweeter and more romantic when we actually did get together, never to pull apart again. :)<br /> <br /> So yes, as someone who has had things work out in this way, just do as the song says and never let this person go and definitely never say never... you never know what will happen in the end! ;)
i agree with you abillion percent, musicman. except, it's the boy whose confused in this relationship, and i'm the one who wants to keep going. it's heartbreaking. but it's a bit of a comfort to know i'm not the only one...
i have to admit that i am in the opposite situation from you all. i'm pretty sure i want to spend forever with him but there's a lot coming between us right now. makes me wonder if we can ever work this out. but i'm not really capable of doing something that would hurt him on purpose b/c i really just want to see him happy<br /> <br /> anyway i just wanted to say thanks for the perspective. and i agree with star9 this site is really cool
I am so with you on this. I have a girlfriend of 10 months, and this song perfectly describes the situation that we are in. I love it.
omg you couldnt be more right.thats exactly what i thought.<br /> <br /> My ex and I are going through that, I have told her "not to let me go" because I know we can make things work and I know we can happy together again.<br /> <br /> I love this song.The best from The Fray.
spot on
@MusicMan08 Sounds a lot like what I've had happen lately. Fell for a woman who is scared of commitment and relationships. She has been hot and cold, getting close, then pulling away for some months now. It hurts, and is very confusing.
I agree with what everyone has been saying. But what I truly think it means is this:
Two people are in a relationship right now. The guy is all in but the girl is scared of the future, scared to pursue anything serious.
Somethings, we don't talk about, such as the future. Instead, living life day by day seeing where it will take them. Rather to do without thinking, and holding the smile back, ashamed you can't express your true feelings, yet proud of what you have in your arms.
The guy wants to express how he feels, yet you can never say never, about things that can happen.
Don't Let me go...
However, through thick and thin, I will always be here for you. Your the queen of everything, under your command. Through hard times, I will be here. When you are at your worst moment in life, I will be here. I'll steady your hand.
Younger now than we were before. Pulling apart from each other, yet knowing that we can't live without each other. Decisions are tough. But whatever you choose and whatever you want, i will always be here for you, and I will always love you.
We are together...so don't let me go. Don't let me go, don't let me go...
Personal events that are happening in my life right now. Tell me what you think.
a totally agree with your interpretation of this song. This situation is currently gonig in my life, except that i'm the one who wants to pursue more, while my "boyfriend" is having second thoughts. Whenever i head this song, memories of how we used to be flood my mind, and i just wish he felt the same way about me as i do him.
i agree, that this song can be interpreted in many different ways
for me, it's about two people who have been friends all along--"together all the while", and both fell for each other but never really never admitted it--"some things we don't talk about". and now it's not seeming that it will work out, but you can "never say never". they also don't want to let go of the friendship. one of the people involved perhaps admitted their feelings, but is saying "don't let me go." and then "but we pull it together"--still friends after all.
OK This is my take. Similiar to those above. The lyrics are right I checked them to the fray website.
I think its about friends that have been friends for years, and one is growing closer and wanting to be more then just friends. But the other knows that it could ruin their relationship. The one has feelings of more then friendship but doesnt want to lose a friend if it doesnt work out, "Falling in and out of love, Ashamed and proud of, together all the while". I think the "younger now then when we were before" I think is talking about, they are less caring about life and looking more for happiness. Just like a young child. I think the rest about being the queen is talking about even if you go on to have the world, Someone as simple as me will be here to make sure your safe.
this is a really beautiful song, the instrumental part towards the end is very passionate. Love it.
This song is one of those special songs that can be interpreted many different ways according to what the listener is going through in his or her life. I love their new cd and this is, without a doubt, my favorite song from it. A lot of the posts before mine have made sense and I can definitely see where they got their ideas from but I have a different take on this song. I think it's about a guy and a girl who were in a relationship together, rather than being just friends, and things ended between them. Because they are both so scared of getting hurt again, they don't talk about getting back together or how they are still in love with one another. They fall in and out of love with each other as they try to patch up their relationship. The guy believes that they can make it and that they will be together again one day so he tells her to "Never say never." He tries to reassure her and tell her not to be afraid because he loves her and will always be there for her, especially when times are rough. He does all he can to convince her that they belong together but ultimately, it's up to her. His heart is in her hands so he tells her to not let him go. Don't break his heart and make him whole once again.
I am going through something extremely similar to the situation I see when I listen to this song. My girlfriend and I were together for over four years and she was the love of my life. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and I thought that she wanted all the same things I did. But somewhere along the road, she got scared and ended things between us. My heart has been broken for the past seven months and I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms again. I tell her that if she chose me, she wouldn't need to be afraid because, "I will be your guardian when all is crumbling. I'll steady your hand."
The new album is great, I love it. They changed their style up a little, kind of testing new waters but still kept the original sound we love them for. This song immediatly got my attention, and so far is my fav. I think it's about him not wanting to be let go of and give up on the relationship so soon. Then again, I can also see it as him telling her to Never Say Never because he beleives that they will be together. Both friends with each other but she doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but he beleives that they can and will be. That they may be the one for each other. So she shouldn't let go of them, their relationship as friends and maybe more. Don't let him go.