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"
Drinking whiskey reminds me of you
You're the first in ages to have gotten through
I know you mean well, I know that you do
But sooner or later you're going to break me in two
Were my pupils dilated?
Could you tell that I liked you?
We were so unlikely
You flirt with an ex, put me to the test
Still I want to tell you that I love you the best
We turned the radiators on and there was no way back
Did you know
You had The Plough star trail on your back?
Your voice is quiet and I need it loud
In the night you went up
And the morning you went down
It's like you to forbid me to say goodnight
I had your brown eyes and limbs
On me through the night
These words are weak and to your dislike
You'll never believe them so I guess it's alright
Do you like the view I show you?
I say look at the light
Do you still miss the way that I hold you?
In other towns and cities
Who's holding you tonight?
The dresses came out of the bag then the tears came
Drinking has never been the same again
I shared your trouble, I shared your weight
I lost it with you today
We don't share a birthday but we do share a sign
We shared something or was it all in my mind
There was talk of love and how I need it back
I'd be better for you than that last love of mine
You're in another town or city
You mean nothing to me tonight
You're the first in ages to have gotten through
I know you mean well, I know that you do
But sooner or later you're going to break me in two
Were my pupils dilated?
Could you tell that I liked you?
We were so unlikely
You flirt with an ex, put me to the test
Still I want to tell you that I love you the best
We turned the radiators on and there was no way back
Did you know
You had The Plough star trail on your back?
Your voice is quiet and I need it loud
In the night you went up
And the morning you went down
It's like you to forbid me to say goodnight
I had your brown eyes and limbs
On me through the night
These words are weak and to your dislike
You'll never believe them so I guess it's alright
Do you like the view I show you?
I say look at the light
Do you still miss the way that I hold you?
In other towns and cities
Who's holding you tonight?
The dresses came out of the bag then the tears came
Drinking has never been the same again
I shared your trouble, I shared your weight
I lost it with you today
We don't share a birthday but we do share a sign
We shared something or was it all in my mind
There was talk of love and how I need it back
I'd be better for you than that last love of mine
You're in another town or city
You mean nothing to me tonight
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I think it's a shame that this song doesn't fit perfectly on the album because lyrically it's one of the strongest. In particular I like:
These words are weak and to your dislike You'll never believe them so I guess it's alright
Lyrics transcribed from the booklet included with the "My Maudlin Career" CD. Parts in brackets were erronesouly left out of the booklet lyrics despite obviously being a part of the song. Parts enclosed in parentheses are in the booklet lyrics despite not actually being in the recorded version. Sans the bracketed and parenthetical parts, everything else from the booklet checks out to my ears.
Drinking whisky reminds me of you You're the first in ages to have gotten through I know you mean well, I know that you do But sooner or later you're going to break me in two Were my pupils dilated? Could you tell that I liked you? We were so unlikely You flirt with an ex, put me to the test [Oh and] still I want to tell you that I love you the best We turned the radiators on and there was no way back Did you know You had The Plough star trail on your back? Your voice is quiet but I need it loud In the night you went up And [in] the morning you went down It's like you to forbid me to say goodnight I had your brown eyes and limbs On me through the night These words are weak and to your dislike [But] you'll never believe them so I guess it's alright
Do you like the view I show you? I say look at the light Do you still miss the way that I hold you? In other towns and cities Who's holding you tonight?
The dresses came out of the bag then the tears came Drinking has never been the same again I shared your trouble, I shared your weight I lost it with you today We don't share a birthday (but) we do share a sign [And] we shared something or was it (all) in my mind There was talk of love and how I need it back I'd be better for you than that last love of mine
Do you like the view I show you? I say look at the light Do you still miss the way that I hold you? In other towns and cities Who's holding you tonight? You're in another town or city You mean nothing to me tonight.
this song I can oddly relate to right now, I think she is talking about someone whom she has a relationship and has depression. when she says "In the night you went up And [in] the morning you went down" she's saying that he changes his mood a lot, and she can't seem to understand. also when she says, "These words are weak and to your dislike[But] you'll never believe them so I guess it's alright", I can totally understand her, because my current bf is going thru depression and he never believes what I tell him and I think she is getting fed up. then to finally sum up the song, when she says "The dresses came out of the bag then the tears came. Drinking has never been the same again I shared your trouble, I shared your weight,I lost it with you today. We don't share a birthday (but) we do share a sign [And] we shared something or was it (all) in my mind. There was talk of love and how I need it back". I think she is started realizing that no matter what she does she doesnt feel like anything she is doing is right, she felt like she was about to settle down with this guy but in the end depression wins, she can't even drink with him anymore or do anything so her final option is to leave this guy even though she still deeply cares for him :(
I don't know how specific we can get - the song seems mostly to just be a quiet, sad reflection on a relationship that didn't last supremely long but had a lot of weight to it. Drinking isn't the same since you can't do it with the other person anymore, the plough star trail is her mentioning something about her lover that he/she may have not known before and also hinting at their intimacy, etc. "The dresses came out" seems to me to say that it's over, she's packed her stuff up from wherever they were sharing space and then the tears come because of that. Or perhaps it means she hasn't had a reason to wear a dress to show off for anyone until now, and that's what brings the tears.
Regardless, I think it fits in with the album very well - after Forests and Sands, this comes on and continues the slow melancholy quiet pace right before they slam you with Honey in the Sun for the last hurrah.