Silvia

I don't understand why people always seek to find a mundane narrative about love affairs and drug abuse in wonderfully written songs like this. I was fortunate enough to see Miike Snow at Coachella, 2010. They came out with Phantom of the Opera masks on and it was obvious to me that mystery is a huge part of their show, lyrics, and videos. One look at the video for "Black and Blue" and "Sylvia" shows they are going the Tarriantino briefcase motif and I love the hell out of it. Here is the simple answer for me.

The person in this song has killed Sylvia. The conclusion is of the song is "...and your voice calls out for the coup de grace and the lights go out will there be a trace?" A coup de grace is defined as "a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, and with or without the consent of the sufferer." It certainly can be a figurative, metaphorical, or analogy "killing" but the song seems to suggest a literal killing from my perspective. Consider this "and your skin is so [white] underneath the black night" suggesting she is already dead along with the lyrics "I dont know silvia / that I loved, silvia / that I loved, silvia." Motive? Simple, "I know I can't have you here/ someone else on you skin." What makes this all so delicious is that like a character drawn from Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker seems to be deranged, holding a conversation with a dead lover: "Did I say too much / did I say enough / I don't know Silvia / I don't know Silvia." I think he followed the "powerlines" out of the city to bury her, and used them to return to the city. Amazing songwriting, thank you Miike Snow!

I think this is about someone who is obviously in (still) love with a girl called Silvia. I know he says "that I loved" also, so maybe they aren't together anymore. He feels jealous when he goes out, remembering she could be with someone else (i can't have you here, someone else on your skin). He feels that they aren't together because of him and his clinginess. ("and its all my fault for not getting off, so you made it stop cant you make it stop") So she broke up but he still wants her. The way he repeats her name so many times is a sign that he is constantly thinking of her. He couldn't go out with her and enjoy her because he was always thinking of other people looking at her and wanting her, and now he is in that same position because he forced her away with how close he tried to be..

So many guys do this. Why won't you learn? If you love something, set it free. If it doesn't return, it never was and wants to be.

It's pretty obvious, I think, that this song is about a man (the singer) who's in love with a girl (they're not necessarily in a relationship) , but she probably doesn't feel quite the same way and sleeps with another man.

Perhaps she's a beautiful girl, because I think the man who sleeps with her is the man he meets by the bar: "met a man barside" and "with eclipses for eyes" because when someone is attracted to something/one, it's known their pupils dilate. "Eclipses for eyes" suggests his pupils were so wide and dilated because he lusted for this girl, Silvia.

Other lines which suggest it's about Silvia sleeping with someone are: "When the lights go out" and "someone else on your skin"

I don't think drugs have anything to do with it. All the lyrics fit perfectly with the narrative that:

Silvia is a very desirable yet unattainable woman who has left a trail of broken hearts, the singer among them.

• a man with eclipses for eyes (being one of her other heartbroken former lovers).
• Circle round the room still/have fun breaking my well (I'm obsessed with you, have fun conquering me then tossing me out)
• I know I can't have you here with someone else on your skin (you just got back from being with another guy)
• Your voice cries out for the coup de grace (you want to end the relationship, put it out of its misery)
• Will there be a trace that I loved Silvia (this unrequited love is intense, will it be remembered)?

The video affirms this because all the men in the video are the sad heartbroken lovers she has left in her wake, and they burn an effigy of a heart at the end.

I had an experience exactly like this and the song evokes it perfectly; I have since grown and realized that I was too needy at that time and had to figure out how to fill the emptiness within myself rather than looking to a woman to do it.

sIIiiiIIIiiiIIiiIILLLvvveeEEeeeEEeeeEEeeeuhhuuuhhhuhooow-uhhhuuuuhhhhowEEEAAAAUUUH

IMO

3rd line is "met a man barside"

in addition to a few corrections:

"and you made it start, can you make it stop?" "and your skin is so white" "WHEN the lights go out..."

I'm pulling these lyrics from the digital booklet.

thought I'd like to add this..

the part during the breakdown, before the last verse where it now says

"damn damn"

is most certainly just "silvia" said through a billion different pieces of software.

siiiiillllll(4 measures) viiiiiiiiii(4) ahhhhhhhhh(8)

Spiritualfish was on the right lines as I also think its about drugs. Many songwriters write about substances, comparing or singing about them under the false pretence of a woman. The most famous example is obviously Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. This song however, I believe is about salvia. The name 'Silvia' is the most obvious giveaway, however: "Met a man barside with eclipses for eyes" could be hinting at dilated pupils, another effects of substance abuse.

"and its all my fault for not getting off so you made it stop cant you make it stop" This verse clearly hints at his addiction problems.

"circle round the room still breaking my will know I cant have you here someone else on your skin" These few lines are about Salvia's effects on the writer, line three specifically is about how the writer knows what he is doing is wrong and wants to stop this habit. Line 4 is about how when you are under the influence of salvia, it's not you but the effects that are taking control.

This is a really amazing song and the meaning of the lyrics are pretty straight forward:

  "Met a man barside With eclipses for eyes"

-He and Silvia go to a bar and meet a drunk guy

   "And you tell yourself you wont let them touch"
   "Know I can't have you here Someone else on your skin"

-They went there to find someone for her to have sex with for money and eventhough he doesnt want her to do it they really need money for drugs

    "And it's all my fault for not getting off And you made it start, can you make it stop?
     You don't know Sylvia"

-He blames himself because he cant get off drugs and he's asking her if she knows how to get clean

     "Reach the city steps tonight  Following the power lines
     And your skin is so white Underneath the black night"

-The last verse isnt so clear but it sounds like they are just outside the bar and the power lines are her veins and he is trying to find a good one to shoot up

     "And your voice calls out for the Coup de grace"

-Is her telling him to inject it, the term coup de grace also means to end ones suffering and as any addict knows when you are withdrawing it is the worst pain you can ever experience and you either want to get high or die. Also silvia or salvia is a hallucinagenic but its not the kind of drug you get strung out on so its probably a coincidence.

It's always interesting to see people's own interpretation of a song but, according to the band, this song is about a stripper who straightens herself out and quits.