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"
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm staring at the same old crack in the same old wall
I want my life back
I'm listening to the same old crap that I've heard before
I want my life back
Finally got a plan
To be a better man
And not an arsehole man
I won't be very long
Though I may be wrong
I may be very wrong
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When they make me a superstar
When I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm happy with a fix of fame when I've had my fill
I'll get my life back
They tell me it's a dirty game but I'll play it till
I get my life back
I wanna jump the queue
Like the others do
Stand back, I'm coming through
I won't be very long
Though I may be wrong
I may be very wrong
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When they make me a superstar
When I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Hold on, it may be a rocky ride
Hold on, I hope that you're satisfied
But I will try
So give me 15
If I never buy a ticket
I'm never gonna win at all
But I'll be back
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When I may be a superstar
But when I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm staring at the same old crack in the same old wall
I want my life back
I'm listening to the same old crap that I've heard before
I want my life back
Finally got a plan
To be a better man
And not an arsehole man
I won't be very long
Though I may be wrong
I may be very wrong
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When they make me a superstar
When I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm happy with a fix of fame when I've had my fill
I'll get my life back
They tell me it's a dirty game but I'll play it till
I get my life back
I wanna jump the queue
Like the others do
Stand back, I'm coming through
I won't be very long
Though I may be wrong
I may be very wrong
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When they make me a superstar
When I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Hold on, it may be a rocky ride
Hold on, I hope that you're satisfied
But I will try
So give me 15
If I never buy a ticket
I'm never gonna win at all
But I'll be back
I'll be back in 15 minutes
When I may be a superstar
But when I'm back in 15 minutes
I won't forget who you are
Open doors and recognition
I'll deal you what I was looking for
But I'll be back in 15
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Lyrics submitted by spacexoddity
15 Minutes Lyrics as written by Nick Ingram Michael Kintish
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
The song is rooted in Andy Warhol's famous 1958 quote, that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes". The idea hints at the potential for fame for everyone, but cynically hints that such celebrity will probably be short-lived. Several other artists have used / modified the thought, such as Kirsty MacColl ("Fifteen minutes" on the Kite album). Hence the lyric in this Yeah Yous song (the band are renaming themselves 'Madfox' in 2013). "Andy knew what I was looking for". In this song it seems that although the singer wants to be famous, he wants to be famous just for 15 minutes, so that he can 'get my life back' and return to the ordinary. In the video of the song, two down-at-heel buskers are featured, who become chat-show celebrities fleetingly (probably as 'one hit wonders'), but return to their hum-drum bedsit as the video closes.