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Once Was Love Lyrics

Don't delay, something tells me I gotta go away
Maybe it's the way we always stay when our hearts have gone
We can't hold us anymore, no, we've got to fold
Down to the floor, yes, I know it's cold but baby, our hearts have gone

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love

I gotta see if I'm filled up when it's only me
It's not your fault but you just can't be here
Now that my heart has gone, now that my heart has gone
Now that my heart has gone

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love

Everyone is hurting now and everything is burning down
But I can build back my new town today, today

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing

Just because there once was love
Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing
Just because there once was love

There once was love, there once was love
There once was love, there once was love
There once was love, there once was love
There once was love, there once was love
Song Info
Submitted by
cato On Aug 25, 2009
3 Meanings

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Cover art for Once Was Love lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson

I love this song. I love how it juxtaposes jaunty, bouncy music with the emotional turbulence that one experiences at the end of a relationship.

My interpretation of this song is that she's currently in a relationship with someone she loved at one point, but that she's no longer in love with the person and she needs to discover who she is on her own. The chorus "Just because there once was love / Don't mean a thing, don't mean a thing" indicates to me that she really did love the person in the past, but that she doesn't love the person any more and needs to move on to see if "I'm filled up when it's only me".

In fact, as much as I love this song, it seems a little callous. I understand her perspective: it's the point-of-view of the person in the relationship who initiates the break-up. But I can just see her partner saying "But I thought we loved each other!" and her answering with the chorus (ouuuuuuch!). The jaunty music makes me feel like she's being almost cavalier about the end of this relationship; the only hint of her possible pain about the death of this relationship that I can see is in the lines "Everyone is hurting now and everything is burning down" and even that line resolves itself with her excitement about "building back my new town" without her partner.

A great song, and a valid perspective, but I wouldn't want to be the other person in this relationship!

Song Meaning
Cover art for Once Was Love lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson

This song is amazing live!

Cover art for Once Was Love lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson

I feel that I can relate to this song a lot right now. A whole lot. LOL

 
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