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"
I am so ashamed,
I am so ashamed of all the trouble I have caused
I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors
I am so ashamed of what I have become.
Oh, my heart is bursting again
Don't leave this mark
Your eyes are turning away
I am of the west,
I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest
If I have no religion I've no reason to be scared
I am going to hell but I just don't care.
I am so ashamed of all the trouble I have caused
I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors
I am so ashamed of what I have become.
Oh, my heart is bursting again
Don't leave this mark
Your eyes are turning away
I am of the west,
I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest
If I have no religion I've no reason to be scared
I am going to hell but I just don't care.
Lyrics submitted by doneill1027
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This song has such few lyrics but from what i can tell it's about white guilt. Western Europeans are responsible for some of the worst crimes against humanity thanks to their imperialism among other atrocities.(the British in particular) I think he is saying that has left a mark on them. Some shame they have to live with even if they were not directly involved with the actions of their ancestors or even just countrymen(of no relation) that have long since passed. Perhaps this song is saying the blame or guilt is undeserved or wanting to change the attitude. I feel... Countries and whole societies are still recovering from the aftermath of the Western European imperialism. If they still have to live with this stain why shouldn't the descendants of the imperialists feel some small token in return, guilt?
I am so ashamed I am so ashamed of all the trouble I have caused and I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors I am so ashamed of what I have become
That oh, my heart is bursting again I dont need this But your eyes are turning away Ooooooohh, aaaaaaaahh
I am of the west I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest If I have no religion and no reason to be scared If I am going to hell then I just dont care
That oh, my heart is bursting again I dont need this But your eyes are turning away Ooooooohh, aaaaaaaahh (2x)
That oh, my heart is bursting again I dont need this But your eyes are turning away Ooooooohh, aaaaaaaahh (2x)
he is def saying<br /> <br /> that oh, my heart is bursting again<br /> DONT LEAVE THIS MARK<br /> your eyes are turning away
The way he sings:
"I am of the west I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest "
is just beautiful.
It is a beatuiful song...<br /> <br /> It seems he may be talking about white culture and the marks we have left on the world...<br /> <br /> Mabey something more personal as well
I think it's more of a reflection of secular European culture. White guilt, apathy towards spiritual matters, not making good decisions (unopened doors).
Clever and satirical. And catchy. I love it.
i agree with this a lot.
I definitely agree with this.
Suicide.
i think the first part is about regret for being a coward or for causing someone they love trouble because of this person's own personal failings. the second part i read as this person saying they feel so much emotion that their heart is "bursting" and that whoever they have wronged is so important to them that they will "leave a mark" and they can already feel this person's disprovable or disappointment. the third part i think is is about they're failings as a person again. this part seems very self-deprecating and seems to be about them recognizing all these terrible things that they are and basically coming to terms with it because they cant help who they are.
"I am of the west, I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest If I have no religion I've no reason to be scared I am going to hell but I just don't care"
it seems to me like they are talking about the terrorists here
"I am so ashamed of all the trouble I have caused, I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors I am so ashamed of what I have become." I think he is talking about Europe. How Europe is guilted into shame from their own acts of prejudice in the past, how they previously left the doors unopened to immigrants and non-Europeans, and are trying to make up for that by allowing them into their countries today.
"I am so ashamed of what I have become." European countries have become giant wussies, they have let their defenses down.
"Oh, my heart is bursting again Don't leave this mark Your eyes are turning away" Europe and the Western countries have a "mark" left on them due to their own mistakes in the past. Their heart is "bursting" at the regret they feel for their past actions, but the rest of the world's eyes are still turning away because they are disgusted or shamed at them. Nothing they do will earn their respect back.
"I am of the west, I am fair skinned I deserve a bullet in my chest" The hatred that the rest of the world has towards the West has turned into personal guilt on Westerners themselves. They are guilted they deserve a bullet in their chest for being fair skinned, or part of a race who's ancestors commited crimes.
"If I have no religion I've no reason to be scared I am going to hell but I just don't care." Europe has become secular and non-religious lately, but that has been changing. Religious extremist groups are growing. With the lack of policies, there is no safety anymore. An uprising of violence or conflict is inevitable, and the writer doesn't care if they go to hell when trouble breaks lose or they are killed, because they don't believe in hell anyway.
That's just my take on it.
If you ever ask Robert Stevenson about what "You Will Leave A Mark" means, he will tell you he didnt really intend it to have any meaning, but he will try to explain it as best as he can.
If you ever ask Robert Stevenson about what "You Will Leave A Mark" means, he will tell you he didnt really intend it to have any meaning, but he will try to explain it as best as he can.