I Don't Want Love

Lyrics taken from Album Insert

You wanna climb up the stairs, I wanna push you back down. But I let you inside, So you can push me around.

If I leave before you, And I walk out alone, Keep your hands to yourself When you follow me home.

I don't want love. I don't want love.

We wake up with pounding heads, Bruised down below. I should have built better walls, Or slept in my clothes. So if I see you again, Desperate and stoned, Keep your prison locked up, And I will leave my gun at home.

I don't want love. I don't want love.

Such a beautiful song...

It could surely be about a relationship that one person wishes to keep on a sexual level only, as suggested above, but...

I also wonder if it could be about a person struggling between sexual attraction and falling for someone. The person is so caught up in keeping things meaningless because it's easier than actually that falling for someone. I feel that is suggested when he says "But I let you inside" and "I should have built better walls." Truly, to hook up one doesn't have to let someone in or let down walls, and since he mentions it here, it makes me think he is struggling to find his personal balance between sex and actually letting someone crawl inside his heart and mean something in his life. I actually envision a defiant person fighting to not fall for someone, and a little sour about actually having feelings and what that really would mean to him or her because the person is afraid to let go. I look at the song as told from this newly defiant perspective, because if he doesn't want something out of the experience with the person he is with, he wouldn't have to go and sing about it. Along the lines of "You're So Vain". :D

I don't think those are right.... I hear:

You want to climb up the stairs, I want to push you right down. But I let you inside so you can push me around.

If I leave before you then I won't go alone. Keep your hands to yourself when you follow me home.

I don't want love. I don't want love.

You wake up with helping hands. Who's down below? I should have built better walls or slept in my clothes.

So if I see you again, desperate and stoned, keep your prison locked up and I will leave my gun at home.

I don't want love. I don't want love.

The lust between them is strong, and the sex is great, but the love on the other hand, it's just scary.

AotY

I believe this song is clearly about uncomfortable feelings with/after a one-night stand.

He wants to take her upstairs to his rooms, full of doubts. But he likes her inside , so it's hard for him to say no to her ("So you can push me around" instead of "right now", the lyrics really don't match the genuine but I have send a request for editing them).

If he goes home and she follows him, she has to keep her hands to herself. It's again about his difficulties saying no and, falling into a defensive and self-protecting attitude.

In the second verse, the deed is done. They "wake up with broken hands" and "bruised down below". He's making regrets because he should have "built higher walls" or "slept in his clothes" (self-protection again).

Finally he warns her to "luck up her prison" if they "see each other again", so he can "leave his gun at home". In my opinion he is referring to their genitals to underline that he doesn't want it to happen again, because otherwise it would end up in love.

I think the metaphors in this song describing the emotional difficulties that go hand-in-hand with a one-night stand are incredibly good. It's obvious that he likes her. For him it's more than just a fling, but for some reason he's scared of love. Although he likes to feel it, but only momentary.

I can't stop listening to this song. perfection.

The song makes sense since Hospice was about a destructive relationship. He sees how horrible love can be and doesn't want it anymore.

It definitely seems to be about a one night mistake. With a lot of sexual euphemisms.

Not sure how these lyrics got posted with the question marks; however, I wasn't allowed to automatically change them w/o copyright approval. (That makes absolutely no sense.)

Anyway, I didn't think this was about a bad one night stand, but I could be wrong. For me, I hear someone who's closed off emotionally saying that s/he doesn't want love; rather, all s/he wants is something sexual.

Perhaps the person has been hurt in the past and doesn't want to risk emotional intimacy...who knows. It's just a song.