Be Like You

After seeing that no one has added a meaning, I decided to just add in my input. If you disagree with my interpretation of this song, no need to be rude about it :/ I'm just here share my thoughts and feelings with other people who love music...

"Happy days, that left us on the floor" Once I listened to the entire song, I feel that this could be about a girl with disorder. Mainly depression even when nothing has gone wrong. Throughout my interpretation you'll more understand why I say this...

"And you breathe, til you're not feeling sure"

Again, you'll more understand why I say this later on. The girl probably is slowly falling in love with him, but after her past she starts to feel unsure about being with him...

"Everything will brighten up, if we go to Brighton I'll take you along the pier. Everything will lighten up, if you feel too frightened I'll make it disappear"

She could be self - conscious about herself, and whenever she's in public with him she becomes even more scared of what people might say about her. And of course being the lovely person Ed is he's willing to take her away from her fear and make her feel safe :)

"Darling, don’t be nervous I’ll understand if you’ll let me go, I did this on purpose"

At times she's afraid of falling for him and just opening up & letting him into her life. And he is purposely doing all these things to let her know he really cares...

"Now, when I’m missing you I’ll stop eating food and I’ll squeeze into a dress. So I can be like you, and then I'll see your bitterness"

As I said, she could have a disorder: eating; depression; and ( I realized after The A Team and this song, Ed really knows how to make a musically upbeat version of a sad situation) and he'll do all these things so he can see exactly what she's going through in her mind...

"And why you’re leaving too. Maybe, I’ll put you to a test and say that I love you, I think that I love you"

He'll see why she's leaving. Not only because of what I noted before, but also for her maybe not feeling 'good enough' or deserving of him. And he'll 'put her to the test' by saying 'I love you' and how he feels to let her know the truth... I <3 Ed

"Sunny days, that left my skin dark red" At this point I feel he's talking in her point of view; still feeling uncertain of herself she probably resorted to cutting :(

"You squeeze me, til these thoughts leave my head" Him having her safe in his arms makes me think that the thoughts of hers harming herself disappear cause she feels cared about :)

"If it gets too complicated I’ll give up and be frustrated, can you see what’s wrong?" This song is entirely made of mixed emotions: she could be feeling misunderstood by him and have thoughts about going back her old ways...

"If you feel like you’ve been hated, this love’s too overrated, see what’s going on"

It's mostly self explanatory; she feels hated by people, that being in love with him isn't going to last and isn't worth the fight: 'see what's going on' meaning see the truth. She isn't hated and their love is really worth it in his eyes... Aw!

"Take me back to live at home, take me back to Albert Road"

Being such a sweetheart he'll take her back to places where she had happier memories :)

I thik this is about a girl who just left him and he puts himself in her shoes and shows her that he loves her and in the end they stay together

I think this song can be translated a thousand different ways, but here's my opinion:

"Happy days That left us on the floor And you breathe me Till you’re not feeling sure Everything will brighten up If we go to Brighton I’ll take you along the Pier Everything will lighten up If you feel too frightened I’ll make it disappear, dear"

Maybe they weren't exactly dating- just liked each other. Maybe the girl was unsure about the fame...He was saying he'll try to make it better for her.

"Darling, don’t be nervous I’ll understand If you’ll let me go I did this on purpose Now, when I’m missing you I’ll stop eating food And I’ll squeeze into a dress So I can be like you And then I’ll see your bitterness And why you’re leaving too Maybe, I’ll put you to a test And say that I love you I think that I love you"

Since supposedly they weren't dating, he was saying its okay if you decide you don't like me, but I want you to stay. The girl might have dealt with depression or self harm, or tried starving herself, so Ed was saying he'd try and feel like she did, and see from her viewpoint, but would say "I love you" to see if she'd stay.

"Sunny days That left my skin dark red You squeeze me Till these thoughts leave my head If it gets too complicated I’ll give up and be frustrated Can you see what’s wrong? If you feel like you’ve been hated This love’s too overrated See what’s going on, on"

I think this might also be about the fame, and when he says "If it gets too complicated I’ll give up and be frustrated Can you see what’s wrong? If you feel like you’ve been hated This love’s too overrated" He might be saying that too much attention is brought to them even when their not dating...."this love's too overrated"

Toward the end lets suppose she left him, so he went into her shoes and saw why she didn't like the fame, or was scared by it.

I see the song as being from the perspective of someone who has just been dumped by their lover. The song explains the relationship and hints at its being toxic and not healthy with his lover's anxiety which is reflected in both her worry over what people think of her and their relationship and her possible eating disorder (hinted at with the lyrics "I'll stop eating food and I'll squeeze into a dress so I can be like you"). The other person (Ed's perspective) also hints at having his own issues when he says that "he'll give up and be frustrated" where Ed is admitting to having his own problems and that the relationship had problems with both of them. The song goes on with Ed confessing that he believes he is in-love with his then girlfriend and it appears that Ed is trying to understand why the relationship ended as he is putting himself in his lover's shoes to "be like you". By the end of the song Ed comes to the conclusion of how toxic the relationship is and he understands that his lover left him because she loved him and so she loved him enough to walk away before she hurt him.

Obviously this is just my interpretation and I may be entirely wrong but this is just what I associate the song with meaning.