The Lumineers – Ho Hey

General CommentFor me, this song isn't about a love lost, but a love that never happened. Maybe its just me and my experiences affecting my interpretation of this song, but to me its about a guy who treats this girl right and loves her the way she should be loved, but she doesn't reciprocate those feelings (I been trying to do it right / I been living a lonely life / I been sleeping in my bed.....). Despite him doing right by her this whole time and all the things he does for her, he's gotten no where. He's done everything right, so he can't understand how she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. (All the blood that I will bleed / I don't know where I belong / I don't know where I went wrong). There's another guy and he's probably not a good person and doesn't treat her well, but she stays with him anyway. If she would have gone out with him things would have been different, things would have been so much better. (I don't think you're right for him / think of what might have been / if we took a bus to China Town). She's his sweet heart and always will be and they belong together in his mind, but she never realizes it for herself.

Maybe I'm just reading this in terms of my own life because what I described happened to me. The only difference is I ended up with the girl in the end. :).

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  @nluken
  +1

  I don't know how many people have been to New York, but Canal street is known for its jewelery, and Canal and Bowery were the intersection that was once labeled the "Diamond Capital" of New York. I think the line "Think of what it might have been if we took a bus to china town, I'd be standing on Canal, and Bowery..she'd be standing next to me." refers to her decision not to marry him over somebody else, that if she'd chosen him, they would be picking out her engagement/wedding ring right now. This song speaks to me too, but on the opposite end ;) An ex (a relationship that ended on good terms, not due to a lack of love, but a move and decisions regarding children from previous relationships) moved back into town a few years later, unexpectedly, and was hoping to rekindle what we'd had before. By that time I'd already been engaged to somebody else, who my children adored and is ALSO an amazing person. It was a TOUGH decision...very, very tough. Especially because our children got along so well (he now has full custody of his kids which is what enabled him to move them back to their home town, he'd followed them and their mother to another state so he could have joint custody), and we really do care. Yet he is respectful enough of me and my (now) husband to keep his distance...but for a while there it was hard for him (and me) to accept that what we had before couldn't be brought back. I think this song is about a man who loves a woman he can't be with, because she didn't "choose" him, even though she loves him. "I've been trying to do it right, I've been living a lonely life. I've been been sleeping here instead, I've been sleeping in my bed. Sleeping in my bed." -indicating he wasn't "sleeping" there before- Perhaps she is married and chose not to leave her husband for him, perhaps she is in a long-term relationship and isn't willing to break it off for him.

  Flag bellabellaon September 21, 2012  

  +3

  A beautiful and personally touching reply that fits the song just right.

  Flag dreamorphon September 30, 2012  

  +3

  Definitely the same thing that is happening in my life right now. How'd you wind up getting the girl? Congrats

  Flag Wisco1on October 04, 2012  

  +1

  I just kept being myself. I showed her what kind of person I really was. I'm not gonna lie, it took a while. I mean, there was always something there, but she was hung up on this ex-boyfriend that treated her like crap. So by being myself I showed her how happy things would be with me because Ii was always there for her and treated her with respect. I'm not going to lie, there was a mutual attraction initially, which I think is necessary, but that ex was the stumbling block we both had to overcome. And we did. I think this song would have been me if I would have just given up and moved on.

  Flag nlukenon October 26, 2012  

  +1

  great comment. i'm experiencing the same situation as well. i really appreciate your comment, it made me realize that I'm not going to give up on this girl because she's amazing

  Flag adamtobinon January 13, 2013  

  +1

  Just got engaged to that girl I was talking about. Never give up. To quote another Lumineers song, " I never sink when you're with me. Oh Lord, I'm your Dead Sea!"

  Flag nlukenon June 07, 2013  

  0

  Please let me know how it turns out! Sorry I replied so late!

  Flag nlukenon June 07, 2013  

  0

  Same thing happening to me, hope i end up with her

  Flag andaraon October 19, 2014  

General CommentThis song is about unrequited love. He has been dumped by his girl or "sweetheart". He tries to tell her (or convince her) that he's trying to be a better man , "I've been trying to do it right". He says, "I been living a lonely life" (He's lonely). He's depressed about their break-up "I've been sleeping in my bed". Besides the chorus, this the only statement in the entire song that he repeats twice. By repeating it twice, he is emphasizing his point. As if he's saying to her, did you mean me? I can't even get out of bed because I'm so depressed about our breakup.

So show me family
All the blood that I will bleed
I don't know where I belong
I don't know where I went wrong
But I can write a song

"So show me family", he's cynically saying to her, show me your allegiance or loyalty to me. He saying I was faithful to you but you left me and that's not what families are supposed to do to one another. It’s a ‘blood is thicker than water’ kind of mentality. He says, "show me..All the blood that I will bleed" meaning show me how long and how much I will have to suffer from this breakup. He's asking her, how long are you going to leave me because I'm going to keep "bleeding" (or suffering) until you return. He states, "I don't know where I belong" meaning that without her he doesn't know where else he fits in, which implies that life without her has lost all meaning to him. He refers to the first stanza by stating, "I don't know what I did wrong" echoing the statement, "I've been trying to do it right". Basically, he's asking what did I do that was so wrong that you feel the need to leave me?

I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart
I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweet

He is asking her to listen to reason, "I belong with you and you belong with me because you're my sweetheart." The term "sweetheart" is a term of endearment often used by people when referring to a childhood or long term relationship. This term indicates that his feelings towards her run deeper than they would towards just casual girlfriend. He views her as a long term romance.

I don't think you're right for him
Think of what it might have been if we
Took a bus to Chinatown
I'd be standin' on Canal and Bowery
And she'd be standin' next to me

She's moved on and he doesn't think "she's right" for her new man because he feels that she is only right for him. He asks her to "think of what might have been" if they had taken a bus to Chinatown". His next statement is written as though he's day dreaming, "I'd be standin' on Canal and Bowery" (a famous engagement ring store in NYC) and his sweetheart would be "standing" next to him as they picked out an engagement ring together. He's basically asking her to think about how different their lives would currently be if they had become engaged. When he states, "she'd be standing next to me", it is unclear as to whether she left him because he wouldn't propose to her when he had the chance or if she broke up with him before he had the chance to propose.

I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart
I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart

Again, he is trying to convince her to see reason-we belong together.

Love we need it now
Let's hope for some
Cause oh, we're bleedin' out

He's finishing his conversation with her by saying. We both need love now. By stating," let's hope for some because we're bleedin' out", he's saying, let’s hope for some love from each other in our relationship together because we are both (bleeding) suffering and being emotionally drained in our current circumstances. Again, he reiterates, we belong together because we're "sweethearts". Note that for each stanza, the melody is played with base keys and with a slower tempo depicting his depressed state but the chorus is played with treble clef keys and at a faster tempo indicating his hopeful desire to reunite with his sweetheart.

I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart
I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweet

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  @hollyjolly
  0

  You are exactly right. Down to the T. But, if I might add that perhaps this whole poem, being as coy as it was, intentionally open for hope, that if he is on the right path that some one better someone perfect, the person who he was meant to be with in the beginning. Someone who will never leave or abandon him, no matter how many times they turn each other blue in the face ending with a slammed door each time, will come along. Some one who fits him better, like a best friend, not indifferent to your well being. A friend that you spend so much time with that you get on each others nerves, but always end up making out after ward, someone who is and always will be your sweetheart. A love so absurd that it collides.
  
  Two people brought together by fate, living two different pasts, but on the inner, are so broken, so much alike, that they are, were, and always will be meant.

  Flag nikkicron October 01, 2014  

  0

  You are exactly right. Down to the T. But, if I might add that perhaps this whole poem, being as coy as it was, intentionally open for hope, that if he is on the right path that some one better someone perfect, the person who he was meant to be with in the beginning. Someone who will never leave or abandon him, no matter how many times they turn each other blue in the face ending with a slammed door each time, will come along. Some one who fits him better, like a best friend, not indifferent to your well being. A friend that you spend so much time with that you get on each others nerves, but always end up making out after ward, someone who is and always will be your sweetheart. A love so absurd that it collides.
  
  Two people brought together by fate, living two different pasts, but on the inner, are so broken, so much alike, that they are, were, and always will be meant.

  Flag nikkicron October 01, 2014  

My InterpretationI just discovered this song a few hours ago but it speaks to me right now and I'm really moved by it. The sound of this song and the video and the musicians and the rest of their catalogue that I am exploring seem filled with joy, honesty and "truth and beauty bombs." Although there is sadness in the lyrics about some decisions regretted or roads not taken I find that in my life it speaks directly to me at a time where it is not too late to make the decisions that make for a happy ending. This entire interpretation comes from that personal perspective of mine as advice coming from the future at a timely moment.

"I been trying to do it right
I been living a lonely life
I been sleepin' here instead
I been sleepin' in my bed
I been sleepin' in my bed"
This sounds like a regretful lament about the dissatisfaction after choosing not to pursue a relationship, instead trying to make the smart, right or sensible decisions in life, not taking the wild leap, bowing out, waiting for the right time or for the situation or your state of mind and heart to be better. Instead of some reward for being sensible or safe or "doing it right" the singer is left feeling lonely with a missed opportunity.

"So show me family
All the blood that I will bleed"
Although this may be a stretch, I can read this from my perspective as asking for an image or vision of the "family" or relationship the singer could have built with that partner, of the "blood" ties or family bonds and experiences they could have created or "bled" together... I think I may be stretching the lyrics toward where I want them to go here, but the words and connotations and imagery here are powerful even if the meaning is not as fully clear as the rest to me.

"I don't know where I belong
I don't know where I went wrong
But I can write a song"
This is much clearer to me as feeling lost after passing on this relationship, as though their place in life and sense of belonging in their own present is decreased, even though the singer cannot see which step or choice they could have made or done differently. Even with this confusion and uncertainty about what was done wrong or where to go next, the singer can still summon up their art in the form of writing a song to express what they are feeling inside their heart instead of the more rationale choices or the ideas in their head about sadness and regret.


"I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart
I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweet-(Ho Hey Ho Hey)"
In the singer's heart (and in their "art" which I see in the chorus which is the "song they can write") the confusion melts away and the misgivings or regrets are not relevant, only the pure emotional conviction that even though they chose not to be together there is a certainty that they do belong together as sweethearts.

"I don't think you're right for him
Think of what it might have been if we
Took a bus to Chinatown
I'd be standin' on Canal and Bowery
And she'd be standin' next to me"
I can't really improve on bellabella's excellent interpretation here about the bus to Chinatown signifying a specific instance or point in the chain of choices where the two lovers could have changed it all and gone down the road not taken, which might have brought them to Canal and Bowery (apparently the most famous place in the world to buy engagement rings) and then to a happy life together. I do love the subtle sort of caring touch I sense when the singer refrains from being directly dismissive or aggressive against the person his would-be-partner chose instead. To me saying "I don't think you're right for him" instead of something directly putting down the new partner does make it seem more like the singer is still caring for and a looking out for the partner they love and wishing for the greater happiness they could have together had they made the choice to take the "bus to Chinatown" when they had that opportunity.

"Love we need it now
Let's hope for some
Cause oh, we're bleedin' out"
I think this reads to me in two ways:
1. Again showing a concern for their mutual happiness, instead of just the singer's own, and claiming that being together would stop the slow pain and diminishing that stemmed from choosing to be apart.
2. A general statement to the world at large about a need for love, and to pursue it and share it and reach for it, because the lack of love given, taken and shared is causing all of us collectively to wither and bleed out.

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  @dreamorph

General CommentI think this is the song that reconnects that perfect, blissful lost love. Just saying..

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  @smittylove

My InterpretationI think the first lines "I been trying to do it right
I been living a lonely life
I been sleepin' here instead
I been sleepin' in my bed
I been sleepin' in my bed " have double meanings. If you read the lumineers lyrics, they are often double-edged with their meanings, as in they have both figurative as well as literal meaning. This particular line, I believe, has to do with a person choosing to "do the right thing" and stop attempting to maintain a relationship with an unavailable person (perhaps they'd been having an affair? Or perhaps she ended a relationship and he has decided to respect her decision and leave her alone?) Either way, he is all alone now, and sleeping in the bed he made (if you ever hear the phrase "you made your bed, now sleep in it", or living with the consequences of his actions.

I think the next line "So show me family
All the blood that I will bleed
I don't know where I belong
I don't know where I went wrong
But I can write a song" is his way of saying "I have no idea what went wrong here, I did what I thought was right, I am giving and giving...but maybe it isn't my place to do so..." If the relationship in question is in fact an affair (either emotional or physical or both) then this line would make sense, if he truly felt that he did no wrong, that their love was so real that to express it WAS the right thing to do, then it would explain his confusion over his reflection of it, since in the end, it made no difference. Therefore, he wouldn't know what would have been the more appropriate action. IF, however, the relationship wasn't an affair, but is in reference to a man who was trying to win an available womans attention and lost, it could be his venting of frustration over pouring out all he could for her and still being rejected.

"I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my sweetheart
I belong with you, you belong with me
You're my - " obviously, he believes the two of them belong together, yet they aren't.

"I don't think you're right for him
Think of what it might have been if we
Took a bus to Chinatown
I'd be standin' on canal, and Bowery
And she'd be standin' next to me" Probably the most loaded part of the song. As I mentioned in another response, Canal and Bowery are where a LOT of jewelery stores are located in New York, couples from around the country go there for engagement/wedding rings. Perhaps also, this place has significant meaning to the couple. The line "if we took a bus to china town..." this is something that can only truly be understood by the writer and the person the song is about, she apparently didn't go somewhere with him in China Town, a significant enough of a decision to have been mentioned in this song. Perhaps the most pivotal decision in their relationship. Obviously, this decision lead to her being with another "him" instead of the songwriter.


"Love we need it now
Let's hope for some
Cause oh, we're bleedin' out"- he includes another in his statement "we're bleeding out" rather than just saying "Im bleeding out" meaning perhaps, she is hurting too and he knows/understands it, perhaps feeling hopeless like indicated earlier in the song because he doesn't know what is appropriate or what isn't.

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  @bellabella
  0

  This feels insightful and right on target to me.

  Flag dreamorphon September 30, 2012  

My OpinionThe lyrics are great. Maybe if the song wasn't titled hey ho and it wasn't sung throughout he'd be in better standing with her.

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  @chaidrinker
  -1

  maybe she's a ho

  Flag Gryphoningon December 08, 2012  

  0

  @chaidrinker not saying this is a mean way or anything but the song is actually ho then hey not hey ho... Don't know if you meant to switch them up or not but ... you know just in case you didn't know... I'm just gonna shut up now. Have a good day/night :)

  Flag 5sossnailson March 14, 2015  

My InterpretationThis song is about a husband who was unfaithful and now wants a second chance with his sweetheart and with his daughter.

"(Ho!) I've been trying to do it right
(Hey!) I've been living a lonely life
(Ho!) I've been sleeping here instead
(Hey!) I've been sleeping in my bed,
(Ho!) sleeping in my bed"

The first verse explains how he has been trying to shape up and be the type of man who resists temptation and remains faithful to his wife. He's been "sleeping here instead" implies that he is now sleeping in his bed instead of in the woman's bed that he had the affair with, or in hotel beds with one night stands. The repetition of "I've been sleeping in my bed" also suggests along with the later mention of Manhattan, that he is spending more time at home (instead of on tour). He is willing to remain grounded, and to remain faithful, if he can get another chance with his sweetheart.


"(Ho!) So show me family
(Hey!) All the blood that I would bleed
(Ho!) I don't know where I belong
(Hey!) I don't know where I went wrong
(Ho!) But I can write a song"

He wants to be shown the type of forgiveness a family would give, and to be given a chance to do things right. A family sees you at your worse, but they are also quicker to forgive your indiscretions and are the ones who love you unconditionally. He is asking for that kind of understanding from the woman he cheated on. "All the blood that I would bleed" along with the repetition of "Hey" "Ho!" and the powerful driving rhythm suggests that he is willing to work extremely hard to fix things, and that he would give anything for that chance. He's lost without his sweetheart, and doesn't understand why he did what he did, but he knows that through his music he can express his feelings.

"(Ho!) I don't think you're right for him
(Hey!) Look at what it might have been if you
(Ho!) Took a bus to China Town
(Hey!) I'd be standing on Canal
(Ho!) And Bowery
(Ho!) And she'd be standing next to me"

This is the verse that makes me feel like he has a daughter, the "she" in the last line. He says that he doesn't think his sweetheart is right for the man she is with now, perhaps because she could only be right for him. And then asks her to imagine how things could have been if she had taken a bus to Canal and Bowery in Manhattan to see him standing beside his daughter. The intersection is by the Manhattan bridge, suggesting transition. Maybe he meant that he would be standing waiting to transition into a new life where he would be there for his sweetheart and for his daughter.

The song ends with the chorus, and with the hope that the love they desperately need to save their relationship is found. Because he feels as though he is bleeding out living this lonely life apart from his family.

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  @sofia182
  0

  I created an account on this site just to tell you how fucking awesome you're interpretation of the song is. I had a similar thought when listening to this song but I couldn't even come close to articulating all of what you said. Very well well done.

  Flagged oarfan1on January 26, 2013  

  0

  Upvote because I think you've nailed it. Nicely done, IMO.

  Flagged uffyon February 24, 2013  

General CommentAwesome band

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  @nba1341
  0

  Their live stuff is phenominal
  
  youtube.com/…
  

  Flag DvnAnthnyon August 15, 2012  

General CommentI'm pretty sure you could sing this to any girl that you used to have a thing with and you'd get laid. This song is awesome. I love the folk rhythm and sound and the emotions/memories it incites

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  @jacurdy

General CommentThis song accomplishes in a short 3 minutes what every man finds himself thinking of at least once in his rosy-filtered reflections: "Maybe I should call her..."

A confident and happy (but not without sad overtones) bargain to reunite. Very playful. Just a great song.

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  @poetogethr