Bright Lights and Cityscapes

I think it's about a guy choosing his ex over her. She's saying she wouldn't need a second chance with him (like ex needs) because she would love him right the first time, and not let him go.

I think the paragraph is what she wishes would happen: I’m the one that you always choose.

But then she's saying what's happening: You say maybe it’ll last this time,But I’m gonna love you,You never have to ask,I’m gonna love you, And I’m gonna love you so right,I wouldn’t need a second chance.

After that she's basically confirming that in the first bit of the song she's writing what she wishes would happen: Shield your eyes from the truth at end,Tell me why it’ll be good again,

I think in the end she's saying if he chooses his ex, she won't take him back when he wants her:I’m gonna love you,‘Til you start looking back,I’m gonna love you so right

So he has to make up his mind.

I believe that the song is about a strong relationship between two people, with one person in the relationship suffering depression. The "she" in the song is the depression itself. The person singing the song (I will reference as S) is the person in the relationship without the depression that is saying they will always love them no matter what. The "you" in the song is the person battling depression (which I will reference as C).

The first verse talks about how stressful it is to be a S. S needs to keep calm (hold my breath and I'll count to ten) in order to be strong for C. However, C's constant mood swings can cause a lot of stress and end up taking over S's mood as well (I'm the paper and you're the pen; You fill me in and you are permanent). Since C isn't fully there to support S due to the depression, S is alone (And you'll leave me to dry). However, C always fights to get out of the depressed mood not only for him/herself, but also for S (I'm the writer and she's the muse; I'm the one that you always choose; She will falter and gift her blame). However, sometimes the depression overcomes C without his/her control (And it starts all over again, again, again, again).

The depression can be blinding (She is bright lights and cityscapes) but also can cause C and S to keep things from each other and lie (And white lies and cavalcades). When the depression takes over C, C is not the person he/she normally is (And she'll take all you ever have). But despite everything, S will unconditionally love C no matter what (But I'm gonna love you). During each time C is not depressed, C tells S that he/she thinks the good mood will last (You say maybe it'll last this time). But S tells him/her that she/he will love them no matter what (But I'm gonna love you, you never have to ask). Many times C looks back at how he/she treats S during the times of depression and realizes his/her faults but S explains that she/he understands and forgives him/her ('Til you start looking back; I'm gonna love you; So right; I wouldn't need a second chance).

C ultimately feels horrible for the struggle he/she is putting S through but S is there to tell C that she/he is here to help him/her and there is no need to dwell on the bad, she/he just wants C to tell her/him about the good (Shield you eyes from the truth at hand; Tell me why it'll be good again). At this point in the song, C is falling back into the depression while S is trying to pull him/her out (All those demons are closing in; And I don't want you to burn). S in the past has expressed she/he couldn't deal with the situation, but at this point she/he takes that all back and just wants C to be happy. (Nevermind what I said before; I don't want any less anymore). However, S was not successful at pulling C up and C dips into the depression yet again (You are carbon and I am flame; I will rise and you will Remain).

Overall, the song deals with the strong relationship between two people when one person in the relationship has depression. It shows how unconditional love can provide strength for some one that is dealing with a tough situation on their own.

My personal interpretation is that the singer.. is in love with someone who does love them back, but wants to try again with a person from their past, someone who hurt them. Giving them a second chance. But the singer know he'll come back to her some day, as he always does "I'm the one that you'll always chose" after he get hurt because she'll always be there to pick up the pieces. She's is trying to remind him what happened the last time he was with the other woman, but he wont hear it. And so the singer is throwing comparisons between herself and the other. Showing how, although the other is "Bright lights and city scapes", captivating and beautiful, she's also "landslides and masquerades" and how she'll "take all you ever have.", how she'll hurt him all over again and it will just end up a relationship of downfalls and hidden truths. But he keeps saying, "Maybe it'll last this time." And she says to that, that it doesn't matter, she'll still love him whether he wants her or not.

First question: characters. Who are they? There is the narrator, who I’ll call “Sara” just for the hell of it. There is also the listener who I’ll call “you” and the other female who I’ll call “Shiny.” The first four lines detail a servile relationship between you and Sara. Sara accepts that her breathing is under your control and that your words are permanently written on her, even to the point that she becomes just a tool to be hung up to dry after use. The next four lines differentiate between Sara and Shiny as writer and muse, seemingly contradictory to the previous lines. It’s as if Sara is affirming that indeed, she has a voice, a writer’s voice, as opposed to Shiny’s lack of it. But in predicting Shiny’s behaviors and destiny, the lines blur themselves with wishfulness and blunt criticism. This mentality is prolonged through the chorus as Shiny is denounced as selfish and fickle, ultimately a lost cause. But at the lines, “Til you start looking back, / I’m gonna love you so right, / I wouldn’t need a second chance,” Sara becomes self-critical. To rephrase, the idea is: Because I loved you so right, you would not be able to look back and find anything that can incriminate me.

Then “Shield your eyes from the truth at end, / Tell me why it’ll be good again,” a concession that everything is going to the shits someday. Sara would prefer that instead of being realistic and depressed, you have hope, no matter how small or irrational it is. When she proclaims herself rising “flame” to your remaining “carbon” self, it is part of her (poetic) writer’s voice and in spite of previous servility. Thus, Sara admits that both you and she write and are written on, being the powers that make up the relationship.

As the chorus runs again, who Shiny is appears clearer. It seems that she and her attributes, although garish and unpleasant at times and what will in the end pull you apart, are what allow you and Sara to be thought of as a couple. So it seems to me that Sara would like you to love her as well and write on her as she does to you (because that’s what songs do).

In conclusion, Ghost Sara expresses the “missing” “I’m gonna love you” line in wordless voice and emphasizes Sara’s “I wouldn’t need a second chance,” emphasizing also how erroneous human ways are. Ghost Sara reflects the shiny cityscape on the song’s outer gossamer.

this is my favorite song off of her EP. so simple yet captivating.

It's about burning it all the the ground before one departs. It's leaving everything broken and buned and damaged beyond repair. It's the only way to begin again...fresh and alone with a chance for happiness. NO MORE PAST. It's in ruins...

There's an error in the lyrics. First chorus is "She is bright lights and cityscapes I'm white lies and CAVALCADES"

Well, I agree with all of your ideas. However, one thing really sticks out to me in the second verse. Which leads me to believe that the meaning behind this song is that her boyfriend broke up with her for another girl and now is trying to get back in a relationship with her.

In the first verse it says: "Hold my breath and I'll count to ten, I'm the paper and you're the pen, You fill me in and you are permanent, And you'll leave me to dry" I believe that it's saying that her ex boyfriend is very controlling and manipulative and basically tries to change her, and exceeds. After that it says: "I'm the writer and she's the muse, I'm the one that you always choose, She will falter and gift her blame, And it's starts all over again, Again, again, again" I think that it's saying that the boyfriend that's manipulating her and controlling her and trying to change her, is basing her after the girl her truly likes. Then it moves into the future tense after the boyfriend breaks up with the narrator when it says "She will falter and gift her blame" that's when the girlfriend breaks up with the narrators ex boyfriend and then it, so to speak, starts all over again. Where the boyfriend tries to get back together with the narrator.

In the chorus it's the narrator trying to explain to her ex boyfriend how much better and brighter his other girlfriend is, that that's the girl he wants. However then she starts remembering when they were together and remembers how much she loved him. So then she turns on her idea that this other girlfriend is perfect, so she tells him that she will take everything from him. Then she continues to tell him how much she loves him.

However, then in the second verse that's when she starts to get angry. She realizes all the things he's done to her. Where he never truly loved her, just the version of her that he made up. She kindly asks him why he thinks it'll be good for them to be in a relationship. Of course then he would tell her it's because he still loves her.

I think this whole song is filled with her mixed emotions about him. I think at the end of the song is when she made up her mind. She doesn't want a second chance of a relationship with him because she knows it'll go know where and won't last.

But honestly all of us are right to our own meanings of this song because those are our meanings of it. When we sing it or hear it those are the words that speak to us. We all make up our own versions of this songs story, and I think that's what Sara intended. I think she wanted to leave it up to everyone to have their own meanings just like a true poet would. So, if you're reading this, don't use this as your meaning. Use what ever makes you feel emotion for this song because then that's when you'll have the true meaning, your meaning. This is just my interpretation.

This well written, beautifully melodic song touched me in ways I can't really explain. Sara describes a boy she's in love with. This boy keeps going back to a gorgeous girl who continues to cheat and mess with him, and Sara is begging him not to continue doing this. The way this was written made the lyrics seem non-selfish; as if she really did care about HIM as a person, not just HIM as her boyfriend. "all those demons are closing in, and I don't want you to be burn-nevermind what I said before, I don't want any less anymore." She's contemplating throughout the song.

Updated the text, but it's going back to the publisher to review, so in case it gets lost in the shuffle, here's the text according to the sheet music. I post it here both for record, and because of a little detail I love about this song.

We're used to verses and choruses each having a couple complete sentences. And then choruses get recontextualized by the verses and bridges surrounding them. I love that in this song, the first two lines of the chorus are the beginning of a sentence the first time and a conclusion to one the second time (the sheet music makes this very clear because "for bright lights" isn't capitalized). Another thing is the way the sentence structure changes after "You'll never have to ask" (I'm going to allow longer lines before the breaks to highlight this deviation).

Hold my breath and I'll count to ten. I'm the paper and you're the pen. You fill me in, you are permanent. Then you'll leave me to dry. I'm the writer and she's the muse; I'm the one that you always choose. She will falter and gift her blame. And it's starts all over again, again, again, again, again.

She is bright lights and cityscapes and white lies and cavalcades. And she'll take all you ever have, but I'm gonna love you. You say maybe it'll last this time, but I'm gonna love you. You never have to ask. I'm gonna love you till you start looking back. I'm gonna love you so right, I wouldn't need a second chance.

Shield your eyes from the truth at hand. Tell me why it'll be good again. All those demons are closing in, and I don't want you to burn. Never mind what I said before. I don't want any less anymore. You are carbon and I am flame. I will rise and you will remain

for bright lights and cityscapes and landslides and masquerades. And she'll take all you ever have, but I'm gonna love you. You say maybe it'll last this time, but I'm gonna love you. You never have to ask. I'm gonna love you till you start looking back.

I wouldn't need a second chance. I wouldn't need a second chance. I wouldn't need a second chance. I wouldn't need a second chance.