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Blue Dahlia Lyrics

What a hot and sultry summer, steam just lies above them streets
You gotta stay inside and wait for the night and then come on over to see me.
And there’s a poetry about these streets and it skips through the skin, goes right underneath
And momma always knew I need a girl like you, but me I never believed.

'Cause I’ve been so lonely, I can’t imagine that kind of sympathy
'Cause I’ve been so lonely, I can’t imagine that kind of sympathy.
Where did you get them scars? How blue is your heart?
Is it sad enough to break? She said it's sad enough to break.
How long was your life?
Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here?
She said I’m man enough, my baby, come see about me.

Had a dream about you once, I can barely see your form,
And I met you between the wax and the needle in the words of my favourite song
And your black hair was like a raven, with your tanned skin on the beach.
And your back drop were the Auroras and my side kick was all this grief.
And I’ve been so low down, I’ve been almost level on the ground.

Where did you get them scars? How blue is your heart?
Is it sad enough to break? She said it's sad enough to break.
How long was your life?
Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here?
She said I’m man enough, my baby, come see about me.

Did they take you to the carnival to get locked up on a ride?
Me, I got caught up with the fortune tellers and the ladies with the sleepy eyes.
It took years, my baby, just to come clean, every street light a reminder
And all those apologies and the night was lonely next to me,
Even the night was lonely next to me.

Where did you get them scars? How blue is your heart?
Is it sad enough to break? She said it's sad enough to break.
How long was your life?
Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here?
She said I’m man enough, my baby, come see about me.

Come see about me, oh.
come see about me,
come see about me,
come see about me, oh
come see about me, oh
Whenever you’re lonely.
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Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

Those lyrics are...impressively wrong.

What a hot and sultry summer, The steam just slides up off them streets You got to stay inside and wait for the night, And then come on over and see me There's a poetry about these streets, It just slips from your skin and goes right underneath And mama always knew I'd meet a girl like you, But me, I never believed

Cuz I've been so lonely I can't imagine that kind of sympathy [x2]

Where'd you get them scars? How blue is your heart? Is it sad enough to break? She said, "it's sad enough to break" How long was your life? Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here? She said, "I'm man enough my baby, come see about me"

I had a dream about you once, and I could barely see your form And I met you between the wax and the needle, In the words of my favorite song Your black hair was like a raven with your tan skin on the beach Your backdrop were the auroras and my sidekick was all this grief I've been so low down, I'm almost level with the ground

Where'd you get them scars? How blue is your heart? Is it sad enough to break? She said "it's sad enough to break" How long was your life? Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here? She said, "I'm man enough my baby, come see about me"

Did they take you to the carnival to get locked up on a ride? Me, I got caught up with the fortuen tellers And the ladies with the sleepy eyes It took years my baby just to come clean, Every streetlight a reminder And all those apologies And the night was lonely next to me Even the night was lonely next to me

Where'd you get them scars? How blue is your heart? Is it sad enough to break? She said "it's sad enough to break" How long was your life? Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here? She said, "I'm man enough my baby, come see about me" Come see about me, ah-ah Come see about me, Come see about me, Come see about me, ah-ah Come see about me, ah-ah Whenever you're lonely

Anyways, this is the best song on the album and it's a damned bonus track. How's that happen. Album of the year.

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

The "Your black hair was like a raven" brings us back to Great Expectations where "her hair was raven and her heart was like a tomb."

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

I don't think it's about a break-up at all. To me, it reads as being about two broken, lonely people trying to shake off their pasts and be together. The compare scars, hurts, and broken hearts. He is honest with himself about his feelings for the first time ("took years, my baby, just to come clean") and they agree to try a relationship. ("Come see about me whenever you're lonely")

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

I think the song's set up can confuse people. How I hear it:

[her asking] "Where'd you get them scars? How blue is your heart? Is it sad enough to break?" She said

[him responding] "it's sad enough to break"

[her asking] How long was your life? Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here? She said, "I'm man enough my baby, come see about me"

I had a dream about you once, and I could barely see your form And I met you between the wax and the needle, In the words of my favorite song Your black hair was like a raven with your tan skin on the beach Your backdrop were the auroras and my sidekick was all this grief I've been so low down, I'm almost level with the ground

"Where'd you get them scars? How blue is your heart? Is it sad enough to break?", She said

[him responding] "it's sad enough to break"

[her asking] "How long was your life? Was it cold and strange like mine? Are you man enough to lay here?", She said,

[him reponding] "I'm man enough my baby, come see about me"

[him recalling] Did they take you to the carnival to get locked up on a ride? Me, I got caught up with the fortune tellers And the ladies with the sleepy eyes It took years my baby just to come clean, Every streetlight a reminder And all those apologies And the night was lonely next to me Even the night was lonely next to me

Does everyone agree with this formatting? I was talking to a friend who was confused about the singer asking the girl if she was "man enough", so this is how I explained it to him.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

I love this song. Whenever I hear it I think of the episode of Degrassi: TNG when Sean and Ellie are laying next to each other on the roof of the school when they get detention (that episode is pretty much Degrassi's take on The Breakfast Club) and Sean sees the cuts all over Ellie's arms from when she cuts herself, and they end up holding hands.

Knowing how often Brian Fallon drops illusions to other songs and artists into songs, I'm pretty sure "Come see about me" is a reference to the song by The Supremes, and not just a coincidence of him using the line. I'm pretty sure he did it on purpose.

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

i think the whole song is about moving on to someone new after an old relationship ended badly, the line 'are you man enoughto lay here' just means are you brave enough to try again. this song is write at the end of the album and because the rest of the album deals mainly with heartbreak this is a ray of hope at the end, saying that things can get better (also this is gaslights best song ever!!)

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

I'm pretty sure it's "are you mad enough to lay here?" and "Come sing about me." in the chorus.

And also, I believe this song is about when a relationship is dying, it's in those final moments. and you go "are you hurting?" and they go "Yup." and confirm your fears. Yup, she's upset and her hearts breaking. So is yours. Everything is going to shit, and they might be explaining it, but you are pissed. and all you hear is them asking you to write a song about how pissed you are at them.

Lyric Correction

I think they got it right, with "man enough" and "Come see about me"

Those are the lyrics in the liner notes. Looks correct to me

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

The singer asking her, "are you man enough to lay here?" makes me think about Pearl Jam's 'Hail Hail', which contains the line "are you woman enough to be my man?" Brian has cited Pearl Jam, the No Code album in particular, as a major, major influence on him and his songwriting, and he's referenced other bands and musicians through his lyrics in the past, so it wouldnt surprise me if that line was a bit of a shout out to Seattle's finest.

Cover art for Blue Dahlia lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

Brian said at a recent gig that this song is about "Blue Dalhia" the movie.