Wolf Larsen

If I Be Wrong

6 Meanings

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If I Be Wrong Lyrics

What if I’m wrong, what if I’ve lied
What if I’ve dragged you here to my own dark night
And what if I know, what if I see
There is a crack run right down the front of me

What if they’re right, what if we’re wrong
What if I’ve lured you here with a siren song?

But if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me be here with you tonight

Ten thousand cars, ten thousand trains
There are ten thousand roads to run away

But I am not lost, I am not found
I am not Dylan’s wife, not Cohen’s hound

But if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me be here with you tonight

And what if I can’t, what if I can
What if I’m just an ordinary man

If there is a will, there is a way
I will escape for sure, I am David Blane

But if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me be here with you
If I be wrong, if I be right
Let me stay here in your arms tonight
And I have been wrong, I have been right
I have been both these things all in the same night
So if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me be here, with you, tonight.

Submitted by

omfg_phil On Aug 16, 2012

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When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Farhad754

2023-11-08 12:46:19

OMFG_Phil

Submitter

2012-08-16 22:24:02

6 Meanings

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by awordamongmany

10y ago

Hey all. What a wonderful site. And a wonderful song.

A friend of mine in Thailand asked for the meaning of this song... after a bit of internet perusing, this is what I came up with. More than anything the song is a piece of art. Complex. And contemplating/questioning the dichotomy of "good" and "bad".

In reference to "I am not Dylan’s wife, not Cohen’s hound"...

"Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen represent two highly contrasting directions from which the attempt to restore significance and integrity of vision to the popular song can be made." ( http://www.edlis.org/twice/threads/leonard_cohen.html ) Sarah Ramey is saying... she is not "good" she is not "bad" she embodies neither of the contrasting directions in Cohen or Dylans' songwriting.

Yet...

"I am David Blane"; a magician, and illusionist. Best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, "If there is a will, there is a way", she will cut through the illusions of right and wrong... someday. But for now, she finds comfort and contentment in her lovers' arms.

My Interpretation

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by jamie10018 5y ago

@awordamongmany I like your observations but I think even though the singer is female, the subject of the song is a man. Dylan, Cohen and Blane are men and she says "What if I'm just an ordinary man". So "he" is finding comfort in his lover's arms....

by binodpoudel

10y ago

A musical masterpiece for sure. I have not been able to quite understand the meaning of the lyrics though going word by word. But the overall song is just spectacular.

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by ShiroPath

4y ago

If I Be Wrong\n\nTo understand this particular song, I considered this a chapter in a story. The story is the full album, Quiet at the Kitchen Door. When viewing the album image I see a woman standing at a threshold, the back door or side door, not the front door of her home. \n\nShe’s packed and ready to go, but she’s pausing. Reflecting. She’s all dressed up, heals and all, with a small bag. The kitchen gives a feeling of vacancy. She’s staring into the somewhat foggy landscape with a slight reveal of the forest. The path is not totally clear. \n\nIf I be Wrong is the 6th song out of 10 for the album. This is a turning point in the story. She’s not quite ready to go. She reflects on her life as a micro representation of the greater world. And she sees duality, all the “What If” statements. Is it this or that? Or it’s not this or that. A pendulum swing between good/bad, right/wrong. \n\nThere are 10,000 ways out. The number 10,000 is a term used in the Bible that denotes enumerable ways or infinite possibilities that she sees for ways to escape.\n\nBut she isn’t going anywhere, yet. Because in this pause, she recognizes she isn’t actually lost or need to be found. \n\nShe isn’t “Dylan’s wife” as in Carolyn Dennis, his second wife. Carolyn was his backup singer and it is believed their relationship was secret for many years before they became official. \n\nWolf is saying, I’m not the backup girl. I’m not the one who is going to be a secret lover or the woman in the shadows. \n\nShe also says she’s not “Cohen’s dog”. She is referring to Leonard’s beloved Scottish terroir, Tinkie. When Cohen was a teen, Tinkie disappeared during a snowstorm and wasn’t found until the following spring under the porch. Wolf is saying she’s not going to get caught up in some storm and go under the porch to curl up and die. \n\nWolf sings, “I am David Blaine” Blaine is a master illusionist. And like him, she will find an escape (because I do have free will). A way out of the rights/wrong, good/bad way of thinking. \n\nBut until she has figured it out, she’s pausing with the delicious comfort of “your arms tonight”.

If I Be Wrong\n\nTo understand this particular song, I considered this a chapter in a story. The story is the full album, Quiet at the Kitchen Door. When viewing the album image I see a woman standing at a threshold,  the back door or side door, not the front door of her home. \n\nShe’s packed and ready to go, but she’s pausing. Reflecting. She’s all dressed up, heals and all, with a small bag. The kitchen gives a feeling of vacancy. She’s staring into the somewhat foggy landscape with a slight reveal of the forest. The path is not totally clear. \n\nIf I be Wrong is the 6th song out of 10 for the album. This is a turning point in the story. She’s not quite ready to go. She reflects on her life as a micro representation of the greater world. And she sees duality,  all the “What If” statements. Is it this or that? Or it’s not this or that. A pendulum swing between good/bad, right/wrong. \n\nThere are 10,000 ways out. The number 10,000 is a term used in the Bible that denotes enumerable ways or infinite possibilities that she sees for ways to escape.\n\nBut she isn’t going anywhere, yet. Because in this pause, she recognizes she isn’t actually lost or need to be found. \n\nShe isn’t “Dylan’s wife” as in Carolyn Dennis, his second wife. Carolyn was his backup singer and it is believed their relationship was secret for many years before they became official. \n\nWolf is saying, I’m not the backup girl. I’m not the one who is going to be a secret lover or the woman in the shadows. \n\nShe also says she’s not “Cohen’s dog”. She is referring to Leonard’s beloved Scottish terroir, Tinkie.  When Cohen was a teen, Tinkie disappeared during a snowstorm and wasn’t found until the following spring under the porch. Wolf is saying she’s not going to get caught up in some storm and go under the porch to curl up and die. \n\nWolf sings, “I am David Blaine” Blaine is a master illusionist. And like him, she will find an escape (because I do have free will). A way out of the rights/wrong, good/bad way of thinking. \n\nBut until she has figured it out, she’s pausing with the delicious comfort of “your arms tonight”.

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by gail101076 4y ago

@ShiroPath WOW! You really, REALLY thought this out! I had the "feeling" of it but you put it into words. Great insight!

by DrDavidMartina 2y ago

@ShiroPath I think you are absolutely right. In my efforts to understand the song lyrics, I at first presumed that Dylans first wife, Sarah, was being referred to. But then the question arose: Why should she have been „wrong“? She inspired him for many of his songs, like "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands “. Your interpretation is much more plausible. I am convinced: „You got it!“ Thank you for your wonderful post! P.S. „Right or wrong“ is also an issue in the Kinks‘ song „Days": "Days when you can’t see wrong from right.“ Everyone of us...

by fleuve

11y ago

anyone? I don't understand: I am not Dylan’s wife, not Cohen’s hound and escaping - escape from where?

the rest I understand quite mistycal

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by Eilenna 7y ago

@fleuve She's been compared to Leonard Cohen. Dylan's Bob Dylan I guess. Could be that she's sometimes struggling with being compared to other artists and being seen as what she is herself.

by gail101076 4y ago

@fleuve I understood the David Blane reference. The others I didn\'t, until I read the first comment here. It makes sense that the two composers had very different styles, so it fits.\r\nI just think it\'s a haunting and beautiful song! Her voice is so expressive and emotional, I close my eyes and softly sing along, and it is MAGICAL!\r\n

by Stephaniejones

4y ago

Affair with a married woman

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by anathica

3y ago

"A song about heartbreak..."

https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2012/08/06/158207503/first-watch-wolf-larsen-if-i-be-wrong

Song Meaning

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by Akasha68 2y ago

@anathica respectfully, no

by anathica 2y ago

@Akasha68 literally a direct quote from the artist who wrote the song but okay

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