I'm Not Your Hero

I think this song is almost like an open letter to their fans. I think they get a lot of queer fans that say they're their hero as they are an openly queer and out public figure. I think in this song they're basically saying that they dont think they are heros as they've just been honest about themselves and not tried hide who they truly are even though it hasn't been that easy. I think it also is about how a lot of fans will probably say that they are in love with them or love them because of their honesty, but ultimately when these fans put them on such a high pedal stool, they aren't actually in love with them its the idea of them and what they stand for. I feel this is reflected especially in the lines 'Sometimes it feels like I'm all that they've got, Gets so hard to know I'm not what they want' Ultimately, they dont consider themselves any braver than than their queer fans, 'I'm not your hero ,But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same'

Anyhow thats just my opinion. :)

This song could be about someone who lost themselves..somebody whose heart broke because of codependence or abuse in a relationship or a situation.

"Standing where I am now, standing up at all I was used to feeling like I was never gonna see myself at the finish line Hanging on to parts of me, hanging on at all I was used to seeing no future in my sight line"

That part of her life is over now. She is reflecting to that painful time in her past when she was losing all hope for her future. This could've been abuse, trauma, a bad relationship etc. She used to hang on to her true self by a mere thread.

"Sometimes it feels like they wanna remind me Send all those villains after me"

The bad memories pop up once in a while; the demons of the past still want to haunt her but she resists that in this song.

"I'm not their hero But that doesn't mean that I wasn't brave I never walked the party line Doesn't mean that I was never afraid I'm not your hero But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same"

Now for the chorus. She had tried her very best. She's not perfect, and she admits she's no different than anybody else. The person/people who hurt her may now see her as this amazing hero.. maybe for enduring their cruelty with love. But she denies being a martyr. She only wants to be seen as a normal human being for all her flaws.

"Feeling like I am now lighting up the hall I was used to standing in the shadow of a damaged heart Learning all I know now, losing all I did I never used to feel like I'd be standing so far ahead"

At this point, she's doing great. She 'lights up the hall' with her success and self-assurance. Back then she'd never thought she'd make it to where she is now, with so much new wisdom, because she recalls only feeling the heartbreak of losing all she had.

"Sometimes it feels what I recovered you lost Sending your peaceful loss to me"

At times the person who hurt her expresses regret. This person realizes what a wonderful girl she was and occasionally sends peaceful words, because that's all that can be done. She feels now that she's regained herself completely, and who she is in her entirety is what the other person truly missed out on. Even if they don't fully understand her, even now.

"Sometimes it feels like the side that I'm on Plays the toughest hand, holds the longest stand Sometimes it feels like I'm all that they've got It's so hard to know I'm not what they want"

She feels that within the dynamic she always had it the roughest. She feels she always had to be the stronger one. And sometimes she still does. She always had to remain steadfast for the person/people as she held out hope. She cares about others but she risks losing herself again in the process if she goes too far. ' Sometimes it feels like I'm all that they've got" - She feels compassion for people who come to her for their needs, or express their love to her. But deep down she knows that she's NOT their hero... she's not going to be codependent. In the end she knows she's not what they really need and she isn't willing to self-sacrifice for their acceptance, even if they become upset. It's hard to admit but they may not realize she has her own life as an individual. She's done placing a lower priority herself while being excessively preoccupied with the needs of others. She is not anyone's hero. She's just herself.

"I do my best to walk the finest line Till I've had all that I can take "

She lives authentically with others and always does them good until she realizes that she can't be the source of anybody's happiness. Only they can do this for themselves. If the demand becomes too high, she recognizes that it will damage her spirit.. and she will walk away.

It's about her looking back on her past life and relations and how she came out of it stronger whilst still realizing it was hard and that she was never perfect either.

"Standing where I am now, standing up at all I was used to feeling like I was never gonna see myself at the finish line Hanging on to parts of me, hanging on at all I was used to seeing no future in my sight line"

• Looking back on her past life/relations, realizing how hard it's been and how hopeless everything felt during/after compared to now.

"Sometimes it feels like they wanna remind me Send all those villains after me"

• Old ghosts/thoughts or people from her past sometimes reminds her of those times and tries to pull her back

"I'm not their hero But that doesn't mean that I wasn't brave I never walked the party line Doesn't mean that I was never afraid I'm not your hero But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same"

• She was never the one for them (the people/relations from her past) so what happened (that she left them behind) was the right thing, as well as she admits she was not perfect either and it was just as much her fault.

"Feeling like I am now lighting up the hall I was used to standing in the shadow of a damaged heart Learning all I know now, losing all I did I never used to feel like I'd be standing so far ahead"

• How she feels today, independent and strong and that she came out of it stronger.

"Sometimes it feels what I recovered you lost Sending your peaceful loss to me"

• Feeling sorry for the people in her past that they might not have come as far as her in moving on from it all, or are stuck in old ways.

"Sometimes it feels like the side that I'm on Plays the toughest hand, holds the longest stand Sometimes it feels like I'm all that they've got It's so hard to know I'm not what they want"

• She is explaining that it was not easy for her either and has never been, that she has contradictory feelings about that she sometimes feel bad for leaving these people behind as well as feeling bad for never being able to be enough for them.

"I do my best to walk the finest line Till I've had all that I can take"

• Stating to herself that she will keep on fighting.

sounds a little like she's saying "losing all I bid"... but I'm not sure

also, might she be saying I'm not THEIR hero?