Bitter Poem

Song is about a gay man who's in love with a heterosexual man. who converted him into being homosexual and now the heterosexual guy is trying to go back and live a straight life. I can't wait to see what you've become when you became I don't even know whose side I'm on our Both sides the same

This is my favorite Cold War Kids song. I believe it’s about lost love, and watching each other lead independent lives. The song is written from the perspective of a man that ran from the openness of his lover, perhaps a woman whom often abundantly shared affection. Despite having a serious relationship, the woman followed their break up with perhaps many “band-aid” encounters or relationships. Although the man has accepted he once loved her, she has a difficult time recognizing the relationship’s end. She continues to pursue empty replacements for their love, hindering the “healing” process (ratted on / you’re purple and you’re blue). On the other side, the man is lonely and only feels physical touch “in a massage parlor.” He can’t help it; he feels like he’s relatively “stronger” for remaining true to his feelings (I’ll look above you). He feels that perhaps she’s acting insane and running amuck out of hurt (chemical imbalance) rather than recovering and healing from heartbreak. The song resolves as he watches the girl he loves become loved. Her running resulted in actually encountering someone with genuine feelings, and now she cannot blame him. She can’t say he’s accountable (take me to court), the books are balanced— although not as she would like. She doesn’t have “him,” the love of her life, and although she finds it unfair—he accepts it. He isn’t happy, though. He’s still heartbroken. The “umbrellas” are gone as she is rendered clean again by the rain of genuine love from another. No more encounters and rebound relationships. He sees it’s the real deal, but realizes she hasn’t seen their end as he has watched it from afar. Thus he is bitter, but accepting. It’s like he’s viewed the end of an era of her out-of-control behavior, and he realizes it isn’t quite what either thought it would be, but the twisted dance is over. It’s very much like “First,” but I prefer the fragility and vulnerability in tone of this song.