No Angel

This is a truly beautiful song that I think is very relatable. I believe the song to be about a relationship that is on the verge of breaking.

'Remember once the things you told me And how the tears ran from my eyes They didn't fall because it hurt me I just hate to see you cry Sometimes I wish we could be strangers So I didn't have to know your pain But if I kept myself from danger This emptiness would feel the same"

This first verse is talking about how he had told her about his issues with their relationship, and she was upset to see him hurting. She wishes sometimes that they had never met, but then she would feel a different kind of loneliness, not the one caused by their distance in the relationship, but one caused by the lack of being with him.

"I ain't no angel, I never was But I never hurt you, it's not my fault You see those egg shells, they're broken up A million pieces, thrown out across the ground"

In the chorus she is admitting that she never made their relationship easy, but she is not who he should be blaming for their brokenness. The eggshells represent how fragile they are and how they feel like, broken into a million pieces.

"Did you ever really love her Or was it that you feared letting go You should have known that you could trust her But you pretend like I don't know"

This verse talks about how because of their relationship issues, he is cheating on her and she is aware, and he is doing it to get her attention, which is the fear of letting go and not really loving "her". This girl actually loves him, but he still really loves the girl who is singing the song.

"I want to tell you that I'm sorry But that's not for me to say You can have my heart, my soul, my body If you can promise not to go away"

This last part is her saying that she will not apologize when she didn't do anything, but she is still deeply in love with him and doesn't want to leave him.

Lyric Corrections: "This emptiness would feel the same" "Or was it that you feared letting go"

This song touches me beyond words, and I wish that my tears could speak for me, however they cannot, so...

The song to me is about disillusionment. It's a desperate cry for understanding the pain that comes along with the highest of highs in love. Between lovers, we do not have perfect sight. We cannot always see the world through each others' eyes. So, we fight the world desperately seeking to be seen as the ideal self that we long to be, but struggle to help others see it. We feel, that if we can project it, maybe, just maybe they'll see it and it will be real! However, we cannot project that which is not real, and are left paralyzed within the pain of reality.

We also fight to find that ideal soul mate. The one that will rescue our souls and save us from our pain. But, we are human after-all -- and we are not perfect or ideal. We cannot rewrite that history to erase someone's pain. Sadly, instead we hurt most the ones we love for whatever reason and add to it. Usually, it's not intentional, but rather by a natural design when our actions are less than perfect.

 Stepping into the FIRST VERSE of these lyrics:

 "Remember once the things you told me
 And how the tears ran from my eyes
 They didn't fall because it hurt me
 I just hate to see you cry
 Sometimes I wish we could be strangers
 So I didn't have to know your pain
 But if I kept myself from danger
 This emptiness would feel the same"

 She has learned the darker side of her lover because he chose to open up to her and share his pain, his fears, regrets, and now em-pathetically she shares the same pain.  She also explains that, it's not his fault. Her pain is her own and without knowing him for what he truly is, she'd feel the same because she is human and has made her own mistakes, and carries her own regrets and pain.  She'd also be empty without knowing him for his true self, because she loves him. 

 CHORUS: 

" I ain't no angel I never was But I never hurt you It's not my fault You see those egg shells, they're broken up A million pieces, strung out across the ground"

 She tries to comfort him by showing that she too is no angel, that she's damaged that idealistic girl she longed to be for him too. She's stepped down off of that pedestal labeled "dream girl," and mistakenly destroyed the illusions of her in his eyes -- that's the hurt she carries.  She's trying to help him see that she accepts him and hopes he can accept her too. It's not her fault he hurts, and it's not his fault that she hurts.  It's the disillusionment of fairytale love, but it's also the reality of "real love" that can save them.   

 SECOND VERSE: 

 "Did you ever really love her
 Or was it that you feared letting go
 You should have known that you could trust her
 But you pretend like I don't know"

 She knows he's in pain, she knows he struggles to remain faithful in his mind because love never fully dies if it's real. She understands also that we have desires and long to find them to be real, and she wishes he could express it better. She asks questions, because she wants to help him heal. She's explaining that she worries where she fits into his heart, the heart that's so full of pain that there's just a tiny pocket left for her to reside.  

  THIRD VERSE: 

 "I want to tell you that I'm sorry
 But that's not for me to say
 You can have my heart, my soul, my body
 If you can promise not to go away"

 She wishes she could heal his pain, but she knows she cannot. Sorry from her, will not help. She fears giving herself fully to him because one day he could leave her wondering if he truly loved her, or if he was only afraid of letting go. She wants to make their love real and offers to give herself to him, but she can only offer herself fully if he can too.

Why do I feel like Birdy here sings as an outsider or maybe a 'third party' looking into a relationship of a friend that she has fallen in love with.

In the first verse, she talks to the one: "Remember once the things you told me And how the tears ran from my eyes. They didn't fall because it hurt me, I just hate to see you cry". Here we can feel that she has fallen rather deeply due to the fact that the pain that her loved one feels has become her own pain. (People who have loved can understand this) . She also expresses futile regret in the fateful meeting with /that/ person in "Sometimes I wish we could be strangers so I didn't have to know your pain. But if I kept myself from danger, this emptiness would feel the same." In what danger can one be just by knowing someone else's pain? There lies a hint that she is talking about love, which is a risk, a danger.

She continues to pour out her feelings to him: "I ain't no angel, I never was But I never hurt you, it's not my fault, You see those egg shells, they're broken up A million pieces, thrown out across the ground"

Angels are symbols of hope and salvation. And she can't be the saviour of that person from the past mistake that he made that may have caused the fragile (egg shell) relationship to break to a million pieces. A mistake of mistrust. It is probable that he has mistaken love for possession, meaning he didn't give the other girl the trust and freedom that she needed.

"Did you ever really love her Or was it that you feared letting go. You should have known that you could trust her. But you pretend like I don't know"

She continues to tell him that, "I want to tell you that I'm sorry. But that's not for me to say" Giving more proof that she wasn't involved in her loved one's heartache but she stood by him, caring for him. And is probably willing to offer him EVERYTHING, only if that person just noticed her and would be willing to be with her: "You can have my heart, my soul, my body If you can promise not to go away".

Have you ever experienced something like this? You're willing to give up whatever you have for that person and yet... that person is still blind, unwilling to open his eyes to his own faults and hung up on the past that you feel like you can't do anything to be his salvation...

It's such a sweet, sad and sentimental song. ---JMDM

The song to me sounds more like a child (angel) witnessing the disintegration of her family - hence, she sings as a third person ("Did you ever really love her Or was it that you feared letting go").