She says you always smell like cigarettes
And there's always whiskey on your breath
But you're the best that I can do
And I think I love you
Now if you want me to slow down
Just tell me to slow down
Now if you want me to slow down
Just tell me to slow down
Cause I want to be loved
Yes I want to be loved
She says you don't love me you just love sex
But I can't wait around for something better than this
Cause you're the best that I can do
And I wish I could leave you
Now if you want me to slow down
Just tell me to slow down
Cause I want to be loved
Cause I want to be loved
Cause I want to be loved
Cause I want to be loved
And there's always whiskey on your breath
But you're the best that I can do
And I think I love you
Just tell me to slow down
Now if you want me to slow down
Just tell me to slow down
Yes I want to be loved
But I can't wait around for something better than this
Cause you're the best that I can do
And I wish I could leave you
Just tell me to slow down
Cause I want to be loved
Cause I want to be loved
Cause I want to be loved
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I based this off my interpretation and I think the music video kind of confirms it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYc_wtSV-Wc
I think this is a conversation between the girl and guy's thoughts. They're not actually talking but their inner desires are speaking for them. Yet, these thoughts stay in their head. I'd break it down like this.
It doesn't matter which is the guy or girl in this situation, but for the purpose of the song let's say the guy has a drinking problem and smokes cigarettes and that he's in a relationship with a girl. The "she" that keeps reappearing is a mom, sister, or female friend of the girl. The eternal "she" notices this addictive behavior and thinks the guy (or simply person with several other vices) is using the the girl for sex.
The lyrics could then be separated into guy, girl, & both.
Girl: She says you always smell like cigarettes And there's always whiskey on your breath But you're the best that I can do And I think I love you
Guy: Now if you want me to slow down Just tell me to slow down Now if you want me to slow down Just tell me to slow down
Girl: She says you don't love me you just love sex But I can't wait around for something better than this
Both: (For opposite reasons) Cause you're the best that I can do And I wish I could leave you
Guy: Now if you want me to slow down Just tell me to slow down
Both: Cause I want to be loved Cause I want to be loved Cause I want to be loved
Guy: Cause I want to be loved
Based off the music video and the lyrics, I'd say that both want to be loved and are seeking that love out. She says she can't wait around for something better than this.
She thinks he's the best that she can do. He knows that she is the best he can do. She wishes she could leave him but she cant bring herself to it. He wishes he could leave her so that she could be happy but he knows she's the best he can do, and that he'll be losing out.
They both want to be loved. His symbolic drowning of himself may symbolize him giving the relationship up so that she can be with someone better. At the end it seems like she is loved, but he is still searching.
I interpret it as a guy confusing love and sex or is just really desperate for sex (You're the best that I can do). He deludes himself into thinking that he actually loves the girl but in reality, he's really just there for the sex. But, again, he's confusing love and sex because he says he wants to, "be loved"
That's what I think anyways.
I think this song is about being with someone who has certain vices you really dislike, but despite those flaws, you realize that they are the best love you'll come to find. You could wait or seek for another love, a more ideal love, but what's the point if what you have feels like "the best."