This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Oh, Philomena, are you in a tawdry gown
Lean to your window, let's slip a ribbon down
If you're to devoid
If only you'll let me go
Down, down down
Long sunny days can lead to lazy vices
Boys all that I know, left to their own devices
Open up your linen lap
And let me go
Down, down down
All I ever wanted in the world
Was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored,
I wanted more, I wanted more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lash and loop of leather
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down
All I ever wanted in the world
Was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored,
I wanted more, oh, so much more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lash and loop of leather
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down
Go down, down down
Go down, go down
Lean to your window, let's slip a ribbon down
If you're to devoid
If only you'll let me go
Down, down down
Long sunny days can lead to lazy vices
Boys all that I know, left to their own devices
Open up your linen lap
And let me go
Down, down down
All I ever wanted in the world
Was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored,
I wanted more, I wanted more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lash and loop of leather
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down
All I ever wanted in the world
Was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I quickly bored,
I wanted more, oh, so much more
So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
And I'll be your lash and loop of leather
And dark Philomena, if only you'd let me go
Down, down down
Go down, down down
Go down, go down
Lyrics submitted by Vytasb, edited by Cyberghost, trustmeiknow
Philomena Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
The character voice is a teenage boy who has just received a pair of binoculars for his birthday. He has no real connection with Philomena other than through his voyeurism. She may be aware of his attentions and idly add fuel to his fantasies for relief of boredom.