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"
Here you stand seething with guilt
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice
The look stapled on your face cries out for forgiveness
The one thing that I cannot give
Did you ever see that one person
And the way they do these things
And it hurts you so much it's like choking, choking, CHOKING!
I can give you freedom from your guilt
With a flick of my wrist onto yours
I can give you peace of mind with a forced smile
I can give you death with the look upon my face
This is your freedom, in a life of fallacy
With no last kiss and no regrets
You don't deserve good bye
This is your freedom, in a life of fallacy
With no last kiss and no good bye
Here you stand seething with guilt
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice
With a short story
The one you add to daily
You are the tragic loss
No story book ending for the fairy tale of you
Just the one composed with blood
Taken from your pen that you hold in your lifeless hand
Cry for you, shed tears, mourn
Wish the end
Cry for you, shed tears, mourn
Wish the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Did you ever look
Did you ever see that one person?
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds
You let this one person come down at the most perfect moment
And it breaks my heart to know
The only reason you are here now
Is a reminder of what I'll never have
I'll never have
I'll never
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in
But this table for one has become bearable
I now take comfort in this, in this, I cherish you
Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person?
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds
And you let this one person come down
Come down
I cherish you
I cherish you
Just say that you would do the same for me
Just say you would do the same
Just say you would do the same for me
For as much as I love Autumn
I'm giving myself to Ashes
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice
The look stapled on your face cries out for forgiveness
The one thing that I cannot give
Did you ever see that one person
And the way they do these things
And it hurts you so much it's like choking, choking, CHOKING!
I can give you freedom from your guilt
With a flick of my wrist onto yours
I can give you peace of mind with a forced smile
I can give you death with the look upon my face
This is your freedom, in a life of fallacy
With no last kiss and no regrets
You don't deserve good bye
This is your freedom, in a life of fallacy
With no last kiss and no good bye
Here you stand seething with guilt
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice
With a short story
The one you add to daily
You are the tragic loss
No story book ending for the fairy tale of you
Just the one composed with blood
Taken from your pen that you hold in your lifeless hand
Cry for you, shed tears, mourn
Wish the end
Cry for you, shed tears, mourn
Wish the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Mourn, wish, the end
Did you ever look
Did you ever see that one person?
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds
You let this one person come down at the most perfect moment
And it breaks my heart to know
The only reason you are here now
Is a reminder of what I'll never have
I'll never have
I'll never
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in
But this table for one has become bearable
I now take comfort in this, in this, I cherish you
Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person?
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds
And you let this one person come down
Come down
I cherish you
I cherish you
Just say that you would do the same for me
Just say you would do the same
Just say you would do the same for me
For as much as I love Autumn
I'm giving myself to Ashes
Lyrics submitted by radiosilencex
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
@ xXl0velyl0v3rxX. I think you've just about nailed the meaning. :P About the song, it's truely an epic song, but the female vocals are pretty poor, regardless of what everyone else says. Her tone is just weak. But the song is just pure excellent, and the number of comments it has speaks for itself.