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"
I couldn't figure why you couldn't give me what everybody needs
I shouldn't let you kick me when I'm down, my baby
Find out everybody knows that you've been using me
I'm surprised you let me stay around you
One day I'm gonna lift the cover and look inside your heart
We gotta level before we go and tear this love apart
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, girl, oh, girl
Oh baby, I shake you from now on
I'm gonna break down your defenses, one by one
I'm gonna hit you from all sides, lay your fortress open wide
Nobody stops this body from taking you
You better beware, I swear
I'm gonna be there one day when you fall
I could never let you cast aside the greatest love of all
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, girl
You win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, oh, girl
You win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
I shouldn't let you kick me when I'm down, my baby
Find out everybody knows that you've been using me
I'm surprised you let me stay around you
One day I'm gonna lift the cover and look inside your heart
We gotta level before we go and tear this love apart
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, girl, oh, girl
Oh baby, I shake you from now on
I'm gonna break down your defenses, one by one
I'm gonna hit you from all sides, lay your fortress open wide
Nobody stops this body from taking you
You better beware, I swear
I'm gonna be there one day when you fall
I could never let you cast aside the greatest love of all
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, girl
You win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
And I'll be (I'll be), I'll be (I'll be) following you
Oh, oh, girl
You win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
So little time, we do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through, you win again
Some never try, but if anybody can, we can
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me, you win again
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To me, this song is about his girlfriend. They both love each other, but she's afraid of being too close to anyone. I think the "You couldn't give me what everybody needs" part refers to sex. So, he feels like he's being used as a comodity. From my previous relationship, I learned that the formerly abused will sometimes have an irrational fear of getting too close to someone (even if they love and respect the person). He believes in the relationship and wants to do what it takes to make it work. But she is probably just not ready for a serious relationship yet.
Agree...It's a lyrically beautiful song "I'm gonna break down your defenses/One by one/I'm gonna hit you from all sides/Lay your fortress open wide" Love them!
I feel for the songwriter. I'm going through the same thing right now.
Love the intro beat
She doesn't/didn't love him the way he did her.
But he'll be there when she does, when she realises what she's lost. He'll be there to explore the love and he cant let her throw it away. Gorgeous song
im trying to figure out
does anyone have any idea?
It's about going after a girl who does not feel the same way about him but he's not giving up until he wins her heart. Corny aint it?
captainhastings
We all have mate, we all have.
I think your spot on "Egger3rd"!
Its actually quite a well written song.
"One day Im gonna lift the cover and look inside your...Oh baby, I shake you from now on. I'm gonna break down your defenses one by one. Im gonna hit you from all sides lay your fortress open wide. Nobody stops this body from taking you. You better beware, I swear, Im gonna be there one day when you fall." I love this song, but I can't get the idea out of my head that it means the guy is having problems with his girl so he is threatening to rape her to get her to love him. Kinda puts a damper on my good feelings in my opinion
I think this more refers to the fact that when she's down and needs somebody then he'll be there, she'll realise what she let go and she'll be bombarded with feelings
I half heartedly agree with girya about the violence in the singers mind. He is not just disappointed, but he is angry and is trying to deal with it. I think more of a husband and wife than a boyfriend/girlfriend for some reason. He hopes she will treat him better and believes that if anyone can make it, they can, but he is so hurt he fears his anger may overtake him. The lyrics are deep and everyone can think whatever, but the part about him "breaking down her defenses" and hitting her from all sides THEN lay her fortress open wide cause nobody stops him from taking her. Come on, I immediately thought of some kind of force by a man against his woman. I think it's pretty clear.
@girya16240
This song is not about rape or any kind of male domination over a woman. If you know anything about Barry Gibb, you know that he is a hopeless romantic by his songwriting. He’s been one of the premier pop love song writers in the music industry since the 1960s. He is also a family man, having been happily married to the same woman since 1970 whom he has had five children with. He has absolutely no history of being any kind of sexual predator or abuser.<br /> Now, on the other hand, Gibb has always used a great deal of metaphors in his songwriting throughout the Bee Gees’ career, which was typical of old school songwriters. They didn’t write songs as literally like they do nowadays.<br /> This entire song is a bunch of war, battle or fighting metaphors but make no mistake, it is a love song without a doubt.<br /> In the relationship he is referring to, his girl has become emotionally unresponsive, calloused and abusive towards him (probably because she has lost her original feelings of romance for him). However, he believes that their love is worth saving and he is setting out to woo her back into being in love with him. The song is filled with metaphors about battles or war. Phrases like “break down your defenses” and “lay your fortress open wide” are metaphors for breaking through to her emotionally so they do not lose the love they’ve had together. Even the line “nobody stops this body from taking you” is a play on words around the word “body”. But if you look closely you will see all of the war/battle/fight metaphors in the song. This is the whole crux of the song. He is saying that he will win this battle of love (breaking through to her emotionally) and he will defeat her (win her over so that they will stop bickering and fighting) and in doing this “SHE” will be the one to win. By him emotionally winning her over again, she will in fact be the winner because their love will be good again.