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Single Lyrics

I called you from the hotel phone
I haven't dialled this code before
I'm sleeping later and waking later
I'm eating less and thinking more
And how am I without you?
Am I more myself or less myself?
I feel younger, louder
Like I don't always connect
Like I don't ever connect

And do you like being single?
Do you want me back?
Do you want me back?
And do I like being single?
Am I coming back?
Am I coming back?

I'll put my suitcase here for now
I'll turn the TV to the bed
But if no one calls and I don't speak all day
Do I disappear?
And look at me without you
I'm quite proud of myself
I feel reckless, clumsy
Like I'm making a mistake
A really big mistake

And do you like being single?
Do you want me back?
Do you want me back?
And do I like being single?
Am I coming back?
Am I coming back?
Do you want me back? (x6)

And now I know
Each time I go
I don't really know
What I'm thinking
And now I know
Each time I go
I don't really know
What I'm thinking of

Do you want me back? (x5)
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Cover art for Single lyrics by Everything but the Girl

To me the song has greater meaning than just words on a page. I was going through a tough time with my significant other, and the lyrics here really hit home. We were seperated and i was lost, didnt know what to do and confused. I didnt know if i should go back or leave, and thats what this song exemplifies in my eyes.

Cover art for Single lyrics by Everything but the Girl

I agree. It's about separation and being at that point where you have no idea what you're going to do with your life or the relationship. Then you start looking at yourself now and before. "I'm sleeping later and waking later I'm eating less and thinking more And how am I without you? Am I more myself or less myself?"

She's trying to get away from the relationship, because she thinks she's becoming dependable, but she's not sure if that's good or bad. "And look at me without you I'm quite proud of myself I feel reckless, clumsy Like I'm making a mistake A really big mistake"

Nothing to say about this last part, just love it. “But if no one calls and I don't speak all day Do I disappear?”

Cover art for Single lyrics by Everything but the Girl

I agree with both BrokenIce and elGarzon, and have some further thoughts on what the song means.

I think it's about someone who has finally left a relationship they probably should have left before then because of the dependency issues. At the same time, their world is teetering because they put so much into being "them" that as single units they're no longer sure how they should function. It's down to simple movements to get through;

"I'll put my suitcase here for now, I'll turn the TV to the bed"

Mechanical motions, one thought at a time - followed up by some incredible insight;

"But if no one calls and I don't speak all day - do I disappear?"

If she hasn't spoken to anyone for the entire day - does she cease to exist that day?

She still has some serious dependency issues - asking whether the other half wants her back and if she can come back - it's all inside her head, she's thinking about it. She's miles away, running away;

"I called you from the hotel phone, I haven't dialled this code before"

She's gone so far away to escape - and it's not the first time;

"And now I know, each time I go, I don't really know what I think I know"

The leaving is becoming routine or habit, she doesn't know why she keeps doing it and she can't comprehend why she does what she does.

Just my thoughts on a brilliant song!

Cover art for Single lyrics by Everything but the Girl

Having been in a toxic/failed relationship myself I can relate to every word of this song.... the desire to set yourself free from that other person, so that you could be "more yourself", but every time you try you are obsessed with whether they "want you back" or not...

In order to represent the state of confusion that a situation like this can set you in, I think that the writer is describing in reverse the different stages of this attempt at liberation: in the second verse she has just arrived at the hotel, she left her partner and feels proud of herself. But then the doubts start creeping up, is being alone really better than being unhappy but with that someone? Will I disappear? So finally (regressing back to the beginning), she gives in and calls him.

My Interpretation
 
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