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The Back Of Love Lyrics

i'm on the chopping block
chopping off my stopping thought
self doubt and selfism
were the cheapest things
i ever bought

when you say it's love
d'you mean the back of love
we're taken advantage of
breaking the back of love
we're taking advantage of
breaking the back of love

easier said than done you said
but it's more difficult to say
with eyes bigger than our bellies
we want to
but we can't look away
what were you thinking of
when you dreamt that up

when you're surrounded by
a simple chain of events
eventually
you'll shack those shackles off

we can't tell our left from right
but we know we love extremes
getting to grips with the ups and downs
because there's nothing in between
when you say that's love
d'you mean the back of love

when you say it's love
d'you mean the back of love
we're taken advantage of
breaking the back of love
we're taking advantage of
breaking the back of love

what were you thinking of
when you dreamt that up

we're taking advantage of
we're breaking the back of love
breaking the back of love
Song Info
Submitted by
typo On Jan 07, 2002
6 Meanings

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Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

Another OCD song. "I am on the chopping block, stopping off my chopping thoughts" is clearly about compulsory thinking and overanalysing, whereas "we know we love extremes. Getting to grips with the ups and downs cause there is nothing in between" are clear references to the extreme emotions and moodswings of OCD sufferers. Ian told the song was a reaction against the cheesy lovesongs that just picture the pretty side of love, ignoring it can sometimes be a really painful thing as well, so he wrote a song focussing on that other side of romance. However, to me it's a very OCD-directed song, one of the clearest references to OCD in their works.

Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

I'm sorry....what is OCD?

Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

I'm sorry....what is OCD?

Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

Ian has OCD. Many of his songs refer to it, or were written because of it, late at night while suffering from OCD induced insomnia.

Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Cover art for The Back Of Love lyrics by Echo and the Bunnymen

sounds morelike bi-polar to me. moodswings, extreme highs and lows, over analysing everything?

@jackflashjess Over-analyzing everything is a central trait of OCD. And Ian has specifically listed this song as one of the ones that's about his struggles with OCD.

More importantly, diagnosing someone based only on their art and their public statements is pretty fraught. Sure, he often looks like almost a stereotype of a bipolar musician in interviews. But he's been under psychiatric care for most of his life. His doctors presumably know him much better than us, and see sides of him that we don't, and none of them have ever diagnosed him bipolar.

 
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