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"
Cheap and tacky bullshit land
Told when to sit don't know where you stand
Too busy recreating the past
To live in the future.
Poor relations to Uncle Sam - bears no relation to the country man
Too busy being someone else to be who you really are.
Shitty plastic prefab town
Mind where you walk when the sun goes down
Too busy hating others to even love your own.
Bobbies on the beat again - beating blacks for blues again.
It's one way to get involved in the community.
Love me, love my jeans
I must buy shares in Heinz baked beans
Too busy buying up, selling out, selling off.
3,2,1, in others terms - win a life sentence and a queen mum perm
The individuals that state, in a state of seige.
Do pop and press and mix, do tits and news stew
The next one in the poor house could be you
To busy saying "thank you" to say what for?
No time to spare - "spare me a dime"?
The Great Depression is organised crime
Their confessions are written in your blood.
Kiss your ass an' dreams goodbye
Come back when you've learnt to cry
To busy try'na be strong to see how weak you are.
Wave your flags and waive your fate
The freedom you claim is the one you hate
The victory you seek will never come.
Brutal views through brutal eyes
See no future, hear no lies
Speak no truth to me or the people I love.
When I grow up I want to be
All the things you've never been
And your opinion will count for none.
Told when to sit don't know where you stand
Too busy recreating the past
To live in the future.
Poor relations to Uncle Sam - bears no relation to the country man
Too busy being someone else to be who you really are.
Shitty plastic prefab town
Mind where you walk when the sun goes down
Too busy hating others to even love your own.
Bobbies on the beat again - beating blacks for blues again.
It's one way to get involved in the community.
Love me, love my jeans
I must buy shares in Heinz baked beans
Too busy buying up, selling out, selling off.
3,2,1, in others terms - win a life sentence and a queen mum perm
The individuals that state, in a state of seige.
Do pop and press and mix, do tits and news stew
The next one in the poor house could be you
To busy saying "thank you" to say what for?
No time to spare - "spare me a dime"?
The Great Depression is organised crime
Their confessions are written in your blood.
Kiss your ass an' dreams goodbye
Come back when you've learnt to cry
To busy try'na be strong to see how weak you are.
Wave your flags and waive your fate
The freedom you claim is the one you hate
The victory you seek will never come.
Brutal views through brutal eyes
See no future, hear no lies
Speak no truth to me or the people I love.
When I grow up I want to be
All the things you've never been
And your opinion will count for none.
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The Night We Met
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Just A Little Lovin'
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.