If You Sleep

this song makes me so sad. it's so sad how he says "but where's the joy to cure my sadness?" I'm not completely sure about the full meaning of this song. i undertsand that he's in love with someone. i figure they're very close to breaking up and he doesn't want to end it. so, i guess, when he says if you sleep, he means if she ignores the problem breaking them up, then he'll ignore it too. ~ME

This song seems to be about the death of someone that you love. Listening to it, I can picture this guy all alone in a hospital room next to his dying lover just knowing that there's nothing he can do to save her and he has come to terms with the fact that the next time she closes her eyes may be the last (hence the "if you sleep you sleep with God") because she'll be at peace in Heaven very soon. Its very sad but beautiful...

I think this song is so sweet..."If you sleep, i'll sleep too" think about it

To me this song is about a wonderful girl who has been in a car crash (Gleaming cars and covered faces ) and is now in the hospital (Disinfected rooms and hallways). The man that has been her lover believes he will die if she dies (if you sleep, i'll sleep too) and i know how he feels...

This poem is about a girl who has been in a car crash (Gleaming cars and covered faces) and is now in the hospital (Disinfected rooms and hallways). Orderlies are like janitors in a hospital and Brachman writes how they are “unaffected” by the horrible tragedy that has occurred. The girl is hanging on to life just enough to have “whispered bits of conversation” and the man worries for hours about her condition. He reflects on how close they are (soul to soul we’ve breathed), how perfect she is and how much she is loved by him (Figure of divine perfection No one's loved with more affection). Then the man starts to think about the possibility of her dying and knows that she will go to heaven if she does (if you sleep you sleep with God). He realizes that he cannot go on living without her (Why should I hope to make it through? If you sleep I’ll sleep too). He ponders the “jagged thorns” of life that cause heartache and “pretty pedals” such as the girl that make life wonderful. He points out that some moments in life are “sunny days” while others are “nights of blackness” and comes upon the idea that if his lover is gone there will be no joy to cure his sadness. The ease at which Brachman uses the perfect words to describe the situation while still maintaining a wonderful rhyme scheme is truly amazing to me. I have had many of the same feelings as Brachman describes here and being able to relate to this song puts it among my favorites. It is not particularly complicated but it is most certainly beautiful.

"figure of divine perfection"...

I don't think there was a car accident at all; I think the 'gleaming cars' are that of the funeral procession. Notice the covered (veiled) faces, the grass and granite stone. The lover is going to die or dead, though.

yeah, I think the same thing. "gleaming cars, covered faces, teary eyes, hallowed places (the grave), grass and granite stone" = perfect imagery of a funeral. a great person that you love is dying, and youre in the hospital (disinfected rooms and hallways) worrying and worrying as the person lays on their death bed, and you don't want them to die ("won't let the fates succeed"). "whispered bits of conversation, unaffected orderlies"- basically your alone in the hospital worrying and the only interaction you have with others are the short talks w the doctor and the people that work at the hospital who aren't upset like you are cause theyre around dying people all the time and this person isnt any more important than the others. the chorus is saying that if you die you will at at peace, so I'm not crying for you, I'm crying for myself because Ive lost you, but if youre at peace then i will be at peace too. and "why should I hope to make it through? Cause if you sleep, Ill sleep too" could kinda mean two different things: he's either asking himself why he should have any hope at all, and then answering: because if you're at peace after death then I will be ok. or he's saying he shouldn't even hope to make it through this awful process cause if she dies then he will die.