I believe that the narrator has freed someone from a dysfunctional relationship. She needed to get out and the imagery of the lyrics "I'm waiting for the train/the subway that only goes one way/the stupid thing that will come to pull us apart/and make everybody late" gives me the impression that they'd come to a point in their relationship where they wanted different things and were going in two different directions. Maybe she asked him if he wanted her to stay and he told her that he didn’t. I used to think that he told her that he loved her when he really didn’t, but the mood of the song feels like loss, not guilt. Lyrics can take on a whole new meaning when you change the tone of the music, and Smith’s music says it all.
My take on the lie is that she asked him if he loved her and he said no. So she left, and he regrets letting her go. His biggest lie was saying “I don’t love you”.
I used to listen to this song and everytime think the same thing you wrote. As a singer/songwriter myself, I think you could either be very right or very wrong. But its the thought that counts and Elliott would appreciate that his words would help somebody through this meaning even if thats not what he was exactly trying to interpret.
I used to listen to this song and everytime think the same thing you wrote. As a singer/songwriter myself, I think you could either be very right or very wrong. But its the thought that counts and Elliott would appreciate that his words would help somebody through this meaning even if thats not what he was exactly trying to interpret.
I took the oppostie view from facedownowls...
I believe that the narrator has freed someone from a dysfunctional relationship. She needed to get out and the imagery of the lyrics "I'm waiting for the train/the subway that only goes one way/the stupid thing that will come to pull us apart/and make everybody late" gives me the impression that they'd come to a point in their relationship where they wanted different things and were going in two different directions. Maybe she asked him if he wanted her to stay and he told her that he didn’t. I used to think that he told her that he loved her when he really didn’t, but the mood of the song feels like loss, not guilt. Lyrics can take on a whole new meaning when you change the tone of the music, and Smith’s music says it all.
My take on the lie is that she asked him if he loved her and he said no. So she left, and he regrets letting her go. His biggest lie was saying “I don’t love you”.
I used to listen to this song and everytime think the same thing you wrote. As a singer/songwriter myself, I think you could either be very right or very wrong. But its the thought that counts and Elliott would appreciate that his words would help somebody through this meaning even if thats not what he was exactly trying to interpret.
I used to listen to this song and everytime think the same thing you wrote. As a singer/songwriter myself, I think you could either be very right or very wrong. But its the thought that counts and Elliott would appreciate that his words would help somebody through this meaning even if thats not what he was exactly trying to interpret.