The Book Lyrics

Lyric discussion by unspeakableme 

Cover art for The Book lyrics by Sheryl Crow

I think this song is about a woman (possibly Ms. Crow) scorned by a writer she had a three day one-night-stand with--obviously in Rome. It's a tad self explanatory. Anyway, she thought they really had something and yet he wrote down their experiences and made what they shared seem cheap and lowly. "You carry a pen and a paper, and no time and no words you waste" implies that he has either done this before or that he had it all planned out. "And I didn't know, By giving my hand, That I would be written down, sliced around, Passed down, Among strangers hands" hints more at the lowness of his writing and how the experience was written down, cut in the publishing process, and passed around for the general public to read. There are some lyrics missing here after the last chorus. They are: "And what do I get
Do I get revenge
While you let all out
Without any doubt How this will end

Sometimes it goes Sometimes we come To learn by mistake That the love you once made Can't be undone

Oh But three days in Rome I laid my heart out I laid my soul down alone I'll always remember Three days in Rome"