This is my take on the song's meaning.
I'm almost certain it was written about Amy and Ben's relationship, the way he had been treating her, and the ways in which she reacted to that treatment.
"Sparkling grey
Then my own veins.."
-- I read somewhere that the lyric was "then" instead of "through", but I could be wrong.. but anyway, Amy had looked into Ben's eyes, which may or may not actually be that colour (?), but "grey" because he saw her coldly and mistreated her, and "sparkling" because despite this, she loved him anyway.
"Then my own veins" suggests that because her love was not returned, she was torn apart by his gestures of abuse, and hurt herself ("my own veins" is the metaphor for hurting herself, though it may not be specifically by cutting her wrists).
"Any more than a whisper
Any sudden movement of my heart
And I know, I know I'll have to watch them pass away
Just get through this day"
-- Amy was forced to be so cautious about her actions, like speaking up for herself ("any more than a whisper") and expressing her desires ("any sudden movement of my heart"), because he would immediately crush her dreams, not allowing her to do anything. (It could suggest their clashes when it came to writing music, as Amy has mentioned in interviews.) This was a constant happening, and everyday she just wanted to make her time pass by as quietly as possible, so he wouldn't get riled up and start hurting her again.
"Give up your way, you could be anything,
Give up my way, and lose myself
Not today
That's too much guilt to pay.."
-- She knew that to surrender would be to give herself up; what's the point living a life if you can't lead your own way through it? Then, speaking from a point later on in the relationship, Amy finally refused to give in to him, saying she can't keep doing it and living in the guilt of never taking action.
"Sickened in the sun
You dare tell me you love me
But you held me down and screamed you wanted me to die"
-- "Sickened in the sun" is a metaphor for being burned by something you thought was good for/to you, or in this case, a metaphor for hypocracy; Ben had convinced her that yes, he DID love her back - practically the next minute he was holding her down and wishing death upon her.
"..But you held me down and screamed you wanted me to die
Honey you know, you know I'd never hurt you that way
You're just so pretty in your pain.."
-- These lines describe the way he hurt her - brutally, and driven by hate. She's telling him now that she would never hurt him for the same reasons - unlike his straight-out loathing, Amy would hurt him for the sake of enjoying his pain. Because she has been trodden on so many times by him, the feeling of taking her revenge on him and seeing him as the victim gives her a kind of happiness, and she takes a moment to stand back and admire the sight.
The rest of the song just talks about her path to freedom; how she's changed, how she won't let him overcome her from now on and nothing he can do will stop her from doing what she wants to do in her own life.
This is my take on the song's meaning. I'm almost certain it was written about Amy and Ben's relationship, the way he had been treating her, and the ways in which she reacted to that treatment.
"Sparkling grey Then my own veins.." -- I read somewhere that the lyric was "then" instead of "through", but I could be wrong.. but anyway, Amy had looked into Ben's eyes, which may or may not actually be that colour (?), but "grey" because he saw her coldly and mistreated her, and "sparkling" because despite this, she loved him anyway. "Then my own veins" suggests that because her love was not returned, she was torn apart by his gestures of abuse, and hurt herself ("my own veins" is the metaphor for hurting herself, though it may not be specifically by cutting her wrists).
"Any more than a whisper Any sudden movement of my heart And I know, I know I'll have to watch them pass away Just get through this day" -- Amy was forced to be so cautious about her actions, like speaking up for herself ("any more than a whisper") and expressing her desires ("any sudden movement of my heart"), because he would immediately crush her dreams, not allowing her to do anything. (It could suggest their clashes when it came to writing music, as Amy has mentioned in interviews.) This was a constant happening, and everyday she just wanted to make her time pass by as quietly as possible, so he wouldn't get riled up and start hurting her again.
"Give up your way, you could be anything, Give up my way, and lose myself Not today That's too much guilt to pay.." -- She knew that to surrender would be to give herself up; what's the point living a life if you can't lead your own way through it? Then, speaking from a point later on in the relationship, Amy finally refused to give in to him, saying she can't keep doing it and living in the guilt of never taking action.
"Sickened in the sun You dare tell me you love me But you held me down and screamed you wanted me to die" -- "Sickened in the sun" is a metaphor for being burned by something you thought was good for/to you, or in this case, a metaphor for hypocracy; Ben had convinced her that yes, he DID love her back - practically the next minute he was holding her down and wishing death upon her.
"..But you held me down and screamed you wanted me to die Honey you know, you know I'd never hurt you that way You're just so pretty in your pain.." -- These lines describe the way he hurt her - brutally, and driven by hate. She's telling him now that she would never hurt him for the same reasons - unlike his straight-out loathing, Amy would hurt him for the sake of enjoying his pain. Because she has been trodden on so many times by him, the feeling of taking her revenge on him and seeing him as the victim gives her a kind of happiness, and she takes a moment to stand back and admire the sight.
The rest of the song just talks about her path to freedom; how she's changed, how she won't let him overcome her from now on and nothing he can do will stop her from doing what she wants to do in her own life.