“They say it fades if you let it
Love was made to forget it
I carved your name across my eyelids
You pray for rain, I pray for blindness”
He is reflecting on a relationship that has just ended. People (i.e. his mom) tell him that love is something that you can get over and forget; however, he feels that he will never love anyone other than this girl (carving = permanent). The girl believes that getting over him will be easy (i.e. she only WROTE his name across her eyelids, so it can simply be washed away by the rain). He believes it will be infinitely harder to get over her, as only blindness will rid him of his carving.
“If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because the spark is not within me”
These are actually the words of the girl; this is her “straight answer”. (This does not become clear until later in the song). Basically, she understands that he is still in love with her, but she admits that she is not in love with him anymore.
“I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom”
This line is misleading because you do not yet realize that the previous stanza is the girl speaking. So at first glance it seems to refer to “the spark” being snuffed out. In reality, it is referring to him snuffing out his “pains of love” so that his mom doesn’t see him cry. This is actually genius word choice, as he is able to mislead you and hide his feelings the same way that he hides them from his mom.
“The only thing that you keep changing
Is your name, my love keeps growing
Still the same, just like a cancer
And you won't give me a straight answer”
He is remembering back to the end of their relationship when the girl could not decide if she loved him or not (thus, her name (or label) kept changing between ‘his lover’ and ‘not his lover’, for example). And while she could not decide if she still loved him, his love for her was growing.
“If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because your hands are not upon me”
Again, this is the girl’s “straight answer” that she does not love him anymore. When she says that “[his] hands are not upon [her]” she is saying that he cannot control or change her love for him.
“I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom”
As before, this line is misleading, as “shrugged them off” seems to refer to “hands”. In actuality, it refers to “the pains of love” that are referenced in the next line. Thus, once again, he is hiding his pain from his mom (and in effect, from the listener).
“The pains of love, and they keep growing
In my heart there's flowers growing
On the grave of our old love
Since you gave me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love is not upon me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because this crown is not within me
It's not within me, it's not within me”
Now it becomes clear that the chorus is in fact the girl’s “straight answer” that she no longer loves him. He reveals that she ended the relationship (“grave of our old love” = relationship is dead) and that this is the cause of his anguish, as he still loves her. In fact, even though their relationship is over, his love for her continues to grow (i.e. flowers growing on the grave). It is also interesting to note that Regine sings the chorus with Win this time (whereas the previous two times he sang the chorus alone). This seems appropriate, as he has finally revealed that the chorus represents the girl’s words. Having Regine sing it with him verifies this.
“You got to be the one
You got to be the way
Your name is the only word that I can say
You got to be the one
You got to be the way
Your name is the only word
The only word that I can say”
He continues to be convinced that this girl is “the one” for him, that she is the only girl that he will ever love, and that he will never get over her.
I had the same interpretation as noahbaumbach.
“They say it fades if you let it Love was made to forget it I carved your name across my eyelids You pray for rain, I pray for blindness”
He is reflecting on a relationship that has just ended. People (i.e. his mom) tell him that love is something that you can get over and forget; however, he feels that he will never love anyone other than this girl (carving = permanent). The girl believes that getting over him will be easy (i.e. she only WROTE his name across her eyelids, so it can simply be washed away by the rain). He believes it will be infinitely harder to get over her, as only blindness will rid him of his carving.
“If you still want me, please forgive me The crown of love has fallen from me If you still want me, please forgive me Because the spark is not within me”
These are actually the words of the girl; this is her “straight answer”. (This does not become clear until later in the song). Basically, she understands that he is still in love with her, but she admits that she is not in love with him anymore.
“I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom”
This line is misleading because you do not yet realize that the previous stanza is the girl speaking. So at first glance it seems to refer to “the spark” being snuffed out. In reality, it is referring to him snuffing out his “pains of love” so that his mom doesn’t see him cry. This is actually genius word choice, as he is able to mislead you and hide his feelings the same way that he hides them from his mom.
“The only thing that you keep changing Is your name, my love keeps growing Still the same, just like a cancer And you won't give me a straight answer”
He is remembering back to the end of their relationship when the girl could not decide if she loved him or not (thus, her name (or label) kept changing between ‘his lover’ and ‘not his lover’, for example). And while she could not decide if she still loved him, his love for her was growing.
“If you still want me, please forgive me The crown of love has fallen from me If you still want me, please forgive me Because your hands are not upon me”
Again, this is the girl’s “straight answer” that she does not love him anymore. When she says that “[his] hands are not upon [her]” she is saying that he cannot control or change her love for him.
“I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom”
As before, this line is misleading, as “shrugged them off” seems to refer to “hands”. In actuality, it refers to “the pains of love” that are referenced in the next line. Thus, once again, he is hiding his pain from his mom (and in effect, from the listener).
“The pains of love, and they keep growing In my heart there's flowers growing On the grave of our old love Since you gave me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me The crown of love is not upon me If you still want me, please forgive me Because this crown is not within me It's not within me, it's not within me”
Now it becomes clear that the chorus is in fact the girl’s “straight answer” that she no longer loves him. He reveals that she ended the relationship (“grave of our old love” = relationship is dead) and that this is the cause of his anguish, as he still loves her. In fact, even though their relationship is over, his love for her continues to grow (i.e. flowers growing on the grave). It is also interesting to note that Regine sings the chorus with Win this time (whereas the previous two times he sang the chorus alone). This seems appropriate, as he has finally revealed that the chorus represents the girl’s words. Having Regine sing it with him verifies this.
“You got to be the one You got to be the way Your name is the only word that I can say
You got to be the one You got to be the way Your name is the only word The only word that I can say”
He continues to be convinced that this girl is “the one” for him, that she is the only girl that he will ever love, and that he will never get over her.