Must I Paint You A Picture? Lyrics

Lyric discussion by vchamberlain 

Cover art for Must I Paint You A Picture? lyrics by Billy Bragg

I don't think this is a song about a relationship that isn't consummated, I think this is a break-up song. He's fallen in love with the "little black cloud in a dress" - she's obviously angry & unhappy when they're together now - & they have had sex - "most important decisions in life are made between two people in bed - I found that out at my expense" - but she doesn't love him & as the song goes on, she no longer even speaks with him - acts like they've never met.

It's a heartbreaking song - he thinks he's not explaining himself well enough - even though he knows as much as he explains, he's "taking the precious thing that we have apart to see how it works" only to be unable to put it back together - he wonders if she would understand his love more if he painted her a picture (figuratively, of course - the phrase is usually used in sarcasm, not desperation).

But of course it's over. There's really nothing he can do.

I think the song is about a relationship with a guy and a girl who are just friends and how he wants to tell her how he really feels. At least that's how I took it.

The temptation To take the precious things we have apart To see how they work Must be resisted for they never fit together again

They get along really well as friends and he knows that once you go down that road it's incredibly hard for it to be the same as it once was. He does all the things he thinks he needs to...