For me there are two meanings to this song, firstly i believe it is about somebody who is or has been suicidal. The other meaning is that it is about a teenager who is battling with his sexuality.
Both these meanings could be tied together to say that this boy could have attempted suicide because of his inability to accept his being gay.
"hidden by his clothes there are some scars
Some are recent,
some have been there for years"
the recent scars could be the physical scars from his attempt at suicide, possibly on his wrists. The scars that have been there for years could be the emotional scars from having to deal with taunts by other kids at school.
"Do you want the real story,
or do you prefer the lie
Do you want to see him smile,
or maybe see him cry
Do you want to follow,
or let him go alone
For then, never to know… never to know"
The chorus is Lene asking directly to possibly his family or friends who have ignored his sexuality, making it hard for him to feel comfortable enough to come out, if they would prefer to see him finally happy in accepting it and love him no matter what. Or if they would prefer to see him unhappy and let him go it alone and turn him away because of it, possibly because they have a disapproving view on homosexuality.
"Have you seen the way he acts sometimes
And when you ask,
he’ll say that he’s okay.
Have you seen how well he pretends
Laughs out loud,
before he looks away"
In this verse she comments on how he seems so down sometimes, but hides it by saying he's fine, pretending to be totally happy when he is emotionally torn apart. This pretending could also be him pretending to be straight by having girlfriends and joining in with the taunts of other teenagers toward other boys who may be gay, laughing at them along with his 'friends', yet looking away and feeling terrible for it.
This song can be interpreted many ways, but this is how i have interpreted it as it means a lot to me personally this way.
For me there are two meanings to this song, firstly i believe it is about somebody who is or has been suicidal. The other meaning is that it is about a teenager who is battling with his sexuality. Both these meanings could be tied together to say that this boy could have attempted suicide because of his inability to accept his being gay.
"hidden by his clothes there are some scars Some are recent, some have been there for years"
"Do you want the real story, or do you prefer the lie Do you want to see him smile, or maybe see him cry Do you want to follow, or let him go alone For then, never to know… never to know"
"Have you seen the way he acts sometimes And when you ask, he’ll say that he’s okay. Have you seen how well he pretends Laughs out loud, before he looks away"
This song can be interpreted many ways, but this is how i have interpreted it as it means a lot to me personally this way.