I think this song is talking about learning to live without someone — whether they are dead, or just absent.
"You are constant
Constant to me
Though you're distant,
You're my shadow
Constantly"
These lines show that no matter how far away the person is from her, their memories and their presence still lingers. Like a shadow there is always a figment of that person following her around, something not quite them, flat, 2-Dimensional, and sometimes overpowering, but always there.
"Yeah, I'm OK
Thanks for asking
Wrote too many pointless love songs"
This, here, is her talking to someone else, someone outside of the situation. Although we see in the earlier and following stanzas that she's not quite OK, she is still telling this person that she is. A way of being strong, or trying not to worry anyone else.
"Learn to breathe in
Learn to breathe out
Can't let you go
Can't let you go yet"
These chorus' sound like she is taking baby steps to learn how to live without the person. One breath at a time, and although she can't let the person go, she is still going to continue to live. She will breathe in, and then out. Just staying alive.
"I think I felt you disappear, disappear, disappear
I know it's awful but I'd already said my goodbyes"
This is probably the most ambiguous stanza. She's basically saying that's she made her peace with this, that she felt the person slipping away, but that is kind of contradictory to the rest of the song. In that light, I think she might saying this for their benefit, or lying to herself, trying to make moving on easier. The following lines:
"And nice to see you, maybe not /
You lived such a little, but loved such a lot"
Might give more of a hint, telling the listener that this is what she would say if she met them again. That she might lie and say: "It's nice to see you", but not really feel it. When she says "lived such a little, but loved such a lot" she could be talking about a childhood sweetheart, someone who had only just begun to experience life, or maybe even herself at the point of losing the person. (The way I broke it up is how I hear it, it makes more sense to me)
"I saw a sparkle
Felt a tremor
Then I thought that I saw you in the mirror
But I must be crazy, I must have lost my mind
Cos I'm running late over half the time"
I love this stanza, it conjures up such vivid images. She's kind of breaking, needing the person. She saw a sparkle, felt a tremor and saw them in the mirror — this could be talking about a mental break, or an experience with a ghost (whether real of not), and then she chalks down to her being crazy. The "I'm running late half the time" could be hinting towards the fact that she is still shaken by the departure, that she's forgetful and is some way away from healing.
This song is a haunting look at how one might feel when a loved when leaves or dies (it can be seen either way), and really highlights the conflicting emotions that take place when trying to move on.
I absolutely adore this song.
I think this song is talking about learning to live without someone — whether they are dead, or just absent.
"You are constant Constant to me
Though you're distant, You're my shadow Constantly"
These lines show that no matter how far away the person is from her, their memories and their presence still lingers. Like a shadow there is always a figment of that person following her around, something not quite them, flat, 2-Dimensional, and sometimes overpowering, but always there.
"Yeah, I'm OK Thanks for asking Wrote too many pointless love songs"
This, here, is her talking to someone else, someone outside of the situation. Although we see in the earlier and following stanzas that she's not quite OK, she is still telling this person that she is. A way of being strong, or trying not to worry anyone else.
"Learn to breathe in Learn to breathe out Can't let you go Can't let you go yet"
These chorus' sound like she is taking baby steps to learn how to live without the person. One breath at a time, and although she can't let the person go, she is still going to continue to live. She will breathe in, and then out. Just staying alive.
"I think I felt you disappear, disappear, disappear I know it's awful but I'd already said my goodbyes"
This is probably the most ambiguous stanza. She's basically saying that's she made her peace with this, that she felt the person slipping away, but that is kind of contradictory to the rest of the song. In that light, I think she might saying this for their benefit, or lying to herself, trying to make moving on easier. The following lines:
"And nice to see you, maybe not / You lived such a little, but loved such a lot"
Might give more of a hint, telling the listener that this is what she would say if she met them again. That she might lie and say: "It's nice to see you", but not really feel it. When she says "lived such a little, but loved such a lot" she could be talking about a childhood sweetheart, someone who had only just begun to experience life, or maybe even herself at the point of losing the person. (The way I broke it up is how I hear it, it makes more sense to me)
"I saw a sparkle Felt a tremor Then I thought that I saw you in the mirror But I must be crazy, I must have lost my mind Cos I'm running late over half the time"
I love this stanza, it conjures up such vivid images. She's kind of breaking, needing the person. She saw a sparkle, felt a tremor and saw them in the mirror — this could be talking about a mental break, or an experience with a ghost (whether real of not), and then she chalks down to her being crazy. The "I'm running late half the time" could be hinting towards the fact that she is still shaken by the departure, that she's forgetful and is some way away from healing.
This song is a haunting look at how one might feel when a loved when leaves or dies (it can be seen either way), and really highlights the conflicting emotions that take place when trying to move on.