Unfinished Business (White Lies)

I love this song!! It’s so haunting and the more you listen to it, there are different stories that come out of it. There are more theories of the meaning on the White Lies version of it too. I think that this song is being told by the spirit of a ghost who was killed suddenly and tragically. The lover of the person that died is so lost and devastated by the news, they want to kill themselves just to be reunited. The ghost is trying to communicate with their lover, and tell them to be happy again. The ghost doesn’t realize at first what has happened, and that they are not alive anymore.

Just give me a second darling To clear my head

• The ghost has come back to visit their lover, but doesn’t know that they are dead or what is happening

Just put down those scissors baby, on this single bed

• The ghost is talking to the lover who is trying to kill themselves

The sand in the hourglass is running low I came through thunder, the cold wind The rain and the snow

• The ghost has traveled a long way to visit their lover, and the ghost doesn’t have much time to explain

To find you awake by your windowsill A sight for sore eyes and a view to kill

• The ghost realizes that they haven’t seen their lover in a while, the ghost doesn’t realize they are dead and have been gone until then

I broke down in horror at you standing there The glow from the moon Shone through cracks in your hair. I shouted with passion, "I love you so much" But feeling my skin, it was cold to the touch.

• The ghost now realizes why he/she was sent back, to try to stop the lover from killing themselves

You whispered "where are you?" I questioned your doubt But soon realised, you were talking to God now

• The ghost is confused by the question asked, thinking that the lover is responding to the ghost, but realizes that the lover can’t hear them. The lover is talking to themselves and asking God why his/her lover was taken away from them

You've got blood on your hands And I know it's mine I just need more time

• The ghost feels responsible for leaving the lover so quickly, (it’s not actual blood), maybe it was a fight they had right before the ghost was killed (a car accident maybe), and somehow the lover feels like it was their fault that the ghost was killed (or the reason they got in the car)

So get off your low and let's dance like we used to But there's a light in the distance Waiting for me, I will wait for you So get off your low and let's kiss like we used to

• The ghost is trying to tell the lover to grieve and return to being happy, like they once were. The ghost has to return to the “bright light” or heaven and will be there waiting, when it the lover’s time to die

I looked in the mirror But something was wrong. I saw you behind but my reflection was gone.

• The ghost is trying so hard to communicate, but once he/she realizes they don’t even have a reflection, the ghost realizes they have to try harder or try something else to prevent the lover from dying bc they love them so much

There was smoke in the fireplace As white as the snow. A voice beckoned gently 'Now it's time to go'

• The lover has been in a standstill since the ghost has died, and the time is shown by the fire being burned all the way to ashes. The ghost is being called back to heaven.

A requiem played as you begged for forgiveness "Don't touch me!" I screamed "I've got unfinished business"

• Once again the lover is feeling responsible for the ghost’s death while listening to the funeral hymn, and the ghost is trying to be pulled away back to heaven, but gives heaven up by saying the ghost has unfinished business. A ghost cannot truly enter heaven if they have unfinished business, so instead the ghost sacrifices him/herself and chooses to stay with the lover to try to prevent them from killing themselves. They are both trying to give up their lives or wellbeing all for the love of one another.