Whatever Doesn't Kill Me Lyrics

Lyric discussion by rmstrttn 

Cover art for Whatever Doesn't Kill Me lyrics by Finger Eleven

This is a weird song. It's catchy, it's sounds great, yet the lyrics seem like this jumbled mash that make no sense.

"Whatever doesn't kill me doesn't make me stronger" - It hurts like hell and I'm not going to do that again?

"There's one more thing left to try, It scares me and you know why" - What's left to try? The song doesn't explain further.

The only interpretation I can come up with for this song is that it is the inner thoughts and turmoil of a person that is afraid to express their feelings. However, if this is the case, why the hell is the song so "triumphant" sounding?

Here's the scenario:

Verse 1: Man loves girl, but is afraid to express it.

Verse 2: Man proposes to girl in some wild show of affection.

Verse 3: Man still can't express feelings, girl is lonely and bored and feels trapped, marriage breaks up, etc.

Chorus: No matter how many times the man's emotions break through, he builds up the "walls" again and shuts himself down.

Overall...why the hell is this a catchy, "wonderful" sounding song? Is it a play on how our society is becoming simply surface-level relational and that all our emotions are becoming so hard to share because we are so afraid of looking at them and understanding them?

My Interpretation