This song means a lot to me because it basically describes my situation with my first love. Except that I'd be in the guy's shoes. So I can relate to and understand the song on a lot of different levels.
An empty room, I’m empty too
Everything just reminds me of you
(Pretty self-explanatory. He feels alone, on both the inside and outside. He's lonely on the inside without her, and on the outside because nobody else can replace her. And yeah... everything reminds him of her; she's on his mind continually.)
So many things I shouldn't have missed
The more that I push and the more you resist
(He wishes he could have known what would come of him trying to "push" her. He didn't know that it would only push her farther away from him, instead of bringing her closer. And now, he's beating himself up for not realizing that before he had tried harder to get her back.)
It’s easy to say it’s for the best
When you want more, while you leave me with less
(Logically, he and anybody else can see that it's for the best. A relationship involves the work and dedication of two people; and if only one is left trying to put the pieces back together while the other has let go, those two people obviously aren't meant to be.)
I know you're fine, but what do I do?
(Again, self-explanatory. He knows that she's fine, but he's still stuck behind and can't let go of her. And he doesn't know what to do.)
I’m awake and trying
While you’re sleeping like a babe beside him
(He's always looking for ways to try to fix what went wrong and go back to the way it was before; he's always "awake," in that sense. But she's doing the opposite; she's "asleep," and has given up trying to make it work. She's moved on, and doesn't seem to be looking back.)
I’m on the ledge, while you’re so
God damn polite and composed
(This could take on two different meanings; personally, I think both of them work. Firstly, he could be "on the ledge" when he's around her. You know, watching his every move and always hoping that maybe she'll want him back again if he plays it right. Secondly, he could be "on the ledge" at any given time, in his day to day life. He's a mess without her, and always "on the ledge" of a breakdown. Meanwhile, she's completely okay, and acts as if nothing ever happened.)
And I know you see me and you’re making it look so easy
(He is sure that deep down, she still must look at him and have a space left in her heart for him. She still must have feelings; but if she does, she's making it look so easy to let go and ignore her heart.)
What comes and goes, I'd go without
(Relationships come and go; everyone knows this. But he's saying that he'd go without the "coming and going". I'm not sure if this is correct, but this is how I interpret it. He doesn't want her to "come and go"; he wants her to stay for good.
Fallout
(=The adverse side effects or results of a situation. Explains itself.)
Well now there’s him and now there’s me
The secrets you give and the secrets you keep
(These things are all aspects of the "fallout". It's now him and her new guy, both trying to compete for her love. And maybe he regrets not telling her some things that he knows he should have, and that's what the "secrets you give and the secrets you keep" is all about? And it haunts him, because now he doesn't have the chance to tell her those things.)
Nevertheless, it’s never your let
It’s more that I give and the less that I get
(Let = allow. I hear this as her never allowing him to do anything, in a sense. She's done and moved on, and he knows that it wouldn't be right to try to get her back any more. Yet still, he's giving her his heart and time and energy and soul, and she only takes those same things out of him.)
Don’t tell me to fight, to fight for you
After this long I shouldn’t have to
(I think the first part is a sort of self-justification. He knows all to well that he's still fighting for her after so long, but he imagines her WANTING him to fight. So he says "don't tell me to fight for you" in an attempt to justify the fact that in reality, he's doing the exact opposite.)
This song means a lot to me because it basically describes my situation with my first love. Except that I'd be in the guy's shoes. So I can relate to and understand the song on a lot of different levels.
An empty room, I’m empty too Everything just reminds me of you (Pretty self-explanatory. He feels alone, on both the inside and outside. He's lonely on the inside without her, and on the outside because nobody else can replace her. And yeah... everything reminds him of her; she's on his mind continually.)
So many things I shouldn't have missed The more that I push and the more you resist (He wishes he could have known what would come of him trying to "push" her. He didn't know that it would only push her farther away from him, instead of bringing her closer. And now, he's beating himself up for not realizing that before he had tried harder to get her back.)
It’s easy to say it’s for the best When you want more, while you leave me with less (Logically, he and anybody else can see that it's for the best. A relationship involves the work and dedication of two people; and if only one is left trying to put the pieces back together while the other has let go, those two people obviously aren't meant to be.)
I know you're fine, but what do I do? (Again, self-explanatory. He knows that she's fine, but he's still stuck behind and can't let go of her. And he doesn't know what to do.)
I’m awake and trying While you’re sleeping like a babe beside him (He's always looking for ways to try to fix what went wrong and go back to the way it was before; he's always "awake," in that sense. But she's doing the opposite; she's "asleep," and has given up trying to make it work. She's moved on, and doesn't seem to be looking back.)
I’m on the ledge, while you’re so God damn polite and composed (This could take on two different meanings; personally, I think both of them work. Firstly, he could be "on the ledge" when he's around her. You know, watching his every move and always hoping that maybe she'll want him back again if he plays it right. Secondly, he could be "on the ledge" at any given time, in his day to day life. He's a mess without her, and always "on the ledge" of a breakdown. Meanwhile, she's completely okay, and acts as if nothing ever happened.)
And I know you see me and you’re making it look so easy (He is sure that deep down, she still must look at him and have a space left in her heart for him. She still must have feelings; but if she does, she's making it look so easy to let go and ignore her heart.)
What comes and goes, I'd go without (Relationships come and go; everyone knows this. But he's saying that he'd go without the "coming and going". I'm not sure if this is correct, but this is how I interpret it. He doesn't want her to "come and go"; he wants her to stay for good.
Fallout (=The adverse side effects or results of a situation. Explains itself.)
Well now there’s him and now there’s me The secrets you give and the secrets you keep (These things are all aspects of the "fallout". It's now him and her new guy, both trying to compete for her love. And maybe he regrets not telling her some things that he knows he should have, and that's what the "secrets you give and the secrets you keep" is all about? And it haunts him, because now he doesn't have the chance to tell her those things.)
Nevertheless, it’s never your let It’s more that I give and the less that I get (Let = allow. I hear this as her never allowing him to do anything, in a sense. She's done and moved on, and he knows that it wouldn't be right to try to get her back any more. Yet still, he's giving her his heart and time and energy and soul, and she only takes those same things out of him.)
Don’t tell me to fight, to fight for you After this long I shouldn’t have to (I think the first part is a sort of self-justification. He knows all to well that he's still fighting for her after so long, but he imagines her WANTING him to fight. So he says "don't tell me to fight for you" in an attempt to justify the fact that in reality, he's doing the exact opposite.)