I don't know if the changes I made to the lyrics will be accepted, but per Arcade Fire's own lyric video for the song, the last 4 lines of the last chorus should read "Oh, we know it's gone / But where did it go?" x2.
This further cements the idea that the song really is about the dissolution of a relationship, and not a casual one at that; it's about the death of a life together, shared by two people who were very much in love but can't make it work anymore.
They've followed bad advice (that had "nothing at all to do with life") and faced hardship ("after all the ambulances are gone", "the breath and the dirt and fires are burnt", etc.), which tore at the fabric of what they had.
The girl (Régine) realizes that their passion for one another has disappeared and can't wrap her mind around it ("when love is gone / where does it go?"), even as her lover (Win) tries to find one last way to salvage what they had ("Can't we just work it out?"). The variation in the last chorus is especially important, because it shows the male protagonist finally resigning to his fate, which comes with the same consternation that his lover expressed previously: "Oh, we know it's gone / but where did it go?"
They're stuck in a kind of afterlife - the muted, confusing present that comes after realizing the future you envisioned with the one you love won't come to pass after all.
Having posted what I did above, I think you also have a beautiful description of what this song is about. It is about losing a true love and being desperate and lost.
Having posted what I did above, I think you also have a beautiful description of what this song is about. It is about losing a true love and being desperate and lost.
I kinda want to revisit the lyrics a bit, because I really like your post.
I kinda want to revisit the lyrics a bit, because I really like your post.
"Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next
It was just a glimpse of you
Like looking through a window
or a shallow sea, could you see me?"
"Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next
It was just a glimpse of you
Like looking through a window
or a shallow sea, could you see me?"
This little verse is so powerful to me. He sees what happens next, and he realizes that this girl he loved so dearly...
This little verse is so powerful to me. He sees what happens next, and he realizes that this girl he loved so dearly will fade to a memory. A glimpse, and likewise she will not fully see him.
"And after all this time
It's like nothing else we used to know"
I would say that this is also very important. He has experienced true love and he is losing a way of life in the process of losing the girl. It's never going to be the same.
As for the chorus, or refrain, or whatever:
"When love is gone, where does it go?"
I love the shit out of this line. He had an immense love, and it is gone. So, what the hell is the deal? Where did it go, and can he get it back?
"And where do we go?"
To me this is the entire song put into a single line. The love is gone, so what now? What do you do when a love that defined your life is gone? Where do you go? How can you find it again?
At the end, he accepts it, as you mentioned. Probably one of the most beautiful parts about the song is that there is no resolution. It is just true to the real feeling that occurs when you lose, as you say, the future you envisioned. This song captures the desperation and sadness, but also offers a catharsis through all the expression of these things.
From really coming to understand the meaning of this song in a personal way, I think the Spike Jonze directed music video for this song at the youtube music awards is amazingly spot on. The awkward, cathartic dancing expresses exactly what the song is about. It's about honesty and fighting your way to the realization that things will not be the same, and trying to feel okay about that.
I don't know if the changes I made to the lyrics will be accepted, but per Arcade Fire's own lyric video for the song, the last 4 lines of the last chorus should read "Oh, we know it's gone / But where did it go?" x2.
This further cements the idea that the song really is about the dissolution of a relationship, and not a casual one at that; it's about the death of a life together, shared by two people who were very much in love but can't make it work anymore.
They've followed bad advice (that had "nothing at all to do with life") and faced hardship ("after all the ambulances are gone", "the breath and the dirt and fires are burnt", etc.), which tore at the fabric of what they had.
The girl (Régine) realizes that their passion for one another has disappeared and can't wrap her mind around it ("when love is gone / where does it go?"), even as her lover (Win) tries to find one last way to salvage what they had ("Can't we just work it out?"). The variation in the last chorus is especially important, because it shows the male protagonist finally resigning to his fate, which comes with the same consternation that his lover expressed previously: "Oh, we know it's gone / but where did it go?"
They're stuck in a kind of afterlife - the muted, confusing present that comes after realizing the future you envisioned with the one you love won't come to pass after all.
Having posted what I did above, I think you also have a beautiful description of what this song is about. It is about losing a true love and being desperate and lost.
Having posted what I did above, I think you also have a beautiful description of what this song is about. It is about losing a true love and being desperate and lost.
I kinda want to revisit the lyrics a bit, because I really like your post.
I kinda want to revisit the lyrics a bit, because I really like your post.
"Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next It was just a glimpse of you Like looking through a window or a shallow sea, could you see me?"
"Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next It was just a glimpse of you Like looking through a window or a shallow sea, could you see me?"
This little verse is so powerful to me. He sees what happens next, and he realizes that this girl he loved so dearly...
This little verse is so powerful to me. He sees what happens next, and he realizes that this girl he loved so dearly will fade to a memory. A glimpse, and likewise she will not fully see him.
"And after all this time It's like nothing else we used to know"
I would say that this is also very important. He has experienced true love and he is losing a way of life in the process of losing the girl. It's never going to be the same.
As for the chorus, or refrain, or whatever:
"When love is gone, where does it go?"
I love the shit out of this line. He had an immense love, and it is gone. So, what the hell is the deal? Where did it go, and can he get it back?
"And where do we go?"
To me this is the entire song put into a single line. The love is gone, so what now? What do you do when a love that defined your life is gone? Where do you go? How can you find it again?
At the end, he accepts it, as you mentioned. Probably one of the most beautiful parts about the song is that there is no resolution. It is just true to the real feeling that occurs when you lose, as you say, the future you envisioned. This song captures the desperation and sadness, but also offers a catharsis through all the expression of these things.
From really coming to understand the meaning of this song in a personal way, I think the Spike Jonze directed music video for this song at the youtube music awards is amazingly spot on. The awkward, cathartic dancing expresses exactly what the song is about. It's about honesty and fighting your way to the realization that things will not be the same, and trying to feel okay about that.