This song probably shouldn't be interpreted too literally. I think it's more about the concept of being heartbroken, hence the title "porcelain heart", which is a beautiful metaphor for having frail emotions. I'll give my thoughts on each segment:
First Verse (I lost all I had...):
This is about facing the moment of heartbreak. Friends may be able to provide some comfort, but more often than not they are unable to do so because of the internal nature of emotions (it's often hard to know how other people feel). "Writing down a name" feels like a metaphor for placing blame. You want to blame someone for whatever has happened to you, but you can't really be sure anyone is responsible at all (hence the "reading it twice"). Lastly, "wallowing in shame" comes for blaming yourself instead.
Second Verse (I said that I loved...):
This verse is harder the interpret, but I think the general idea is that this time you are hurting someone. Maybe the heartbreak experienced in the past has affected you in a way that causes you to hurt someone else. Even though it feels childish, you can't help clinging to that past experience and so there is a perpetual quality to the whole situation.
First Bridge (icy roads beneath my feet...):
This part is clearly about the experiences gained so far. You have been on both sides of betrayal and seen the cruelties of life from different perspectives. The second half is about comforting someone about all this, maybe it's directed towards yourself or maybe towards someone you are sharing your perceptions with. Either way, the message is that asking why things are the way they are is pointless because there's really no reason behind it all. The world is not designed to work for or against you, it simply is.
Second bridge (kept inside our idle race...):
This is my favorite of all the parts. It deals with human nature, and how we are locked in the repeating sensory experiences that evolution has given us. There's no escaping this, even though some people may fool themselves otherwise ("ghost of an idol's false embrace" is an obvious nudge towards the empty comfort of religion). Again, the second half is the same as in the first bridge. Even though the world can seem cruel, it's not trying to be neither cruel nor comforting. All you can do is accept this, move on and make new experiences.
I take it as a bleak beginning, but in the end it's a quite positive and realistic outlook on life. But that could just be me.
This song probably shouldn't be interpreted too literally. I think it's more about the concept of being heartbroken, hence the title "porcelain heart", which is a beautiful metaphor for having frail emotions. I'll give my thoughts on each segment:
First Verse (I lost all I had...): This is about facing the moment of heartbreak. Friends may be able to provide some comfort, but more often than not they are unable to do so because of the internal nature of emotions (it's often hard to know how other people feel). "Writing down a name" feels like a metaphor for placing blame. You want to blame someone for whatever has happened to you, but you can't really be sure anyone is responsible at all (hence the "reading it twice"). Lastly, "wallowing in shame" comes for blaming yourself instead.
Second Verse (I said that I loved...): This verse is harder the interpret, but I think the general idea is that this time you are hurting someone. Maybe the heartbreak experienced in the past has affected you in a way that causes you to hurt someone else. Even though it feels childish, you can't help clinging to that past experience and so there is a perpetual quality to the whole situation.
First Bridge (icy roads beneath my feet...): This part is clearly about the experiences gained so far. You have been on both sides of betrayal and seen the cruelties of life from different perspectives. The second half is about comforting someone about all this, maybe it's directed towards yourself or maybe towards someone you are sharing your perceptions with. Either way, the message is that asking why things are the way they are is pointless because there's really no reason behind it all. The world is not designed to work for or against you, it simply is.
Second bridge (kept inside our idle race...): This is my favorite of all the parts. It deals with human nature, and how we are locked in the repeating sensory experiences that evolution has given us. There's no escaping this, even though some people may fool themselves otherwise ("ghost of an idol's false embrace" is an obvious nudge towards the empty comfort of religion). Again, the second half is the same as in the first bridge. Even though the world can seem cruel, it's not trying to be neither cruel nor comforting. All you can do is accept this, move on and make new experiences.
I take it as a bleak beginning, but in the end it's a quite positive and realistic outlook on life. But that could just be me.