"Little girls don't know how to be sweet girls.
Mama didn't teach me." I think this might be talking about how in society today, we're losing sight of the values that we used to have. Mothers are no longer teaching their daughters how to be "sweet little girls," and Fathers are no longer teaching their sons how to treat those little girls, as said in the next line. I think that she's saying that little girls are just losing their innocence more and more, and no one is doing anything about it.
"Little boys don't know how to treat little girls.
Daddy didn't show me." As I said, I think it's talking about how fathers aren't teaching their sons how to respect women anymore, and people just don't the same basic morals.
"Face down, on top of your bed.
Oh why did I give it up to you?" She's conveying the feeling of regret over having "given it up," which is to say having slept with someone. She most likely doesn't have feelings for them, but she slept with them anyway. And she's asking herself, "Why? Why did I give it up to you," as in saying that it didn't mean anything and she regrets it deeply.
"Is this how I shoot myself up high,
Just high enough to get through?" She's lamenting that she's using sex as a way to forget about problems. A way to "get through." There are many forms of "highs," and they don't all come from using drugs. For some people, it's eating. It's drinking. It's whatever it is that you do to help yourself forget everything that hurts. She's of course referring to the previous line, "Why did I give it up to you?," as in saying "Is this why? To go numb and forget everything that's wrong, and instead of having sex because I love you, I have it because I don't and that hurts."
"Again, the false affection.
Again, we break down inside." I think she's implying that, in reference to the previous lines, it might not be just one person that she's sleeping with to feel numb. It might be multiple people, random one night stands, and every time she feels worse. "Again, the false affection," saying "Again, I'm here AGAIN!! Pretending to like this guy, and he's pretending to like me just for one night of physical affection that means nothing." "Again, we break down inside," meaning that every time she does this, it breaks her down a little more. And that leads to her needing it more, because there's an even bigger hole that she's trying to fill. And it's not only this, but all of the bad, terrible, hard things that happen in life that break her down. Everything that goes completely wrong leads to her wanting to escape the only way she knows how.
"Love save the empty.
Love save the empty, and save me." This is where she pleads for love to save her. This is also where she makes it clear that this song is not just about her, but anyone feeling the way that she does. It's not just "Love, save me," but instead it's "Love, save the empty, and save me." She thinks that if she can find real love, it will make all the bad stuff not so bad. She's have someone to help her through it, instead of just making herself numb to it all the time. Instead of feeling empty inside, she'll have something that she actually looks forward to in her life. Everyone who just feels empty, and purposeless, if they could just find love (whether it be for a person, an idea, an animal, or whatever it is as long as it gives them meaning) will finally be saved from that empty feeling. The feeling that there's no substance to life, that it's all meaningless when no matter what, they're just alone with their thoughts and there's nothing to silence them.
"Sad boy, you stare up at the sky
When no one's looking back at you." I think at this point, she shifts perspective to that of a lonely boy who doesn't want the world to know how he's feeling. I think that this sad boy isn't one specific person, but I think he's the embodiment of all the empty people that she's singing for and about. But this sad boy, he only stares at the sky when no one's looking. So when everyone is looking, he's probably laughing, smiling, and joking around with the rest of them. But when it's just him, he looks at the sky. He probably wishes that he were far away, or maybe he's looking and pleading to a higher power that he believes in. Whatever the reason, since he's only doing it alone it's probably no something he does because he's happy or at peace.
"You wear your every last disguise;
You're flying, then you fall through." When it says "every last disguise," I think it's talking about how he would rather everyone see anything but the real him. He's putting on a show, and at times it might be happiness, or anger, or anything but the sadness that he really feels. He's getting by with it, or "flying" and no one knows how he feels, but then one day it gets to be too much and he falls. He can't keep the disguises on anymore, and now everyone will see the real him.
"Again, the false attention.
Again, you're breaking inside.
Love save the empty.
Love save the empty, save me.
Love save the empty.
Love save the empty." This is just the chorus, repeating the same meaning with the same lyrics, but this time I think you can look at it through a different point of view. This time, the false affection might be people who notice the boy is sad and ask what's wrong but they don't really care. The breaking inside is knowing that although there might be one or two people who care, the people that you really want to care, are the ones who don't.
"Scars feel like knives,
They tell us why we're fighting." Sometimes, when it feels like nothing else in this world is going your way, and you're just feeling that emptiness inside, the only way to know that you're still alive is the pain. The scars, that every time you look at them they cut you all over again (whether these be emotional scars from all the times you've broken inside, or physical scars from the times that the pain inside made it's way to the outside), and they remind you how much you don't want to live that way. The scars remind you what you're fighting for, to finally love and be loved so that you don't have to be cut anymore (again, emotionally or physically).
"Storm, wait outside.
Oh, love, hold us together." This is saying that finally, even when you've found love, things won't just be better. Hard times will still come, and things will still hurt, but love will help you weather out the storm. Love will help you hold it together, instead of breaking inside every time.
"Love, save the empty.
Love, save the empty.
Love, save the empty.
Love, save the empty, and save me.
And save me."
"Little girls don't know how to be sweet girls. Mama didn't teach me." I think this might be talking about how in society today, we're losing sight of the values that we used to have. Mothers are no longer teaching their daughters how to be "sweet little girls," and Fathers are no longer teaching their sons how to treat those little girls, as said in the next line. I think that she's saying that little girls are just losing their innocence more and more, and no one is doing anything about it.
"Little boys don't know how to treat little girls. Daddy didn't show me." As I said, I think it's talking about how fathers aren't teaching their sons how to respect women anymore, and people just don't the same basic morals.
"Face down, on top of your bed. Oh why did I give it up to you?" She's conveying the feeling of regret over having "given it up," which is to say having slept with someone. She most likely doesn't have feelings for them, but she slept with them anyway. And she's asking herself, "Why? Why did I give it up to you," as in saying that it didn't mean anything and she regrets it deeply.
"Is this how I shoot myself up high, Just high enough to get through?" She's lamenting that she's using sex as a way to forget about problems. A way to "get through." There are many forms of "highs," and they don't all come from using drugs. For some people, it's eating. It's drinking. It's whatever it is that you do to help yourself forget everything that hurts. She's of course referring to the previous line, "Why did I give it up to you?," as in saying "Is this why? To go numb and forget everything that's wrong, and instead of having sex because I love you, I have it because I don't and that hurts."
"Again, the false affection. Again, we break down inside." I think she's implying that, in reference to the previous lines, it might not be just one person that she's sleeping with to feel numb. It might be multiple people, random one night stands, and every time she feels worse. "Again, the false affection," saying "Again, I'm here AGAIN!! Pretending to like this guy, and he's pretending to like me just for one night of physical affection that means nothing." "Again, we break down inside," meaning that every time she does this, it breaks her down a little more. And that leads to her needing it more, because there's an even bigger hole that she's trying to fill. And it's not only this, but all of the bad, terrible, hard things that happen in life that break her down. Everything that goes completely wrong leads to her wanting to escape the only way she knows how.
"Love save the empty. Love save the empty, and save me." This is where she pleads for love to save her. This is also where she makes it clear that this song is not just about her, but anyone feeling the way that she does. It's not just "Love, save me," but instead it's "Love, save the empty, and save me." She thinks that if she can find real love, it will make all the bad stuff not so bad. She's have someone to help her through it, instead of just making herself numb to it all the time. Instead of feeling empty inside, she'll have something that she actually looks forward to in her life. Everyone who just feels empty, and purposeless, if they could just find love (whether it be for a person, an idea, an animal, or whatever it is as long as it gives them meaning) will finally be saved from that empty feeling. The feeling that there's no substance to life, that it's all meaningless when no matter what, they're just alone with their thoughts and there's nothing to silence them.
"Sad boy, you stare up at the sky When no one's looking back at you." I think at this point, she shifts perspective to that of a lonely boy who doesn't want the world to know how he's feeling. I think that this sad boy isn't one specific person, but I think he's the embodiment of all the empty people that she's singing for and about. But this sad boy, he only stares at the sky when no one's looking. So when everyone is looking, he's probably laughing, smiling, and joking around with the rest of them. But when it's just him, he looks at the sky. He probably wishes that he were far away, or maybe he's looking and pleading to a higher power that he believes in. Whatever the reason, since he's only doing it alone it's probably no something he does because he's happy or at peace.
"You wear your every last disguise; You're flying, then you fall through." When it says "every last disguise," I think it's talking about how he would rather everyone see anything but the real him. He's putting on a show, and at times it might be happiness, or anger, or anything but the sadness that he really feels. He's getting by with it, or "flying" and no one knows how he feels, but then one day it gets to be too much and he falls. He can't keep the disguises on anymore, and now everyone will see the real him.
"Again, the false attention. Again, you're breaking inside. Love save the empty. Love save the empty, save me. Love save the empty. Love save the empty." This is just the chorus, repeating the same meaning with the same lyrics, but this time I think you can look at it through a different point of view. This time, the false affection might be people who notice the boy is sad and ask what's wrong but they don't really care. The breaking inside is knowing that although there might be one or two people who care, the people that you really want to care, are the ones who don't.
"Scars feel like knives, They tell us why we're fighting." Sometimes, when it feels like nothing else in this world is going your way, and you're just feeling that emptiness inside, the only way to know that you're still alive is the pain. The scars, that every time you look at them they cut you all over again (whether these be emotional scars from all the times you've broken inside, or physical scars from the times that the pain inside made it's way to the outside), and they remind you how much you don't want to live that way. The scars remind you what you're fighting for, to finally love and be loved so that you don't have to be cut anymore (again, emotionally or physically).
"Storm, wait outside. Oh, love, hold us together." This is saying that finally, even when you've found love, things won't just be better. Hard times will still come, and things will still hurt, but love will help you weather out the storm. Love will help you hold it together, instead of breaking inside every time.
"Love, save the empty. Love, save the empty. Love, save the empty. Love, save the empty, and save me. And save me."