This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Silently I step up with a subversive subtext,
Trying to feed the need for more than just remedial subjects,
Place my faith in the belief that the general public,
Will open up their minds to more than just an industry puppet,
I ain't a preacher preachin' doom and gloom,
Well not just yet,
But if there's something I feel strongly about,
Then I'll discuss it,
And if I only make one album before I kick the bucket?
I'll hold that album to my heart in my grave and say "FUCK IT"..
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for my feet to grow wings,
That lift me above,
All of these tiresome things,
That we know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for my feet to grow wings,
That lift me above,
All of these tiresome things,
That we know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does.
A lot of my poems and writings seem to start with me waking up,
or being in a dream, or dream like state.
Now, this implies a certain level of abstraction in my work..
You might say I'm keeping it surreal but.. I'd rather you didn't.
Fact is. I sleep a lot. It's as simple as that.
I like sleepin' man. It's a nice place to be.
...Right
I was walking along through unfamiliar streets,
And it felt strange 'cause there didn't seem to be anyone else around.
I don't know where I was but it had a feeling of New York,
But not New York in real life the New York you see in old films,
I can't really explain why it just had that vibe,
Every step I took felt somehow more dramatic.
So I kept walking and down an alley behind a bar
sitting on some metal steps I saw a man,
From the look and smell of him it was clear that he enjoyed a drink,
But he wasn't in such a state
I felt him to be any kind of irrational threat so I approached him,
With due care..
"Ah Mr Pip" he said out loud,
"We've been awaiting you, my name is Elwood P. Dowd",
Now just what he meant by 'we' I didn't really get,
But all the same I took a seat next to him on the step,
He said "You'll meet a few people before this day is through,
Who will administer advice and guidelines to you,
Now what each of them says I'll tell you now is true,
But whether or not you take this advice is for you to choose",
At that point he acted as if someone had whispered in his ear,
Which, since noone else was there, was pretty damn weird,
Awkwardly I looked away and kinda played with my beard,
And he cleared his throat for a second and said "Listen here,
In this life you can be oh so smart or oh so pleasant,
For years I was smart, I reccommend pleasant,
Being smart can make you rich and bring respect and reverence,
But the rewards of being pleasant are far more incandescent",
With this information I was encouraged to walk on,
I continued alone through these empty streets,
Thinking over what Elwood had said but at the same time thinking
about how fucking strange the day had been so far,
I was in my own little world when a hand was placed on my chest,
And a guy said "Look out, there's some broken glass on the floor there",
I looked up,
He said "Hi, pleased to meet you, my name is Lloyd Dobler,
I'll get straight to the point, won't take too much time from ya,
I'm probably the youngest person you'll get advice from today,
And you may think that a guy my age wouldn't have anything to say,
But it's said that observation, not old age, brings wisdom,
And I observe every single life lesson I'm given,
I won't attempt tell you how to love or be loved,
Because you get a different genie each time that lantern is rubbed,
But I will offer you advice on dealing with life,
Its ups and its downs,
Its troubles and its strifes,
Now I'm sure you've had times when you've felt down or angry,
Wanted to lash out, punch a wall and be manly,
But the question I pose now will offer you a plan B,
And maybe some peace and quiet for your friends and family,
How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood,
And then just be.. in.. a good mood?
That's all I have to say because it's a straight up fact,
You control your emotions it's as simple as that",
He walked off then, leaving me to contemplate this brief encounter,
I'd barely had time to realise
I was being taught something before he was gone,
And I was back on my way.
On I walked and almost immediately I spotted the next guide,
And he couldn't be clearer.
This guy was standing on the street corner and pacing back and forth,
Skinny lookin' guy leather jacket tight jeans, retro look,
I'd rarely seen someone look quite so uncomfortable in their own skin,
Twitchin', smoothing his hair back,
kicking the floor and looking up and down the street,
He clearly didn't enjoy waiting around so I approached him quickly,
To put him out of his misery,
And to let him start his.. spiel.
"Hi my name is Billy Brown,
I ain't gonna give you some quote,
Instead I'm gonna use some stuff that YOU wrote:
'Always had the feeling I could never be the villain,
Cause the villain in the films is always backlit,
Always had the feeling I could never be the villain,
Cause the villain in the films is always backlit,
Now I find it pleasing to defend myself with reason,
But this clock is always sitting on my back,
tick, tick tick,
Then, no explosion but participants errosion,
Like a picture over overly exposed and,
Like a fox that's been run over in the road and..'
Basically what I'm trying to say to you is,
You don't achieve anything by letting the past rule within you,
Getting all pent up and angry about stuff just eats away inside you,
What's that other line of yours..
'If you can't forgive and forget,
How's this,
Forget forgivin' and just accept that that's it',
See that's how it's gotta be.
Then you can fall in love, get on with your life and be free",
Almost before he could finished this sentence he was off down the street,
Hands in his pockets, hurrying away..
Now quite accepting of the totally surreal time
I was having I rounded a corner,
And continued onto my next encounter,
Resigned to the fact this was some dream or hallucination,
I made my way through the now dark street,
To the one window that had a light on,
I walked through the unlocked door which incidentally had blinds down,
And a sillhouetted figure like a film noir scene,
But sadly no sign saying Private Eye.
As I entered a voice promptly said..
"This journey's almost over, I'm the only one left,
Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Walter Neff,
The other guys have taught you things of great positive worth,
But I'm afraid I'm here to bring you back down to Earth,
See you can live your life in control and be nice,
But even that will not promise you a happy life,
You may think yourself in general to be a nice guy,
But I'm telling you now - that right there is a lie,
Even the nicest of guys has some nasty within 'em,
You don't have to be backlit to be the villain,
Whether it be greed lust or just plain vindictiveness,
There's a level of malevolence inside all of us,
You can paint yourself an image and live in your own little dream,
But this ain't a dream, it's one big silver screen,
So when you think you've got your happy ending don't ever forget it,
It ain't over til you hear the sound of your end credits,
You'll be waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for you feet to grow wings,
That lift you above,
All of these tiresome things,
That you know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for you feet to grow wings,
That lift you above,
All of these tiresome things,
That you know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does"
Trying to feed the need for more than just remedial subjects,
Place my faith in the belief that the general public,
Will open up their minds to more than just an industry puppet,
I ain't a preacher preachin' doom and gloom,
Well not just yet,
But if there's something I feel strongly about,
Then I'll discuss it,
And if I only make one album before I kick the bucket?
I'll hold that album to my heart in my grave and say "FUCK IT"..
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for my feet to grow wings,
That lift me above,
All of these tiresome things,
That we know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for my feet to grow wings,
That lift me above,
All of these tiresome things,
That we know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does.
A lot of my poems and writings seem to start with me waking up,
or being in a dream, or dream like state.
Now, this implies a certain level of abstraction in my work..
You might say I'm keeping it surreal but.. I'd rather you didn't.
Fact is. I sleep a lot. It's as simple as that.
I like sleepin' man. It's a nice place to be.
...Right
I was walking along through unfamiliar streets,
And it felt strange 'cause there didn't seem to be anyone else around.
I don't know where I was but it had a feeling of New York,
But not New York in real life the New York you see in old films,
I can't really explain why it just had that vibe,
Every step I took felt somehow more dramatic.
So I kept walking and down an alley behind a bar
sitting on some metal steps I saw a man,
From the look and smell of him it was clear that he enjoyed a drink,
But he wasn't in such a state
I felt him to be any kind of irrational threat so I approached him,
With due care..
"Ah Mr Pip" he said out loud,
"We've been awaiting you, my name is Elwood P. Dowd",
Now just what he meant by 'we' I didn't really get,
But all the same I took a seat next to him on the step,
He said "You'll meet a few people before this day is through,
Who will administer advice and guidelines to you,
Now what each of them says I'll tell you now is true,
But whether or not you take this advice is for you to choose",
At that point he acted as if someone had whispered in his ear,
Which, since noone else was there, was pretty damn weird,
Awkwardly I looked away and kinda played with my beard,
And he cleared his throat for a second and said "Listen here,
In this life you can be oh so smart or oh so pleasant,
For years I was smart, I reccommend pleasant,
Being smart can make you rich and bring respect and reverence,
But the rewards of being pleasant are far more incandescent",
With this information I was encouraged to walk on,
I continued alone through these empty streets,
Thinking over what Elwood had said but at the same time thinking
about how fucking strange the day had been so far,
I was in my own little world when a hand was placed on my chest,
And a guy said "Look out, there's some broken glass on the floor there",
I looked up,
He said "Hi, pleased to meet you, my name is Lloyd Dobler,
I'll get straight to the point, won't take too much time from ya,
I'm probably the youngest person you'll get advice from today,
And you may think that a guy my age wouldn't have anything to say,
But it's said that observation, not old age, brings wisdom,
And I observe every single life lesson I'm given,
I won't attempt tell you how to love or be loved,
Because you get a different genie each time that lantern is rubbed,
But I will offer you advice on dealing with life,
Its ups and its downs,
Its troubles and its strifes,
Now I'm sure you've had times when you've felt down or angry,
Wanted to lash out, punch a wall and be manly,
But the question I pose now will offer you a plan B,
And maybe some peace and quiet for your friends and family,
How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood,
And then just be.. in.. a good mood?
That's all I have to say because it's a straight up fact,
You control your emotions it's as simple as that",
He walked off then, leaving me to contemplate this brief encounter,
I'd barely had time to realise
I was being taught something before he was gone,
And I was back on my way.
On I walked and almost immediately I spotted the next guide,
And he couldn't be clearer.
This guy was standing on the street corner and pacing back and forth,
Skinny lookin' guy leather jacket tight jeans, retro look,
I'd rarely seen someone look quite so uncomfortable in their own skin,
Twitchin', smoothing his hair back,
kicking the floor and looking up and down the street,
He clearly didn't enjoy waiting around so I approached him quickly,
To put him out of his misery,
And to let him start his.. spiel.
"Hi my name is Billy Brown,
I ain't gonna give you some quote,
Instead I'm gonna use some stuff that YOU wrote:
'Always had the feeling I could never be the villain,
Cause the villain in the films is always backlit,
Always had the feeling I could never be the villain,
Cause the villain in the films is always backlit,
Now I find it pleasing to defend myself with reason,
But this clock is always sitting on my back,
tick, tick tick,
Then, no explosion but participants errosion,
Like a picture over overly exposed and,
Like a fox that's been run over in the road and..'
Basically what I'm trying to say to you is,
You don't achieve anything by letting the past rule within you,
Getting all pent up and angry about stuff just eats away inside you,
What's that other line of yours..
'If you can't forgive and forget,
How's this,
Forget forgivin' and just accept that that's it',
See that's how it's gotta be.
Then you can fall in love, get on with your life and be free",
Almost before he could finished this sentence he was off down the street,
Hands in his pockets, hurrying away..
Now quite accepting of the totally surreal time
I was having I rounded a corner,
And continued onto my next encounter,
Resigned to the fact this was some dream or hallucination,
I made my way through the now dark street,
To the one window that had a light on,
I walked through the unlocked door which incidentally had blinds down,
And a sillhouetted figure like a film noir scene,
But sadly no sign saying Private Eye.
As I entered a voice promptly said..
"This journey's almost over, I'm the only one left,
Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Walter Neff,
The other guys have taught you things of great positive worth,
But I'm afraid I'm here to bring you back down to Earth,
See you can live your life in control and be nice,
But even that will not promise you a happy life,
You may think yourself in general to be a nice guy,
But I'm telling you now - that right there is a lie,
Even the nicest of guys has some nasty within 'em,
You don't have to be backlit to be the villain,
Whether it be greed lust or just plain vindictiveness,
There's a level of malevolence inside all of us,
You can paint yourself an image and live in your own little dream,
But this ain't a dream, it's one big silver screen,
So when you think you've got your happy ending don't ever forget it,
It ain't over til you hear the sound of your end credits,
You'll be waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for you feet to grow wings,
That lift you above,
All of these tiresome things,
That you know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does,
Waiting for you feet to grow wings,
That lift you above,
All of these tiresome things,
That you know and love,
Waiting for the beat to kick in,
But it never does"
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
List Of Characters:
Pip : The protagonist of the song refers the main character of the Charles Dickens novel 'Great Expectations'; Philip Pirrip. Pip's life in this book is split into three 'expectations' in which he learns life lessons, much like the song. The final 'expectation' of the novel is a harsh truth that brings him back to earth; again like the song,
Elwood P. Dowd : The main character from the play 'Harvey', in which Elwood belives to have an imaginary friend called Harvey (Who whispers to Elwood in this song). He was condemned to be changed into a 'normal human' via injection, but his sister later decides that she would prefer to keep the old Elwood than change him.
Lloyd Dobler : Character from the recent film 'Say Anything...' Which is a classic romantic film about Lloyd falling in love with a woman called Diane. After many obstacles they finally end up together.
Billy Brown : I think theis refers to the R&B singer from the groups 'The Moments' and later 'Ray, Goodman & Brown'.
Walter Neff : The main character of the film 'Double Indemnity'. Walter Neff is an insurance salesman who is convinced by Phyllis Dietrichson to help murder her husband for the insurance money. After the murder he realises that Phyllis has infact been playing him and he tries to kill her himself. They both shoot each other; Phyllis dies straight away, but Walter survives long enough to confess the murder of Phyllises husband to his co-worker. Walter Neff is a good example of how a generally good guy can fall to the murder of two people.
I am not sure about my reference to Billy Brown, can anyone help with this or any other corrections?