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Little Lion Man Lyrics

Weep for yourself, my man,
You'll never be what is in your heart
Weep Little Lion Man,
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself,
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?
Didn't I, my...

Tremble for yourself, my man,
You know that you have seen this all before
Tremble Little Lion Man,
You'll never settle any of your scores
Your grace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Now learn from your mother or else
Spend your days biting your own neck

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear? (x2)

Didn't I, my dear?

Ahhhhh......

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear? (x2)

Didn't I, my dear?
243 Meanings
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I think the verses are of a guy addressing himself, realising how foolishly he's behaved, by pushing the person that they loved away. He says "Wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head", which could suggest a case of paranoia which, ultimately, ended the relationship. Anyway, it's a wonderful song and I won't be surprised if these guys hit it big soon. :)

I absolutely agree! But also sometimes when I listen to it, I think he's talking to his best friend that he hurt. Have you read the book A Separate Peace? It's one of my favorites, and I recently reread it and for some reason could not stop relating this song to the book. Finny and Gene have a great friendship but Gene is constantly jealous of Finny which leads him to hurt Finny. At one point in the book Gene goes to visit Finny in the hospital and Finny doesn't want to talk with him (or can't speak with him...

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Can tell you, as someone's son myself and now a father to a young man, it's about a dad apologizing to his kid about the emotional baggage parents unwittingly pass on. It's acknowledging that all the effort spent trying to both develop the person you want your son to be combined with everything you hate seeing in yourself is going to backfire. Could be over analyzing, but that's the first thing I thought of. Could hear my dad saying it to me, and me saying it to my boy as I see him wrestle with life's choices.

I agree with you jtquenlin. wow you said much better than I.

jtquenlin, that's exaclty how I see this song from the first I heard it. Father to son. Even the title Little Lion Man, teenage boy, full of bravado, fear, angst, etc. "weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start" All young men (girls too) have dreams but few of us achieve them. We're not as brave and open as when we are young.

Great songs have many interpretations, that's art.

It is between father and son (God and Jesus). I'm not a religious person but I do believe it is an interpretation of Jesus final days.

I believe the verse, "but it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line i really fucked it up this time didn't I, my dear?" Is in answer to, "Father why have you forsaken me".

"learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck." May be in reference to Mary.

"weep little lion man, you're not as brave...

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I can't actually get over how amazing this band is. My favourite song from the Ep's so far - bring on the next one please. I think this song is about that one person you've let slip away, even after they've hung around you for ages, giving you so many chances but you've been too foolish to see it then. Ain't Hindsight a wonderful thing?

I think its very easy to assume that this song is about the guy making a mess of things. But you need to notice that the singer is talking to the guy. Im lead to believe that this man was in an abusive relationship where he would constantly ignore that fact that he is being mistreated. "you know that you have seen this all before" as if the same problems keep reoccuring he was so brave and bold at the beggining but now he is ruined his grace is wasted and he stands ALONE among the wreck as though he was more loyal or passionate...

True, but he seems to imply that the person he is talking to is a male ("... my man").

So, following your thought process, it could be that it's a homosexual relationship or that he's talking from the female's perspective.

But, personally, I think it's much more likely that he is talking to himself here. Having been in the situation that this song perfectly describes, I can say that I spoke of and to myself with great disgust and hate. All the things he says here, I said to myself. The chorus, where he is speaking to his...

this may sound stupid but i think this song is a wife beater , the little lion man is the coward(little man ) that thinks hes tough (lion)beating the missus hes offerin advice to the son in the second verse "whos seen it all before" ,, the dad beating the ma and he tells him to listen to his mother or spend the days biting your own neck "being on your own" even listen to the way he says my dear in the chorus it starts out sounding evil then ends up him saying it like hes regretful...

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I'd have to spend more time doing proper research, but I strongly believe that just how "Roll Away Your Stone" is heavily influenced by Shakespeare's Macbeth, "Little Lion Man" is influenced by Shakespeare's Richard III.

Richard the Third became Richard the Lionheart.

"You'll never settle any of your score Your grace is wasted in your face Your boldness stands alone among the wreck Learn from your mother Or else spend your days biting your own neck"

Early into the play you learn that Richard is a bastard child who is neglected, he has a damaged face with scars, he regularly comes in like a champion after someone else does the dirty work, his mother wishes he had died in birth.

Just a few references, but I think any Shakespeare fans would enjoy re-reading that play then listening to this song.

My Interpretation

Except Richard I was Richard the Lionheart, not Richard III.

Sif,

Richard III was Duke of Gloucester (whose coat-of-arms includes the Lion) of House York which is a smaller house to House Plantagenet (whose coat-of-arms is the Lion).

Hence the "Little" Lion Man does not refer to the great Lionheart, but rather a lesser member who styled himself as a great lion. Richard III wanted to be a great lion but he was not destined for that fate, so he created it himself.

@mumford613 Ok I've never done this before but I actually created an account because you are so wrong.

Even if Richard III was ever styled "Lionheart" by anyone, which he wasn't - barely a century after his rule, during Queen Elizabeth's reign, where anything written against the monarchy was punishable by DEATH, Shakespeare was able to write about Richard III in a seriously negative light - your example out of the lyrics of the song exhibit your ignorance on the subject. "Your grace is wasted in your face," implies that the person acts badly, but looks good. This operates on...

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I think this song is about a father talking to his son. (this is kind of my take of the lyrics)

weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start

(as we all have to learn in life, we first have the biggest dreams and then life beats us down)

rate yourself and rake yourself, take all the courage you have left waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head

(this is were I think the father feels he has left his boy after trying to raise him. As most fathers see themselves in their children and this father, I think, is seeing that he has passed some of his own problems to his son. and is kind of saying "yeah, I know you create problems that aren't really there cause you think too much, just like me".)

but it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line i really fucked it up this time didn't I, my dear?

(its my fault your the way you are <like me> because I raised you. but I should have been more careful because you are the one who has to live with my mistakes.)

tremble for yourself, my man, you know that you have seen this all before tremble little lion man, you'll never settle any of your score your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck

(look I can see me in you so I am telling you don't go down this road, dont make the same mistakes I have. learn from your mother not me. or you will regret it like me.)

Yes!! Exactly!! Like "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens except for perceived from the view of a father instead of a son.

excactly what i thought! inferiority complex? i think not!

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I think the meaning of this song is pretty clear. It's about someone who is too busy being depressed and feeling sorry for themselves...blaming all their problems on someone else. They've lost touch with reality and they don't realize that they aren't the only one with feelings. They are causing themself to be absorbed by their depression and resentment instead of trying to fix anything or pull themself out of this state of mind.

My Interpretation
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Woah there. It is not "Rate yourself and rape yourself." Gah. It's "Rate yourself and RAKE yourself", like the expression rake yourself over the coals.

Lyric Correction
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Guys i really dont think its rape yourself or rake yourself.

Its "rate yourself and break yourself" which then connects with the line "your boldness stands alone among the wreck"!!

Think about,this is a song about a guy who who is self-conscious, self-critical and extremely judgemental probably has an inferiority complex.

He is rating himself then realizing hes not good enough, even though his parents called him "little lion man", and he is breaking himself down again....

in the booklet that comes with the CD its rake..

sorry I have the album, the liners notes say "rake yourself"

but right after it says "rate yourself and (whatever) yourself" it would make sense to say rape because after that line it says "take all the courage you have left" it would make sense because the word rape also means to seize, take, or carry off by force. and he uses it good if thats what he even says lol excellant song

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I feel the song is about a guy who feels he is to blame for the end of a relationship due to his inferiority complex, his negative self-talk, and his passive-aggressive behavior. Because these types of feelings and behaviors are common for him, he feels that he will never overcome them and be a confident man worthy of a healthy, wholesome love. This particular relationship's end is especially painful because the girl had opened up her heart to him thinking he was a bigger man than he feels that he is. But there is hope, in that if he learns to merely love another person in a wholehearted nurturing way, and focus less on his own negative feelings, then in the future he might be able to avoid a life of loneliness and self-defeat.

"Little lion man" describes his inferiority complex and his passive aggressiveness. "Rate yourself and rape/rake/break yourself" describes his negative self-talk and how he feels like he comes up short when compared to others. "Tremble for yourself, my man you know that you have seen this all before tremble little lion man you'll never settle any of your score" describes his fear that he will never overcome his defeatist behavior and be a confident man. "Your grace is wasted in your face your boldness stands alone among the wreck" describes his self-defeating passive-aggressive behavior caused by his inferiority complex. "Learn from your mother or spend your days biting your own neck" describes how there is hope, that if he learns to merely love another person in a wholehearted nurturing way, and focus less on his own negative feelings, then in the future he might be able to avoid a life of loneliness and self-defeat.

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I'm surprised this one hasn't been brought up yet.

"Learn from your mother Or else spend your days biting your own neck"

The cat family (Little LION Man) bites the neck of their prospective mate to subdue them for sex. In other words, Learn from your mother or spend your days fucking yourself over. :)

I have never heard that. But I do know that the cat family bites the neck of their young to carry them. I'm pretty sure it's this answer and not your sexual one no offense. This is too good of a song to be sexual :/

Ms Tubular your answer doesn't really make sense. And fucking yourself over isn't really sexual...it's figurative you dumb ass.

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