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"
I'm in love with the world
Through the eyes of a girl
Who's still around the morning after
We broke up a month ago
And I grew up, I didn't know
I'd be around the morning after
It's always been wait and see
A happy day and then you pay
And feel like shit the morning after
But now I feel changed around
And instead of falling down
I'm standing up the morning after
Situations get fucked up
And turned around sooner or later
And I could be another fool
Or an exception to the rule
You tell me the morning after
Crooked spin can't come to rest
I'm damaged bad at best
She'll decide what she wants
I'll probably be the last to know
No one says until it shows
See how it is
They want you or they don't
Say yes
I'm in love with the world
Through the eyes of a girl
Who's still around the morning after
Through the eyes of a girl
Who's still around the morning after
We broke up a month ago
And I grew up, I didn't know
I'd be around the morning after
It's always been wait and see
A happy day and then you pay
And feel like shit the morning after
But now I feel changed around
And instead of falling down
I'm standing up the morning after
Situations get fucked up
And turned around sooner or later
And I could be another fool
Or an exception to the rule
You tell me the morning after
Crooked spin can't come to rest
I'm damaged bad at best
She'll decide what she wants
I'll probably be the last to know
No one says until it shows
See how it is
They want you or they don't
Say yes
I'm in love with the world
Through the eyes of a girl
Who's still around the morning after
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus
Say Yes Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
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:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
I only read the first page of comments on this song. Long time Smith fan. This is my first post.
While "The Morning After" is a term associated with sex, I don't believe this song or the feeling behind it came from a one night stand and waking up the next morning wanting to stay with the woman he had been with.
"We broke up a month ago, I grew up. I didn't know I'd be around the morning after." --- Their entire relationship together (however long or short) is symbolized by one huge passion (ie: love not sex). But he was too "young" (scared of being let down, young and doubtful) to keep it going. They broke up a month ago, and while it felt right at the time, he didn't know he'd be around the morning after. You see, the "morning" is not a morning at all. It's an emotion; a time frame of realizing his mistake. To which he goes on to try and repair hoping that she will say yes.
This is my first post ever on this site. I don't usually like to go into detail on what I get out of lyrics, or my take on them, but it's 2:45 in the morning and i'm putting myself on warning. ;)
@RomanticKerouac I want to add one thing. In the song when he says Morning after every time, he makes a pause if you listen closely and it makes it sound like he's singing this while crying. I may be wrong, but I definitely wouldn't put it past Elliott to put some hidden thing in there like this.
Im thinking that it is about this guy who is so in love with this girl, but they have this relationship that is more like "friends with benefits" but he is falling in love with her and he knows that he isn't suppose to. The first part is so happy because he is there and she stuck around the morning after - maybe she is falling in love too. Then, as in all relationships, things get fucked up. she is gone or she is about to leave and he knows it and he can't do anything to stop her. Then the first two lines are repeated and i think that is showing he is starting over with a new girl in a new relationship. That is my spin - that is what is so great about this song though, it has as many interpertations as readers.
this song isn't about dying in your sleep.
it's about making a huge mistake. about letting someone go, because you've become so used to being let down. "a happy day and then you pay."
it's about wanting that person back, and knowing how you've made a mistake. ("she'll decide what she wants")
it's about how being with that one girl makes a shitty world beautiful.
I agree way back with femmesofrussia. Smith is talking about letting someone go because he was afraid of being hurt. ("It's always been wait and see, a happy day and then you pay, and feel like shit the morning after.") So he called things off before they got too serious. Now that she's gone, he realized he made a big mistake, because now that he's out of the situation, he thinks that with this girl, it could've been different. ("But now i feel changed around and instead falling down, i'm standing up the morning after.") Now the ball is in her court. ("I'm damaged bad at best, she'll decide what she wants.") He hopes that she'll say yes.
He's in love with a woman. They've dated on and off for a while. He loves her and wants her to stay, but he understands he's damaged goods and understands why she wouldn't want to be with him.
It's hopeful and hopeless at the same time. As they lay together he envisions a future in which she stays with him, and it fills him with hope and joy. At the same time, he sees the odds aren't great of them staying together. So he's afraid. He's upset about the seemingly random nature of relationships, and he feels frustrated because he can't get what he wants.
But in that moment, as she's spent the night and is still around the next morning, he feels happy. Hopeful. It's a vaguely hopeful song, but ultimately realistic. Which is why it's so fucking great.
That's my interpretation anyhow. Of course it's 100% correct.
bigspencedog, why exactly would one ask or want a drug to "say yes"?
another classic love/hate song from elliot smith, which is how all of his best songs are written. he sees everything that's wrong with love, he knows how it ends, and yet in spite of that the way he writes about it shows that he knows it's the most beautiful thing in the world. he's happy, he's in love, and he knows that this relationship will be no different, he's at this girl's mercy and sooner or later she'll leave him alone. elliot smith's magic is that he can express yearning like nobody else, and his emphasis is on everything that keeps you away from the things you want most in the world.
It is a positive song. BUT despite what some people think positive doesn't mean HAPPY-SAPPY-DUMB. It's all about how something positive could rise from negative, or maybe not...but maybe yes... it makes me smile, it's sad and happy at the same time.
I agree with this interpretation the best, although every song is meant to give each person who hears it something different to take away from it. But this is what I always imagined most when I listen/ed to this song.<br /> <br /> It's truly very beautiful and one of the few positive songs you'll ever hear from Elliott Smith, I think.
I think it's about a relationship that ended but not really, and they ended up together again, even if just for one night and it's about that period of time where it's still good and there aren't questions like what do we do now? It's almost like he's pleading to her to try with him again, to make it work. Just my interpretation, I could be projecting.
The morning after refers to the morning after a one night stand. In the morning after a one night stand, the reality of where she is tends to hit, and the girl leaves.
There's a turning point in relationships when you see the reality of what the other person is like, and you leave or stay.
He's laying in bed, happy, reflecting.
"it's always been wait and see
a happy day and then you pay
and feel like shit the morning after"
For him, it's always been a wait until that point (although he was happy before it hit), but then he paid for having a relationship when they got to that point (and she left).
"now I feel changed ... down I'm standing up the morning after"
Now that she's remained with him in "the morning after", he's happy.
"situations get fucked up and turned around sooner or later"
His relationships always get fucked up at some point (at that turning point)..
"and i could be another fool or an exception to the rule"
in this particular relationship, he was just waiting which one of the two outcomes it would be: him being a fool again for trying, or the exception to his feeling that this would always happen...
"you tell me the morning after"
it all depended on what she would do the morning after.
"crooked spin can't come to rest I'm damaged bad at best she'll decide what she wants"
It's like he's in a constant car crash, he's in bad shape, and now she'll decide what she wants.
"I'll probably be the last to know no one says until it shows see how it is"
He'll be the last to know if she chose to leave him, nobody says anything until it all becomes clear to him, that's how it is.
"they want you or they don't say yes"
this part is particularity good: 'they want you or they dont' 'they want you or they say no' 'say yes' (want me)
and now, back to the beginning:
"I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl who's still around the morning after"
She stayed, and he's in love with everything (enjoys life) through the fact that she wants him.
"we(/they) broke up a month ago n' I grew up I didn't know I'd be around the morning after"
In the live kcrw recording, he sings "we". In the soundtrack he sings "they". The Ben Folds cover sings "meh" (likely because he too doesn't know which it is).
if it's "they": She was with someone, they broke up a month ago and that's how long our couple have been together... all the while, and all his life, he didn't know if (he'd?) be around the morning after. ("I'd be" perhaps because if she isn't in the relationship neither is he, or he becomes after a breakup as disillusioned with a girl as she was with him)
if it's "we": they broke up a month ago, he grew up during that time, realizing that he's "still there the morning after". He goes back, and she's still with him the morning after. (After she realizes what kind of person he is, breaking up with her and all). (as juicyclad said, but different ending)