| U2 – With or Without You Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song is about a man who's torn between his predictable love for a woman who promises to always be by his side , the "good woman" (wife or girlfriend) and his fatal attraction for the other woman "the dark lady" who he can't have. She is unavailable (married or in a relationship) which makes his love for her all the more unpredictable and unattainable. She also seems to be unhappy in her current situation. I think this song is an ode to the "dark lady" even though most comments seem to interpret it from the point of view of the "good woman". "Stone set in your eyes": Her eyes are lifeless due to her unhappy situation. "Thorn twist in your side": She is stuck and unable to make a move. If she does, the consequences can be irreparable. The man feels that he has to ultimately choose between the two women. "Sleight of hand and twist of fate": things happen very quickly and unpredictably just like a card trick. It also alludes to deception towards one or both women. "On a bed of nails she makes me wait": she keeps him forever on hold, unable to decide on what to do and the waiting is killing him slowly. "Through the storm we reach the shore. You give it all but I want more": He and the "dark lady" attempt to make it work and they almost succeed at it but he realizes that he wants all of her which she can't give him. "And you give yourself away": The "dark lady" is wasting away in her current relationship. "My hands are tied, My body bruised, she's got me with Nothing to win and Nothing left to lose": The man is also suffering from the fact that his "dark lady" is not making a decision as to whether she will leave her current situation to be with him or not. He has nothing to win because he knows that he will never have her and nothing left to lose because he knows that she's the one he really wants to be with. "I can't live With or without you": He can't live with her because of the circumstances thrust upon them and he can't live without her because she's the one he needs and wants to be with. |
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