| Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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My take is this: In keeping with Ryan Adam's self-distructive tendencies (which is why we can all relate to him), I believe this song is likely a weak/drunk/wishful moment thinking about a past love that was unhealthy, but he still can't shake. The beginning of the song is him wondering if perhaps, on judgement day, she would regret her treatment of him (and others). "Will you cower in fear?" This seems to suggest she might fear consequences for her actions. Then, he seems to start out wishing he could see her, craving what used to be toxic about her, but with some irrational romanticism about it being better this time around: Come pick me up Take me out Fuck me up Steal my records Screw all my friends They're all full of shit With a smile on your face And then do it again I wish you would The fact that he says "And then do it again," seems to echo that this all happened the last time, but looking back, he still would rather be with her, and go through it all again. In this early part of the song, the line "Screw all my friends" indicates that his friends warn him that she's bad news, and will hurt him again, but in the next line he says "They're all full of sh**," suggesting he doesn't care about they're opinion, and wants her back anyway. In his masterful way, he uses this same line later, when his musings/memories about her grow darker, the same exact line means something different - "Screw all my friends," is no longer a declaration that he won't listen to warnings about her, but now is a continuation of a list of her actual actions, right along with "Steal all my records." We know this with certainty, because this time, the next line after "Screw all my friends" is, "Behind my back." " His internal struggle makes him idealize reconnecting with her in the beginning, but by the end, he can't help but recall the darker elements that ruined them the first time. The references to the bed, and "try it for sleeping sometime" suggest they're relationship was likely too focused on the physical, which allowed them to ignore thier obvious issues for too long. He goes on to end the song with: "Maybe you'll rest sometime I wish I could" Suggesting he can't sleep, because he's still pining over her. You could even stretch the interpretation dangerously farther, and put the pieces to gether, to wonder if she had an addiction -- If you string all the images of her together, it sounds like an addict's behaviour - "F** me up, steal my records, Srew all my friends, maybe you'll rest sometime... The theme of missing someone who's known to be harmful to him is common in his songs... "English Girls, approximately," has a similar tone. In another song, his wishing he had a "Sylvia Plath" to "get me pretty loaded on gin," and then "maybe she'll give me a bath" hints of Plath's many suicide attempts, some rumored to have taken place in the bathtub. Ultimately, he seems to write about looking for someone to mother him (take me out, f me up, get me loaded on gin, give me a bath). These are all about things they'd do TO him, as a passive participant... Unfortunately, it appears to be mostly "party girls" he ends up with over and over, who ultimately use his vulnerability to crush him in one way or another. Sounds really sad, but makes for some GREAT songs! |
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