I'm lying on my back now
The stars look all too near
Flowers on the razor wire
I know you're here
We are few
And far between
I was thinking about her skin
Love is a many splintered thing
Don't be afraid now
Just walk on in
(Flowers on the razor wire)
(Walk on in)
Her eyes were cobalt red
Her voice was cobalt blue
I see no purple light
Crashing out of you
So just walk on in
(Flowers on the razor wire)
(Walk on in)
Her lovers queued up in the hallway
I heard them scratching at the door
I tried to tell her
About Marx and Engels, God and Angels
I don't really know what for
But she looked good in ribbons
So just walk on in
She looked good in ribbons
So just walk on in

Tie a red red red red red red ribbon
Love is a many splintered thing
Tie a red red red red ribbon
Don't be afraid
Just walk on in

Just walk on in
(Incoming...)
(Incoming...)
Just walk on in
Just walk on in
Flowers on the razor wire
Just walk on in...
INCOMING!



Lyrics submitted by o0Sid0o

Track duration: 06:13

"Ribbons" as written by Andrew Taylor

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Ribbons song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:See my feeling on this was about a father losing the "battle" to keep his daugther away from boys ("Flowers on the razor wire" - gifts from her lovers?) and keep his idealistic view "She looked good in ribbons" (Like those worn by young girls)... and as the song progresses he realises how much she's not the little girl anymore and gives up in defeat, "Just walk on in..."
    Flag Shchenyaon January 03, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It is about war he's been blown to pieces & his blood is in his eyes...that's why he sees her "in ribbons" cause he's dying she's the last thing he sees & stars are all too near clearly indicates he's on his way out!
    Flag Kaz132on April 13, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Interesting, I had always thought the song was about communism.
    Flag KWizzy02on August 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I always thought this song was about a guy from Vietnam having a PTSD flashback while with a prostitute. He ends up killing her and slicing her up.

    The repeated use of the screamed word "Incoming" and the references to seeing bright colored lights are often used in reference to flashbacks.
    Flag artisticskinon May 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song ,to me , suggests a soldier remembering his life as he dies. Teh MArx and engles line leads me to velieve it takes place in Vietnam, as do a few other lines. "Love is a splintered thing" is a takeoff on the movie Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, with jennifer Jones as a Eurasian physician and William Holden as a soldier.
    Flag bafflewiton March 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:''I'm lying on my back now
    The stars look all too near
    Flowers on the razor wire
    I know you're here''

    This verse seems to suggest either the recalling of bittersweet memories (flowers on the razor wire) during a moment of introspection or even, on the verge of death (the stars look all too near).

    Anyway, the exact meaning of the song as a whole is unclear to me, what I can be certain about are the feelings this song evokes to me, which are, a feeling of "loved-and-lost", "loved-and-hurt", a feeling of being threatened, of fruitless effort, of desperate reminiscing...

    My favorite line is "Love is a many splintered thing". I think it means that love can be in many ways hurtful.
    Flag croftyon February 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Mejoff, you found the words where I didn't, thank you! To me, that is the exact meaning of the song. As we speak I am experiencing this very scenario, and it is confusing. Love is indeed a many splintered thing.
    Flag D.B.on August 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Someone once told me (I forget who and when) that this is a song about a soldier dying on his back in WWI. His is dying on razor wire (barb wire), looking into the sky and talking of a beautiful women he knew.

    There are three parties involved in the song: I, You and Her. The speaker (I) is telling a third party (You) about her - her qualities; prostitute of beuaty, but not intellectual matters. (which presumably the speaker wanted to talk to the prostitue about for some reason (true love, need to talk?))

    The speaker and the third party seem to have some past connection as well. But the speaker seems to be telling the third person to go see her.
    Flag Dar_ukon May 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh, and of course, 'she looked good in ribbons' refers to both the fact that she was beautiful, and the fact that she's beautiful and lovable even after he's upset her ('cut her up') by killing the relationship.
    Flag sylphon February 05, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The line 'she looked good in ribbons' is a double meaning.

    Ribbons is about ending a relationship because of intellectual incompatability. Lying on your back thinking of the stars refers to lying in bed at night with your partner, but being unable to share your thoughts.

    Flowers on the razor wire is about the fact that while the destruction of the relationship is necessary, there's a lot of lustful attraction there.

    'I tried to tell her about Marx and Engel, god and angels' is about wanting to talk about politics, religion, and other weighty topics, while your partner doesn't think on that level, but is beautiful anyway.

    'Her eyes were cobalt red, her voice was cobalt blue' means she is an irrational person - seeing red and talking blue (using poor or offensive language).
    Purple, on the other hand, is normally seen as a 'royal' colour, or in new-age spirituality it's seen as a 'mystic' colopur - having the highest frequency in the visible spectrum, it also often signifies a deep person....
    Flag sylphon February 05, 2008   Link

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