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Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued
I am waiting for something to go wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
Sometimes it seems that I don't have the skills to recollect
The twists and turns of plot that turned us from lovers to friends
I'm thinking I should take that volume back up off the shelf
And crack it's weary spine and read to help remind myself
But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued
I am waiting for something to wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
I am waiting for another repeat
Another diet fed by crippling defeat
And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene
As if you held in your hand the smoking gun
And on the floor lay the one you said you loved
And it's strange
They're all basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore
Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued
I am waiting for something to go wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
Sometimes it seems that I don't have the skills to recollect
The twists and turns of plot that turned us from lovers to friends
I'm thinking I should take that volume back up off the shelf
And crack it's weary spine and read to help remind myself
But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued
I am waiting for something to wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
I am waiting for another repeat
Another diet fed by crippling defeat
And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene
As if you held in your hand the smoking gun
And on the floor lay the one you said you loved
And it's strange
They're all basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore
Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
Lyrics submitted by heartattack, edited by eyobri
Track duration: 04:11
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The lady in question is using her sex appeal to keep everyone around - “the squeaking of skin against steel,” even though it is likely they all recognize how dangerous she is. The narrator especially knows that they are always headed for disaster “waiting for something to go wrong,” and feels a sense of relief every time she breaks his heart again. It’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t care who she sleeps with “so I don’t ask names anymore.”
The way I understand it, this guy is in a relationship and they've gotten into a slump. He's bored. They always fight and make up, perhaps the sex has gotten boring. However, he feels that if he leaves and tries to find someone else, he won't be loved. He'll "lose".
So instead of leaving, he stays and waits for anything to change. For things to get so bad that SHE "kills" the relationship or that there is something interesting. He needs a reason to leave and something to feel like it's a sad ending.
"I am waiting for something to wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
I am waiting for another repeat
Another diet fed by crippling defeat
And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene
As if you held in your hand the smoking gun
And on the floor lay the one you said you loved"
Near the end, I think he is realizing that every relationship is like this. He doesn't even care anymore.
"They are basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore"
--------------
Or maybe I'm biased because that is exactly how I am in my current relationship. We've been together too long and somehow we've changed from "lovers to friends"
The first verse is pretty simple, its describing a repeating process that the character in the song cant escape.
But these two lines give more meaning to the situation:
"But if I move my place in line, I'll lose
And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued"
The character has been waiting for something, for a long time, and the anticipation has kept him waiting, mindlessly.
But the song isnt about a failing relationship, as many people have claimed, it details the character who's out of a relationship, but still loves or cares about the other person, who has moved on.
The character is waiting for the other person's present relationship to go wrong, for it to end and for the person to be single, with a warped and fantasy-esque scenario of the person fleeing the scene after killing their current lover. The warped fantasy is a perfect model of the thoughts of someone with unrequited love, and it seems to have been missed by most people.
"I am waiting for something to wrong
I am waiting for familiar resolve
I am waiting for another repeat
Another diet fed by crippling defeat
And I am waiting for that sense of relief
I am waiting for you to flee the scene
As if you held in your hand the smoking gun
And on the floor lay the one you said you loved"
And it's strange
They are basically the same
So I don't ask names anymore"
To the character in the song, all of the person's lovers are the same to them; another problem they have to wait for to disappear.
But maybe I'm just warped enough myself to interpret it this way.
"when I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide" - an ex of mine posted this as his status when our relationship seemed like it was going nowhere, repeating the same problems.
and then I wanted to post Deathcab's sadder version of those same lyrics.
Sometimes I think this cycle never ends
We slide from top to bottom and we turn and climb again
And it seems by the time that I have figured what it's worth
The squeaking of our skin against the steel has gotten worse
Kind of like the bed-death he's experiencing in Brothers on a Hotel Bed. The thing is that most relationships end up this way. So maybe his expectations need readjusting.
The line 'and it's strange, they're all basically the same - so I don't ask names anymore' refers 'that space' where it's all just meaningless [probably sex] and he's stopped looking for anything more - coz 'no-one is home' [so to speak] - so he doesn't even bother asking their names.
I await the tide of objections that are surely to come. So before you do, it's just my opinion/interpretation of his lyrics.
Who cares anyway? It's just a great song - regardless of what we bring to it when it's cranked up to ten on the home sound-system.