Death Cab for Cutie – We Looked Like Giants

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Send "We Looked Like Giants" Ringtone to Cell

God bless the daylight, the sugary smell of springtime
Remembering when you were mine in a still suburban town

When every Thursday, I'd brave those mountain passes
And you'd skip your early classes and we'd learn how our bodies worked

God damn the black night, with all its foul temptations
I've become what I always hated when I was with you then

We looked like giants in the back of my grey subcompact
Fumbling to make contact as the others slept inside
And together there in a shroud of frost, the mountain air
Began to pass through every pane of weathered glass
And I held you closer than anyone would ever get

Remember the J.A.M.C. and reading aloud from magazines
I don't know about you but I swear on my name they could smell it on me
But I've never been to good with secrets, oh

Oh together there in a shroud of frost, the mountain air
Began to pass through every pane of weathered glass
And I held you closer

Send "We Looked Like Giants" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by elfrijol

Track duration: 05:33

"We Looked Like Giants" as written by Jason Mc Gerr, Nicholas Harmer, Christopher Walla, Benjamin Gibbard

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


We Looked Like Giants song meanings
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113 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:J.A.M.C. The Jesus and Mary Chain? If so, that's rad of him to mention them.
    Flag RaRahammondon August 22, 2012   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • 0
    My Interpretation:In my interpretation of the song, the meaning revolves around the line "I've become what I've always hated"—which means that he's turned into another person who is taking sex as entertainment, as a means of putting himself higher on the social totem pole—where a relationship is reduced to an aspect of being a functional member of society. After, he regrets what he's done and hopes to hide it, but he soon realizes he's been found out.
    Flag d3bateson June 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:simply love how at the end "and I held you closer" just fades...sort of a wistful memory of past love/old fling

    someone said it best, but gibbard really captures the imagery of young love and the adventuresome nature of it. been going back to this album for seven years now!
    Flag bottlerocket88on February 11, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is by far my favorite song by Death Cab. The simple of this meaning might be that of car sex and the physical boundaries he explored with his lover, but the beauty of the song comes when he says "And I held you closer Than anyone would ever get". Despite the illicitness of their love, what he truly felt for her was deeper than physical attraction. We've all felt this at a point in our lives. Something forbidden will always be something we want. I've felt this way, knowing how wrong something is but the control of the situation was out of your reach.
    Flag Evilmistresson August 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:OMG this song is to die for(i sound lame)
    but whoooa does this song sound like a biography of me and my "Boyfriend" hahaha
    we're crazy lovers for DCFC!
    BEN!<3
    Flag rapunzille9791on June 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song. LOVE IT. Everything from the car sex to the amazing beat in the backround(haha). One of my favorites by Death Cab I'd say(:
    Flag smdcdf17on May 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The lines "I don't know about you, but I'd swear on my name they could smell it on me, I've never been too good with secrets" and "God damn the black night with all of its foul temptations, I've become what I always hated when I was with you there" make me think that this song is about Ben cheating on someone with a girl, or the girl has a boyfriend but is fooling around with Ben. Obviously he's trying to keep it a secret but hates himself for doing it, because it's such a terrible thing to do. He can't help it, though, because he wants it so much. He's scared someone will find out about it.
    Also, it really sounds like he's singing "Than anyone would ever guess", not get. That would make more sense.
    Flag aynon March 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:GAWD, this song reminds me of my high school sweetheart and our broken relationship.
    Oh, and having sex in a vehicle :)

    Brings back all those memories of being a teen, in love, and learning how "our bodies worked" lol
    Being naive at such an age, you were certain that you held your significant other "closer than anyone would ever get."

    Good times. Good times.
    Flag TraViesoon February 09, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i love this song because its different and a little sexy compared to the others. i wonder what ' we looked like giants' mean? but i love writing it subtely around the place <3
    Flag blackstar797on November 19, 2009   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:JAMC stands for Junior American Men's Club.

    At least this is what Ben Gibbard replaced the "JAMC" lyric with at a show in Irvine in 2007. He just said it really fast.

    If it's the Jesus and Mary Chain then he could be fucking with us. But it's not like Ben Gibbard to fuck around.
    Flag itwashardlyloveon September 17, 2009   Link

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