Crashed on the floor when I moved in
This little bungalow alone with some strange new friends
Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
We promise each other it's til the end
Now we're spinning empty bottles
It's the five of us
With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
I can't resist the day
No, I can't resist the day

Jenny screams out and it's no pose
Cause when she dances she goes and goes
And beer through the nose on an inside joke
And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken
And she's so pretty, and she's so sure
Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her
The summer's all in bloom
The summer is ending soon

It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses

Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love and we all got hurt
I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat
The smell of gasoline in the summer heat
Boy, we're going way too fast
It's all too sweet to last

It's alright
And I put myself in his hands
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
Love, or something ignites in my veins
And I pray it never fades in white houses

My first time, hard to explain
Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
He's my first mistake

Maybe you were all faster than me
We gave each other up so easily
These silly little wounds will never mend
I feel so far from where I've been
So I go, and I will not be back here again
I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses
I lie, put my injuries all in the dust
In my heart is the five of us
In white houses

And you, maybe you'll remember me
What I gave is yours to keep
In white houses
In white houses
In white houses



Lyrics submitted by sens_freak_18

Track duration: 03:45

"White Houses" as written by Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Douglas Jenkins

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


White Houses song meanings
Add your thoughts

285 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    Memory:i remember seeing the music video for this on tv when i was younger and my sister was flipping through the music channels. i think this is a really beautiful, yet sad, story and song. for some reason (probably the content of the song) it makes me think of the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky.
    Flag lovelikearoseon September 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Memory:This song describes my freshman year of high school in marching band.

    "Crashed on the floor when I moved in
    This little bungalow with some strange new friends
    Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
    We promise each other it's 'til the end
    Now we're spinning empty bottles
    It's the five of us
    With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
    I can't resist the day
    No, I can't resist the day"

    On my first day of marching band, all the freshman had to sit on the ground instead of in chairs in the band room with all these new older kids. I stayed up way too late and didn't eat enough. My 4 best girlfriends promised each other it'd be like that forever. There were 3 pretty boys we were just enamored with. We were so excited.

    "Jenny screams out and it's no pose
    'Cause when she dances she goes and goes
    Beer through the nose on an inside joke
    And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken
    And she's so pretty, and she's so sure
    Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her
    Summer's all in bloom
    Summer is ending soon"

    One of my best new girlfriends was just awesome. She was pretty and smart and so confident. I so desperately wanted to have something I was better at than her. Summer was nearly over.

    "It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
    But I hold on to your secrets in white houses"

    I was so happy not to be alone for the first time.

    "Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
    I come undone at the things he said
    And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
    We were all in love and we all got hurt
    I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat
    The smell of gasoline in the summer heat
    Boy, we're going way too fast
    It's all too sweet to last"

    There was this super hot guy I became friends with and he was just so funny. All of my girlfriends were in love with him too. I snuck into the bus with an exboyfriend and we kissed. Everything was moving way too fast.

    "It's alright
    And I put myself in his hands
    But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
    Love, or something ignites in my veins
    And I pray it never fades in white houses"

    I convinced myself I was ready for things I really wasn't. I didn't want it all to end.

    "My first time, hard to explain
    Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
    On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
    He's my first mistake"

    It was the first time I every reconciled with a boyfriend. A rush of blood came to my brain and I was really upset he didn't want me back. It wasn't under the best of circumstances. I kissed him and it was a mistake.

    "Maybe you were all faster than me
    We gave each other up so easily
    These silly little wounds will never mend
    I feel so far from where I've been
    So I go, and I will not be back here again
    I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses
    I lied, wrote my injuries all in the dust
    In my heart is the five of us
    In white houses"

    My "Jenny" started dating the hot new guy. Eventually the bridges among the five of us were burned and it wouldn't ever be like it used to be. It's only been a year but I feel like a lot of things have really changed. The girls did hurtful things to me and I pretend I was ok when I wasn't. But with those five best girlfriends of mine will always be some of my happiest days.

    "And you, maybe you'll remember me
    What I gave is yours to keep
    In white houses [x3]"

    Eventually I got back together with my exboyfriend but then we broke up. The part of my heart I gave him is eternally his.
    Flag midnightcookieson April 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:"Crashed on the floor when I moved in
    This little bungalow with some strange new friends
    Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
    We promise each other it's 'til the end
    Now we're spinning empty bottles
    It's the five of us
    With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
    I can't resist the day
    No, I can't resist the day"

    I think of this being the first time she's ever been on her own, whether it was just for the summer or in general. She's moved in with friends and apparently boys too. She's pretty happy and excited.

    "Jenny screams out and it's no pose
    'Cause when she dances she goes and goes
    Beer through the nose on an inside joke
    And I'm so excited, I haven't spoken
    And she's so pretty, and she's so sure
    Maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her
    Summer's all in bloom
    Summer is ending soon"

    Jenny's this cool girl that everyone wants to be like. She just wants to somehow be better in at least one way than Jenny (maybe I'm more clever than a girl like her).

    "It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
    But I hold on to your secrets in white houses

    Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
    I come undone at the things he said
    And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
    We were all in love and we all got hurt
    I sneak into his car's cracked leather seat
    The smell of gasoline in the summer heat
    Boy, we're going way too fast
    It's all too sweet to last"

    There's this guy they're with and he's perfect. All the girls love him. Since her friends like him, she has to sneak off with him so her friends don't know. They start making out and they're moving too fast.

    "It's alright
    And I put myself in his hands
    But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
    Love, or something ignites in my veins
    And I pray it never fades in white houses"

    She decides to trust this guy.

    "My first time, hard to explain
    Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
    On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
    He's my first mistake"

    She loses her virginity in the backseat of a car. "On a cloudy day" means it wasn't all sunshine and daisies and love like it's supposed to be. He's the first guy she ever slept with, and she realizes it's a mistake.

    "Maybe you were all faster than me
    We gave each other up so easily
    These silly little wounds will never mend
    I feel so far from where I've been
    So I go, and I will not be back here again
    I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses
    I lied, wrote my injuries all in the dust
    In my heart is the five of us
    In white houses"

    Maybe everyone in the house was cooler than her. The friendships she thought would last forever didn't. The things they said to her because she slept with the guy everyone loved still hurt. She's come a long way, but she still wishes she could have her best friends when she was still so young.

    "And you, maybe you'll remember me
    What I gave is yours to keep
    In white houses [x3]"

    Maybe the red shirt boy will remember that he took something so special from her. But in the end, the part of herself she gave him is his to keep.
    Flag midnightcookieson March 23, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Memory:This song has extreme personal meaning to me. I remember my ex girlfriend listening to this in P.E class. That's when I first heard it. It's a beautiful song. It's a song about your youth and innocence with your friends and first love.

    She was best friends with, I am assuming 5 people. Which is weird, cause at one point I was best friends with 5 other people. We always used to go to each other's houses and laugh and play games and all that stuff that you do when you are just a teenager, and I was in love with one of my best friends, we dated for 3 years.

    Then, you all fall apart. It's sad to see, but it's for the best.

    But a piece of your heart will always be with them because they have something that no one else can have. Your youthful memories, your blind trust, and innocence.

    My favorite line is "So I go, and I will not be back here again, i'm gone as the day is fading on white houses. I lie, put my injuries all in the dust, and my heart is the five of us in white houses."

    Thankfully, all but one of us are all still really good friends, but one of us got lost in the midst of growing up way too fast.

    It's just a song about blindly trusting, and keeping the secrets of your best friends, falling in love for the first time, losing your virginity (symbolized as your innocence) "rush of blood and a little bit of pain... He's my first mistake." It's a beautiful song, the piano is lovely and her voice is great too. It will always take me back to the summer of 2010 when i thought I had the best friends I have ever had in my entire life. But life happens, and you drift apart. But you never forget 'em. <3
    Flag moveslikemickswaggeron February 22, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i'm not sure if white houses is a metaphor, but i dont think it is. When i first heard the song i though she was referring to a sorority house, but im not too sure on that one. I think when she talks about this girl jenny she's referring to a girl whos pretty outspoken and naive so she believes all the crap that guys say to sleep with you. So she saying that she thinks she smarter than that but in the end she ends up being just as dumb.
    Flag 1Azon January 16, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is explaining vanessas hardship of her identity. Vanessa was seeing canoodling sarah binkman (the girl when she dances she goes and goes) a few years back at a party, the same party where vanessa had lost her virginity to dwight howard (boy in the bright red shirt). Sarah and Vanessa had feelings for one another, they shared a kiss that night in spin the bottle and thats when they realized they were the ones at the party meant to end up with one another, not dwight. Vanessa felt really guilty about dwight and the intercourse was not enjoyable (the rush of blood and a little bit of pain) leaving everyone (Vanessa, Sarah, and Dwight) feeling empty and broken. This is when Vanessa had the epiphany of being bisexual and now claims she is a proud bisexual woman. This song expresses the pain we all go through and we can always count on this song to know...life will go on.
    Flag purrywuffchlomidiaon January 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think the song is about the summer she lost her virginity. when she says:

    My first time, hard to explain
    Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
    On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
    He's my first mistake

    then she goes to mention how everyone gives it up so easily. lastly she says what i gave is yours to keep. so i think its about her first time.
    Flag ezindarson September 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it's actually

    "I lied, wrote my injuries all in the dust"
    Flag KayceeSparkson September 12, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This is completely about losing her virginity,

    1st verse = a group of 5 friends are at a house party playing spin the bottle,
    2nd verse = Jenny is Vanessa's confident, fun friend who is so 'sure' about loosing her virginity. "summer's ending soon" - end of summer means end of being a virgin.

    Chorus = it was an 'alright' experience, not what she expected but not too bad either.

    3rd Verse = she's in the guys car, having sex, it's summer and he's saying nice things to her in order to sleep with her probably. maybe "all too sweet to last" meaning he didn't last long?

    4th Verse = she's in his arms afterwards, they keep it a 'secret' maybe? she thinks she 'loves' him , but she's not sure what love is so it just "feels like love"

    Bridge = "My first time, hard to explain
    Rush of blood, oh, and a little bit of pain
    On a cloudy day, it's more common than you think
    He's my first mistake" - think thats pretty self-explanatory.
    Flag KayceeSparkson September 11, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Vanessa said in an interview

    "this song is a coming of age story about a girl, who kind of, suffers and endures a lot of events as she grows up, it's a series of vignette's and this is called White Houses"
    Flag KayceeSparkson September 11, 2011   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain