Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
(Going, Going, Gone)
Still hooked on cellophane, hangin' round the mall and all.
Each penny numbs the pain, sends you gently for the fall
I followed you last night,
I saw you turn your lights out
I knew it wasnt right,
I watched in fear and doubt
It's gotten to be that way
(Going, Going, Gone)
What did you do today?
(Going, Going, Gone)
Look good in that red dress,
I bet the boyfriend's happy
Your face is scarred with age,
You're 23, but how can that be?
You're still hooked on cellophane, killing time with gin and lime
Each second numbs the pain, love's just another rhyme.
It's gotten to be that way
(Going, Going, Gone)
I'm scared but I'm okay
(Going, Going, Gone)
There's nowhere to move on
There's nowhere to move on
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see is me everywhere
It's me doo doo doo doo doo
doo doo
Still hooked on cellophane, hangin' round the mall and all.
Each penny numbs the pain, sends you gently for the fall
I followed you last night,
I saw you turn your lights out
I knew it wasnt right,
I watched in fear and doubt
It's gotten to be that way
(Going, Going, Gone)
What did you do today?
(Going, Going, Gone)
Look good in that red dress,
I bet the boyfriend's happy
Your face is scarred with age,
You're 23, but how can that be?
You're still hooked on cellophane, killing time with gin and lime
Each second numbs the pain, love's just another rhyme.
It's gotten to be that way
(Going, Going, Gone)
I'm scared but I'm okay
(Going, Going, Gone)
There's nowhere to move on
There's nowhere to move on
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see
All I see, yeah yeah
All I see is me everywhere
It's me doo doo doo doo doo
doo doo
Lyrics submitted by oh_doctor_doctor
Track duration: 03:53
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!
I think it's a man watching a girl in the mall who catches his eye, who is a perfect stranger. And he's making up a story about her, based upon impressions and small acts or mannerisms.
I love the "All I see... is me..." It's the rounded multiple-mirror setup just outside a fitting room. Maybe that's where he first saw her. Looking at herself in the mirror, in a red dress.
I can NEVER tell whether I am listening to Metric or Stars! (Emily vs Amy) But I am thankful for them both, because I get to hear so much MORE great music by two great sinngers and two great bands!! Who are the dudes who sing with each band? They confuse me too!
It's just the way I thought of it as.
Cellophane: It's see-through. It's used to portray how the narrator is set on spending money, which doesn't matter, on things that are empty and also don't matter. She could be spending her money on anything, and it wouldn't make a difference. Shoes, purses, dresses, makeup, drinks... it doesn't change her, its just a clear layer that goes over her. She's trying to find a quick fix to her situation by spending money on these things, but no matter how pretty it makes her look she's still no happier. She's constantly trying to make herself more attractive because she feels ugly inside, but this constant attention on making herself look better leads her to become self-centered, which is probably why the relationship described in the song has gone south. She thinks the relationship went south because she wasn't pretty enough. My personal opinion is that it probably went south because she was so obsessed with how she looked all the time. Catch 22 much?
It's kind of interesting hearing the Nightsongs version versus Sad Robots. Having Torquil sing the 2nd verse validates the male's perspective in the relationship, but adds a new dynamic to the story. It also makes it sound like she's moved on from him and is with a new boyfriend, with whom she still feels as empty. It makes it sound like in the 1st verse she's singing to her new boyfriend, but he's ignoring her, hence these cries for attention. Instead, he just turns his back and leaves (going going gone). Then her old boyfriend, Torquil, has given up and is singing to her, but she can't hear him. This puts the 3 characters in a stalemate (There is nowhere to move on).
I like the imagery of clear things too. The cellophane, the gin and lime (I immediately think of gin and tonic with a lime on the rim) just seem so hollow, and boring. There's no color to it, it's not even black or white. Personally, I think people like this girl in the song, or the guy she's currently with are boring as well. It's still a really freakin cool story and awesome song!
I think that it is from the perspective of somebody, a guy, watching a girl who he is basically in love with self destruct, and "pass time" with things that really don't mean anything. Fake, hollow things that serve as an escape from the real world and things that would offer her lasting happiness. Perhaps she an ex-girlfriend that he still loves and sees totally changing after they broke up.
Cellophane, plastic... It basically contains/restrains true emotion. Substances such as alcohol distort your emotions toward things too. It makes people feel good about certain situations, but it is a hollow happiness. Somebody who you may have hit it off with and had a great time with while you were drinking may be someone who you have nothing to say to when you're sober and completely yourself. A drunk encounter with somebody may fill a void temporarily, but it probably won't last in the long run. This goes for spending money at the mall as well. Material things may serve to fill a void and make people feel good at the time, but it's another false, temporary feeling of happiness.
In regard to the girl's face being scarred with age, it could be her hard partying lifestyle that's caused her to age, as well as possibly stress because she's unhappy. She's 23, but she looks more weathered because of the way her life is going.
The person who the song's perspective comes from likely sees the girl living this way, and he feels that she's just killing time, and that maybe she would be happier with him? He says about how she looks good in her red dress, and how her boyfriend probably feels the same way, but to me it seems that the "narrator" of sorts' feeling is that the girl's relationship is also hollow. Maybe not as much to do with love as lust, sex, more things that can be temporarily satisfying but don't offer any long term fulfillment.
I love the lines, "Look good in that red dress, I bet the boyfriend's happy". It just pierces me.
and that's my two cents =)
sorry for the spelling =(