Burn it down 'til the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue

Home's face
How it ages when you're away
And spring blooms and you find a love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
'Cause the chase is all you know and she stopped running months ago

And all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone

The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
But you shed not a single tear
For the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free

'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
And there on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone



Lyrics submitted by josephRaymond

Track duration: 03:39

"Your Heart Is an Empty Room [DVD]" as written by Benjamin Gibbard

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Your Heart Is an Empty Room song meanings
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94 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:When your heart is empty, it means you don’t have more desires, that’s why the empty room is beautifully blue, and its until then when you can finally feel and live completely, it’s like your nirvana.
    Even if on your past you weren't able to appreciate love because you were running, now that you let everything go on the metaphorical fire, without shedding a tear, you feel free and have a new strength to look outside for the things that you are meant to discover.
    Flag matetinaon January 11, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The main reason I'm here is to discuss the "chase is all you know - she stopped running months ago" bit.

    So many people are like this in my experience. In this modern age it's all too easy to seek people out. We all become pick up artists, so to speak. We're all very good at that honeymoon stage and couples are exceedingly good at convincing each other that they're the real deal, that they're someone of value... but we're not always so good at maintaining the magic that we advertise in the beginning.

    If anyone knows the secret, let me know.
    Flag quinncson January 01, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:A Buddhist story goes like this. A scholar blabs to a monk as they sit down for tea. The monk says "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas about Buddha's Way. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."

    I think this kinda relates to Your heart is an Empty Room.
    "And all you see is where else you can be when you're at home."
    You can't move on if you continue to mope about what could have been. Empty your heart if you want to love again.
    Flag deepmeepon July 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's about a person (let's just say it's a girl for example) who can't really find her place in this world or in this time. It's about a person who is running all her life long because she's afraid to stay as long as someone can hurt her. She's like travelling around the world, or she desperately wants to. She might experienced really bad things somewhere along the way.
    The singer has a kind of deeper relationship with her, which is fatal, because she's afraid of letting someone really know her and she always wants freedom.

    "BURN IT DOWN
    UNTIL THE EMBERS SMOKE ON THE GROUND
    AND START NEW WHEN YOUR HEART IS AN EMPTY ROOM
    WITH WALLS OF THE DEEPEST BLUE"
    -> She "burns" every bridge she crosses and destroys all relationships created because she feels like she has to escape again. She does that everytime "her heart is an empty room" because new places/situations make her feel a little more alive again.

    "HOME'S FACE, HOW IT AGES WHEN YOU'RE AWAY
    THE SPRING BLOOMS
    THEN YOU FIND THE LOVE THAT'S TRUE
    BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT NOW TO DO
    BECAUSE THE CHASE IS ALL YOU KNOW"
    -> From time to time she comes back, and she realizes how things have changed again. She finds another person which inspires her, and secretely she's hoping this new person will make her want to rest. (PERSON = THE SINGER??) But she unlearned how to trust other people or how to be in a serious relation ship and all she knows is the chase for things that make her feel alive. She doesn't know what to do again.

    "AND ALL YOU SEE
    IS WHERE ELSE YOU COULD BE
    WHEN YOU'RE AT HOME
    AND OUT ON THE STREET
    ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES
    TO NOT BE ALONE"
    -> Again, all the time her eyes are seeking for the most authentic, most inspiring things in life so one day she will feel normal. She's always getting nervous when she's at home for to long. She thinks there are a hundred of things to see and experience. And she's running around in vibrant cities because it makes her feel less alone. She's really really lonely but thinks that's better than getting hurt somehow.

    "FLAMES AND SMOKE
    CLIMBED OUT OF EVERY WINDOW
    AND DISAPPEARED
    WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU HELD DEAR
    BUT YOU SHED NOT A SINGLE TEAR
    FOR THE THING'S THAT YOU DIDN'T NEED
    BECAUSE YOU FINALLY KNOW YOU'RE FREE"
    -> And along her endless journey, the girl got... cold. She can't feel anything anymore and isn't able to shed a tear for the missed chance to love the Person (singer?). She's free in her way, but on the other hand she's trapped.




    Flag parallaxeson May 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is so familiar, it speaks to me probably more than any other DCFC song. I think you're all pretty close with the meaning, but there's another element: sabotage.

    This is a song about sabotage.

    'Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
    And start new when your heart is an empty room
    With walls of the deepest blue'

    This is about sabotaging a good relationship; you found 'the love that's true', but once you had her you didn't know what to do anymore. The chase is all you know, and all the possibilities and adventures in the city are so enticing.

    Every time I get in a relationship, I get this. It's a wonderful feeling when a song or any piece of art seems to suggest a line of thought that's familiar to us.

    'Flames and smoke climbed out of every window
    And disappeared with everything that you held dear
    But you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
    Because you knew you were finally free'

    This picks up the earlier metaphor from the first verse and develops it; after sabotaging the relationship, you watch everything you had made together break down, with this strange numbness (shedding not a single tear); you didn't need anything and now you are free again.

    Free to enjoy the possibilities of the street; to enter another chase - the cycle repeats.
    Flag funkadelic101on April 14, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is pretty self-explanatory. It's about a guy who thought he was in love with a girl, but really he was just enjoying the thrill of the chase. So now that he has her, he's bored in the relationship. The relationship is so lifeless that he might as well be single (which is why he sees "so many possibilities to not be alone). Every time a girl passes him by on the street, he imagines what his life would be like if he was with her instead (even for a casual sexual encounter). When the relationship finally ends, he realizes he wasn't attached to his girlfriend after all, so he "shed[s] not a single tear".

    I love this song. It's an emotionally wrenching portrayal of a boring, unfulfilling relationship, one that will deeply resonate if you've ever been in this guy's position.
    Flag goddesscarolineon April 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is ultimately about a person who had their heart badly broken and tried to start over new, but "with walls of the deepest blue" I believe they never were able to fully let go and find someone new. They held onto the pain for so long that love became a stranger and being alone and dating became the norm.

    When they finally found someone who wanted to be with them and wasn't giving chase anymore it set them into a panic because they'd forgotten how to be in a relationship. This panic made them feel smothered and they only saw all the people they were missing out on dating and having a good time with. They didn't recognize the good times that love had once brought them.

    Ultimately they didn't know how to handle love anymore so they burned that relationship to the ground.

    Two words sum this up: Commitment Issues.

    Burn it down
    Until the embers smoke on the ground
    And start new when your heart is an empty room
    With walls of the deepest blue
    (This is talking about trying to start out fresh after losing the love of someone and how it's a sad process that has left them "blue.")

    Home's face, how it ages when you're away
    The spring blooms
    Then you find the love that's true
    But you don't know what now to do
    Because the chase is all you know
    And she stopped running months ago
    (I think this is talking about love being home and how this person has been away from it too long. They've finally found love again in someone who isn't going anywhere but they don't know what to do now they have it because they've been without and chasing after it for too long.)

    And all you see
    Is where else you could be
    When you're at home
    And out on the street
    Are so many possibilities
    To not be alone
    (They're panicking here and all they see is the things they're missing while being "tied down." They keep seeing all the people they could be dating if they were single.)

    Flames and smoke
    Climbed out of every window
    And disappeared
    With everything that you held dear
    But you shed not a single tear
    For the things that you didn't need
    Because you knew you were finally free
    (This is still them panicking and they've ended the great love they found. They're still in the thought process of being free to have fun and date other people even though it meant losing something great.)
    Flag rain88on February 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great observations and arguments to define poetry. As an artist and poet, I find them trivial. Isn't it amazing how there are so many interpretations of the same thing. Let the music flow over you. Poetry and music is not always telling a direct story - "your heart is an empty room" - still, serene, at peace, ready for new beginnings. Also - lonely, dark, depressed, DEEP wanting. Duality of meaning. This is why Death Cab 4 Cutie is so appealing - do you really think Ben actually THINKS what he writes, or FEELS what he writes. Interpret what you want - but let the meaning change and flow. Otherwise, it's dead music.

    - Boy Brambles
    Flag Brambleson February 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I didn't read each interpretation before but here is my take. I think the lyrics tell story about a young man who already had this girl and they're meant to be. Thing is, he only knew the chase and actually crippled to be on a relationship. Either he had trust issues or were afraid to let himself to really fall for someone since it would make him vulnerable. That is why he only kept the superficial connection from 'out on the street'
    Flag TheWalnutTreeon December 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:to me the song is about apathy, "With everything that you held dear
    But you shed not a single tear" as if to say, even though you lost something, you dont care. i love this song, possibly one of my favourite death cab songs.....
    Flag squillinkedon August 15, 2010   Link

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