Brandi Carlile – Tragedy

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Sorry I'm only
Human you know me
Grown up oh no guess again

My days always
Dry up and blow away
Sometimes I could do that too
But make no mistake that

When you need a friend
You could count on anyone
But you know I'll defend
The tragedy that we knew as
The end

Progress, changing
Growing then giving up
Somehow we're never quite prepared
But I understand it

When you need a friend
You could count on anyone
But you know I'll defend
The tragedy that we knew as
The end

So taking you with me would be like
Taking all your money to the grave
It does no good to anyone especially
The one you're trying to save
But it's so hard not to save

When you need a friend
You could count on anyone
But you know I'll defend
The tragedy that we knew as
The end

Send "Tragedy" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by belle1313

Track duration: 03:48

"Tragedy" as written by Brandi M. Carlile

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Tragedy song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:i think the song meaning is as follows;
    this person felt it was necessary to let someone go for their own good because this person wasn't good for them. "I'll defend the tragedy we knew as the end" so she doesnt regret the ending because she knows it was for the best no matter how much it hurts the person right now. She is telling them 'you can count on anyone, you have friends who are still there for you even if i cant be'. and she may also be saying that the friends might tell the person 'you guys will patch things back up' but she is saying this will not happen because 'i defend the tragedy that we knew as the end'.
    it was hard to let the person go but 'its harder not to save' someone you love.
    Flag orangetr3on June 02, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This is easy to realte to.

    You were friends.Then you were a couple.Then you were just friends again :'(
    Flag cut_and_bleedingon July 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For me, this song seemed to be talking about a long-term romantic relationship coming to an end. Because of the line about "Progress and changing, Growing then giving up", I sort of thought it might be a relationship that began when the two people were younger, like in their teens and early 20's. And as time passes and they grow up, the singer realizes they can't be together, and it's a devestating blow, both to deliver but also to recieve, because you're first love is your most intense in many ways, and for a while it's easy to think that you're done; that you've found your person and you'll be together forever. So to realize that isn't the case, well, it's sort of heart-breaking. That line about "But taking you with me" reinforces the idea for me; she can't take this guy she with her through the next stage of her life because they're lives are going in different directions, and although he doesn't seem to understand it, she knows it's better for him if she doesn't try to force the relationship, because they've outgrown it; they aren't the people they were when they first fell in love. I like the idea of this sort love ending and being a tragedy. Usually, we don't describe emotional pains as tragedies; but anyone who's lost their first true love, the person they sort of crossed from teenage to adulthood with, knows that the realization that this person cannot stay with you still after they've been there for such a long time does feel like a tragedy, even if you're the one ending it. There is something tragic in a first real love ending. And really any serious relationship. You share so much of who you are with this other person, and you grow and change with them. They're a huge part of your life. And to know that from that point on you have to seperate your paths, and they'll be out there with someone else, and everything you had will remain in the past, well, if that's not a tragedy of Shakespearian porportions, I don't know what is.
    Flag AlleyAceon February 18, 2008   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • 0
    General Comment:This song really speaks to personally because it reminds me of one of my good friends. Like coinxoperatedxgirl said, I think it's about the loss of something; for me, one of my best friends. No matter how much I wish it could go back to the way it used to be, I have to accept that it won't because we've drifted apart. And yet if she ever needed anything, I'd always be there for her.
    Flag whyyesitscaron September 17, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For me, it is a song that stands for support. I've been a part of a supportchat where depressive people talk to each other and support each other.... This song to me stands not only for feeling sad yourself, and fighting through your days, it also represents the thought of not wanting others to go down..... The singer understands the other person, in a way others can't.....
    Flag NCvicsfriendon June 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:To me, the song is about loss and grieving, over something that can no longer, no matter what you do, be the same again. Be it a death or the end of a realtionship. She's talking about the feeling of loosing something that can't be replaced.
    i like bemenow's interpretation of it - when you realize that something is over and you end up having to let go of it, even if you don't want to and not prepared to do so either.
    Beautiful song, so sad, but beautiful
    Flag CoinXOperatedXGirlon April 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:beautiful song, especially with the cello.
    Flag cassandralynnxoon April 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about the moment you realize that something is over. The moment you have to let go end go on even if you dont realy want to.
    Flag bemenowon March 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i can't believe this song has only received two comments. its a lovely song featured in grey's anatomy.
    Flag so_fetch!on July 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't think she wants you to kill yourself,God knows if anybody actually wants their songs to come out as that. I feel like this song is about losing someone and knowing that something in your own life will never be the same. Possibly true tragedy such as an accident or something, or just a fallen apart relationship.
    Flag LiveUrLifeon June 30, 2006   Link

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