I just want to acknowledge that there are many well thought out posts that have plenty of intriguing insight towards what John Mayer has to convey to his audience in "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room." I want to start out by pointing out that I am by no means a driving force in the display of intelligence in his song writing but I feel as if I have a few things to clarify about this song and his true intentions from which I've picked up over the past years by watching and listening to plenty of interviews concerning the song. With that said, here is my interpretation:

First, as everyone has previously mentioned, it is clear that the first two phrases suggest a relationship he has had in the past, most likely from personal experience due to the very emotional nature of the lyrics, and that this song is dedicated to the woman that had refused his mutual understanding of the inevitable break-up. What is interesting is the chorus in which he introduces the position in which he takes throughout entire the song and the position he suggests his ex-girlfriend takes. One note I'd like to point out is that they do not mutually agree about the inevitable ending of their relationship. With that said, take a look at the fourth and fifth stanza just after the third which is the chorus:

"I was the one you always dreamed of
You were the one I tried to draw
How dare you say it's nothing to me
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw,"

I know it may seem as if the break up is mutual but with the subtleties in the lyrics you notice that he's pointing out that his ex (at that point) is clearly self absorbed in her own world and feels as if the failing relationship that they are experiencing is being blamed on John or the so called fictional character which portrays the man in the relationship. As John continues, we note the subtle separation in thought between the man and woman when he says, "How dare you say it's nothing to me, Baby you're the only light I ever saw." This meaning that he's trying to explain to her how their relationship has taken it's toll in terms of getting back together and breaking up and her attempts at blaming the reasoning on John is biased in that she refuses to admit any fault. In the next phrase we see the point I made earlier come to life:

"I'll make the most of all the sadness
You'll be a bitch because you can
You try to hit me just to hurt me
So you leave me feeling dirty
Because you can't understand,"

In this phrase, John is saying that no matter what he says or what they try to do, the relationship is inevitably doomed, she still refuses to admit any fault and remains self-absorbed in her own world while he pours his heart out simply saying, "I refuse to fight it because the idea of who is right or wrong doesn't mean a thing to him, it's the fact that she continuously refuses to acknowledge that by slow dancing in a burning room, no matter what happens, the relationship is falling apart around them. Slow dancing in a burning room insinuates that while slow dancing you’re focused on one person, one entity as a whole, and she can't acknowledge their faults as a whole. Remember, a relationship requires a mutual attraction and interaction. John is noting the miscommunication occurring and by pouring his heart out, he's hoping she'll have no choice but to acknowledge this fact in order to ease his pain. The point he tries to convey is that they should agree and notice that no matter what happens they are destined to not be together. What asserts this point is the last two lines of the fifth phrase, "You leave me feeling dirty, Because you can't understand."

After the last chorus, he notes that she may see that they're going down but continuously refuses to admit it as previously noted.

Finally, the final few phrases, "Go cry about it why don't you," is a play on the fact that he's finally become fed up with the situation at hand and feels that if she's going to be that stubborn about not admitting their inevitable disenchantment that he needs to have a subtle ending to the relationship, a bit of closure to say. He's trying to convey this fact in that, "You refused to acknowledge this fact therefore if you continue to take a stance against me when I asked you not to, simply asking you to note the fact that we're slow dancing in a burning room, inevitably succumbing to the impending death of our relationship, then you don't deserve any closure in knowing you hurt me much more than you would have ever imagined in the line, ‘go cry about why don’t you.'"

Incredible lyricist and song writer. I felt it necessary to give my take on the meaning of the song considering I felt as if it spoke to me. I have no problem reading future criticism whether it be good or bad but I feel we should all take note and continue to wonder until he explicitly explains each and every word about its meaning.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my take.

I think its even more than that. I think its about the realization that love isn't perfect and that a love or feeling that you have wanted for so long is differnt than what you pictured it to be like...

The whole idea of the song is beautiful because it is so real life...