I think the song is actually about two people who love each other deeply and want to be together, but for one reason or another can't be because the circumstances of their lives won't allow it. They are enjoying their time together as much as possible, and are savoring their love while it lasts, but they know that the obstacles their relationship must face will make it impossible for things to last forever, which makes the situation that much more tragic.

so sad and beautiful.

When I listen to this song..I feel like I'm suffocating.
It describes my relationship with my ex/best friend so well.

But I can look at it two ways. One way I think of it as her singing to me...And then I can think about it reversed.

"Can't seem to hold you like I want to
So I can feel you in my arms"
She never liked to be touched...So I could never hold her like I wanted to.

"I was the one you always dreamed of
You were the one I tried to draw"-- We both used to dream about each other. She also used to draw these characters that were representative of us...But said she could never draw my character the way she imagined.

"How dare you say it's nothing to me
Baby, you're the only light I ever saw"-- I would be the one to tell her that I meant nothing to her. And she would say something like this. When love dissolves, people get hurt. And it can feel like there was never anything there to begin with.

"I'll make the most of all the sadness
You'll be a bitch because you can"-- I'll try to carry on, and make the most of whatever I can...But she'll continue to be a bitch. Never fall in love with your best friend.

"You try to hit me just to hurt me
So you leave me feeling dirty
Because you can't understand"-- this would be me. I'll then try to hurt her because I just can't understand why or how she could stop loving me. Although, it was obvious it wasn't going to work because we had so many problems. But we kept coming back to each other because we wanted to feel the way we used to. We never want to admit that it's ending...So when we're slow dancing, we don't realize that everything around us is burning.

"Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?"

The lyrics to this song are just amazing. They're particularly relevant to my current relationship, which makes them even more beautiful to me. The metaphor of 'slow dancing in a burning room' is just so perfect. The idea of a couple who deeply love eachother, but know that eventually, due to differing life paths, mixed emotions and different wants and needs in life (the burning room), they will eventually have to say goodbye. A slow dance being a perfect end to what they had, before their love gets engulfed by the reality of life. And maybe they blame eachother for this, but right now, they just have to savour what they have as who knows how much longer they'll have it? I just hope that in my case the fire subsides, or that is stays away from us a little bit longer.

Simply put - this song is about a relationship slowly coming to an end. Both people in the relationship know the relationship is ending but they still cant let go of each other even though they know things are coming to an end. The "slow dancing in a burning room" is symbolic of how both people in the relationship know they need to get out of their relationship but are waiting as long as possible to do that because its hard for them to leave each other so they keep coming back to each other again and again. They both know the relationship isnt working but still havnet learned "Don't you think we oughta know by now? Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?"
From personal experience people can love each other and things can just not be working in a relationship causing it to end. This is one of the best break up songs ever. It shows how truly amazing and genius John's song writing is.

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

I think this part is about her blaming him and attacking him because she doesnt know how to deal with the end of the relationship.

i remember being in a relationship like this. It still romantic at times which is the slow dancing but the relationship as a whole is burning down.
The lyrics of this song really symbolize the cycle of this type of relationship. Your sweet one moment then the next your saying "go cry about it why don't you?"

if anyone needs a song to relate to/help them move on, this is the song. i've recently been in a similar situation, and I just can't stop playing this song.

somehow the song combines the beauty and pain of a relationship. its obvious as to what this song is about; a doomed relationship, the moment in time where both people realize that love is just not enough, the relationship is falling no matter how much they try and save it. they're just slow dancing in a burning room; trying to save the beauty in the relationship, despite their surroundings, and despite the fact that it really is over.

john mayer is amazing.

I don't even know how to explain what I feel about this song. By far, the best from Continuum, if not his best song above all. I can't get enough of it, it's incredibly beautiful and it definitely describes well how a relationship comes to its end.. or at least the last parts of it. It amazes me

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 think he's trying to get it through her head that he really does love her, and he pours is heart out and tells her what he's really feeling for her, but she wont budge. and as the song goes on he's slowly resenting her and getting angry at the fact she wont give this a try again.