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Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It's the wrong time
But she's pulling me through
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
No...
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It's the wrong time
But she's pulling me through
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
No...
Lyrics submitted by xXlastgoodbyeXx
Track duration: 03:38
"9 Crimes" as written by Damien George Rice
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
As a consequence of his actions, the relationship has ended and he is "left out with the waste"
The analogy of 9 Crimes to the 9 lives of a cat reflect the fact that one mistake may be forgivable but your have to eventually face the consequence of continued infidelities.
Sad. Probably a story of many relationships. Who's to blame? I suspect nobody. Not many can continue in a relationship where the sexual side has died, but seeking those sexual relations elsewhere is also unacceptable. :-(
It's a lose/lose situation!
Despite this i want to give my opinion about 9 crimes.
The title refers to the fact that a cat -so is said- has 9 lives.
9 crimes.
The person in the song has commited several (small relational) crimes but these crimes happened so often that now the time has come to undergo the consequences. Therefor the title is '9 crimes'.
It does not has to be about cheating in al literal way but just not respecting unspoken rules in relationships. Although the person who commited this knows that even for these 'small' crimes, he or she has no excuse. "leave me out with the waste". He or she knows he or she has to carry the shame of his or her mistakes and is asking his or her partner to judge on him or her so he or she can become forgiveness.
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
With the first sentence he or she asks his or her partner to judge over him or her. He or she is putting him or herself in a vulernable position (a loaded gun) because he or she want to be judged on wat he or she did.
In the second question he or she begs to judge him or her.
And in the 3de line he or she says please judge on me so i can let go and find forgiveness and peace, because how will i be able to live further with this shame.
He or she is ready to accept the judgment. Shooting (figurativly) on him or her and not forgive or unload the gun (matter) so she or he can move on...
"Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse"
The story this song portrays begins with female vocal, undoubtedly meaning the lyrics are from her perspective. She tells the listener that she feels guilty for what she is doing, presumedly dating someone who she doesn't care for, despite the love she still holds for her previous mate.
" [She knows] Its the wrong time / for someone new / [,but she persists to not only attempt to get over her previously failed relationship, but to also try to arouse jealousy with her failed lover, confirming such by stating: ] It's a small crime / and I got no escuse."
She knows what she is doing is immoral and selfish,but the pain of heartbreak and the desire for revenge fuel her drive.
"Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?"
As for the debut of the chorus, she begins to worry. When she asks, " Is that alright with you? / Give my gun [ she means her heart ] away [to someone else when it's loaded [with love belonging to her previous lover] /," she could be asking herself this question, referring to her motives and how they will hurt herself as well as her "decoy" boyfriend she currently has. The next two lines of the chorus add even more conflict towards the situation: " Is that alright? / If you don't shoot it [ the gun filled with her love for him] how am I supposed to hold it? / " By these two lines, the female vocalist asks if he never returns her unrequited love, how is she supposed to more on and truly love someone else? Does he even care about her conflict her feelings?
"Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It's the wrong time
But she's pulling me through
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse"
At this point of the song, the female voice drops out and the male voice comes in, implying that the lyrics are now from his perspective. The changing of vocals ( and perspectives in this case) could also be interpreted as a flashback, due to the fact that the only way for what I previously mentioned to make sense, the man would obviously have to cheat on the woman to trigger her jealousy and heartbreak.
The first four lines of the second verse tell the listener that the man feels guilty about going behind his lover's back and cheating on her. The next half of the verse implies that the two initial lovers have had. Very turbulous relationship, hence the man cheating on the woman. As for his motives for such, he may have been curious as to her reaction to do such sin hopes of her showing faint signs of lingering love ( mentioned in a comment below ). Much like the woman, he knows what he's doing is extremely immoral, but he continues to follow through with his actions. Despite mistreating on her, he still really loves her (referring again to the first part of the verse). This is further supported with the chorus: "Is that alright? / Give my gun [ he means his heart] away [ to someone else ] when its's loaded [ with love for his initial lover.]"
The next two lines of the chorus real of desperation and confusion:
" Is that alright? / If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it? / "
By this time the man is uncertain of what to do. If she doesn't return his love ( metaphorial to the shooting gun filled with his love towards her) how is he supposed to be able to move on and truly love somebody else? This question is very similar to the girl's question mentioned previously, revealing that maybe the root cause of their rocky relationship was due to a lack of communication.
After the chorus is completely sung, both male and female vocals go back and forth asking each other " is that alright with you?" This last stanza could be symbolic of the final argue net the two lovers have before ultimately ending in them breaking up.
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
No....
At this point in the song, the flashback mentioned earlier ends and we have been caught up to the present, which includes the woman and her "decoy" boyfriend, which would actually be the first opening verse of the chorus.
Congrats if you read all of this! :) I hope I didn't confuse you. I never realized how detailed this song was until I really thought about it, but then again, aren't most interpretations reflective upon yourself? Oh we'll, I thank you for sparing your time to read this, it's very much appreciated. :)
"Give my Gun away when its loaded" is equivalent to giving your heart away when you "its loaded" on when its already full... which means he is giving himself away to another relationship where he is still in love with his initial lover. The second woman probably already knows this but its too late for her.
As for the man, he is deadlock with his relationship with his lover. "If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it." The subject here isn't really the gun... its his heart. How is he suppose to hold his heart when he has already given it away. He is lost and wants to feel his own heart but metaphorically the lover has it so he tries to test it out with another woman.
In a twisted way, he is still wants his lover back although their relationship is most likely in the flames. Cheating in a sense is a dense mechanism for him. He is likely looking forward to her reaction the most...for jealosy and the whole lot to see if there is still trace of lingering love. Hence, the "is that alright with you" repetition. Its very hauntingly beautiful and he knows its wrong but does it anyways.
As for the gun, there’s confusion between the two involved in the affair. There is one gun, and someone has to shoot it because someone will be hurt in the end. The gun is loaded and ready to shoot and kill, since the affair is happening. The shot happens when the affair is exposed. But who exposes it? Whose gun is it? Can it be given away so that someone else can do the shooting? She’s not used to hurting people the way she is, so how is she going to hold the gun if the man doesn’t shoot it for her?
But she cannot help herself being in love with her guy. And she keeps thinking of him and going back to him. She keeps asking whether its alright? That she does it everytime. The way she says its wrong (small crime) yet asks "If you dont shoot it, how am i supposed to hold it." tells of being hopelessly in love with this guy, being unable to control her love for him. Then, she loathes being like that and asks "Is that alright?" That everytime her heart is filled with love for the guy, she falls right in. She asks the guy whether he can accepts a woman like that?
Damien comes and sounds like he is voicing his lover's side of story. Then voices his own when he says "Shes pulling me through." And he is also very much in love with this woman.The relationship always goes back to whether they are doing the right thing, to fall right in love when they're in the wrong place, wrong time. And like the woman, he loves her back and asks whether is it alright? It like a struggle between doing the right thing yet being unable to contain their love for each other.
Lisa is standing at the back at the performance at "Live Abbey Road 2006" acting out as the woman. They are not singing alongside tells of how they are unable to be alongside each other in the relationship.
the song is about an on-off couple, where the man is obviously deeply in love. he knows that he loves her and feels like love conquers all. she has an issue (or issues) with something and has yet again broken up with him 'for good'. when she breaks up with him, she never really leaves.. she always lingers around as if she's just trying to teach him a lesson, 'knowing' he won't really go anywhere. he doesn't (want to) believe that it's really over, but he's emotionally exhausted. he's giving her what she said she wants - seemingly moving on and pursuing someone new, but he's feeling guilty about it. he hopes that being with someone new will open her eyes, she will come back to him and never leave him again. if she doesn't, then he'll know that it's really over for good.
Leave me out with the waste, - he's feeling guilty and feels like he deserves to be miserable
This is not what I do, - he's not the one to play games, but he's desperate
It’s the wrong kind of place, - he's with someone new
To be thinking of you. - but he's thinking of the one he loves
It’s the wrong time, - it's too soon, he doesn't think they're really over
For somebody new, - to be with the new person he's seemingly moving on with
It’s a small crime, - technically, he's not cheating on her because they broke up, but it still doesn't feel right
And I’ve got no excuse. - he's ashamed of what he's doing to her, but it's what he has to do
And is that alright, yeah, - they're technically broken up, but is it really ok that he's doing this?
To give my gun away when it’s loaded? - pretending to be giving his heart to this new person, when it's really filled with love for her
Is that alright, yeah,
If you don’t shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it? - he's got all this love for her and just wants her, but she needs to show him she really wants it
Is that alright, yeah,
Give my gun away when it’s loaded?
Is that alright, yeah,
It’s the wrong kind of place, - he's with the new woman
To be cheating on you, - even though they're broken up, it still feels like cheating
It’s the wrong time, - it's not the right time to get involved with this new woman
She’s pulling me through - the new woman is good to him, trying to help him through this breakup
It’s a small crime, - technically, he's not cheating on the new woman because they broke up, but it still doesn't feel right
And I’ve got no excuse. - he's ashamed of what he's doing to the new woman, but it's what he has to do
At the end, both says "no" and I believe that this song is a resposne from their loved ones.
I thought about my friend when I listened to this song. I suffer from major depression, and my friend is too. I have only known her for 6 months, but we've been through so many ordeals, and we made so many stupid mistakes that we totally regret. Even though we grew up in different places, we never knew that we would meet together in high school in Canada. (I am Korean and I came about 4 years ago- I enrolled in high school in 2011.) We thought about giving up, so many times, but we knew that our loved ones' responses are always "no". We didn't want to break their hearts so we are keep surviving. I am going to share this song to my friend because it is such a good song. We're going to keep trying to reach recovery, no matter how long it takes us.
:)