I was out of your league
And you were twenty-thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
Down to the bottom

I wanted a junction and often there was one
You'd surfaced face first and we'd
Share thought bubbles and
I still believed in the phases that we breathed
But I know the distance isn't fair to cross

I was out of your league
And you were twenty-thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
I wanted you nearer

Your depths made a pressure that
Punctured my works and all your fluids couldn't tolerate the
Force of my thirst
I love the place where we shared our tiny grace
But just because its real don't mean its gonna work

I was out of your league
And you were twenty-thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
I wanted you nearer

And true affection floats
True affection sinks
Like a stone
I never felt so close
I never felt so all alone

I was out of your league
And you were twenty-thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
I wanted you nearer


Lyrics submitted by thundergod

True Affection Lyrics as written by Mikhaela Maricich Jonathan Warren Bechtolt

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Songtrust Ave

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

True Affection song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • +6
    General Comment

    My interpretation, based on how the song fits me today:

    The two live in different worlds, governed by separate psychologies; one above, one below. They are brought together by the true affection they happen to share, and only by that. "You" lives in a deep, heavy, uniquely depressive place. "I" views him from above, and is attracted to the art of a world unlike her own. "I" has a thirst to learn about "You"s world below, but does not go there herself, so "You" travels the significant distance in between; all the way to the surface. At the surface, the two can communicate their thoughts, love each other, and share their true affections. Sadly, the reality of their union is that "You" must eventually return to his depths, and it is a place that "I" cannot reach. The tragedy is how neither wanted to believe in the distance separating their dispositions; The beauty is the success of their coming together, if only long enough to see truth before parting again.

    thedanidoll2on January 21, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    this song is about two people who are so in love with each other, but for some reason its just not going to work out. whether it be distance, time, etc. they both think very highly of each other but unfortunately there is something keeping them apart. and at first they didn't want to admit it ("at a distance that i didnt want to see") and believed that love was enough to keep them together, but after a while she realized that "just because its real don't mean its gonna work"

    she never felt so close meaning she had never felt a love like this and now that its gone she feels more alone than ever.

    reddon April 08, 2007   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Perhaps its because I was in one of those "just because its real doesn't mean its going to work" situations when I first heard it but...

    For me this song is about the insecurity of that comes from a near-miss relationship, a situation where two people click, have chemistry, like one another, but have other things (not necessarily romantic entanglements with others, but just personal stuff) and aren't really in a place where they can be together. Maybe they tried to make it work, or maybe they just talked about it, but either way both parties agreed to ending things. There isn't a scorned lady/you left me vibe to this song.

    Even when breaking up/pre-emptively ending things is the right decision it sometimes feels weird. You worry that maybe you weren't good enough, or maybe, deep down they weren't. If the other person was someone with whom you'd been close before the weird relationship element came in, or someone you'd had a long flirtation with then a recognized end to those behaviors is going to make you feel lonely, particularly if it was the kind of dynamic where when together the two of you had felt sort of drunk off of flirting.

    maybeitwillsnowon January 25, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    To me, this song is about two people in completely different worlds. They have a lot in common, and things could be AMAZING for them but it's just not right because they aren't the same in more logistical ways...

    this song really fits right now for me.. I'm really falling for a guy who's too old for me. we both know things could be great but it's just not right right now.

    "Your depths made a pressure that punctured my works and all your fluids couldn't tolerate the force of my thirst I love the place where we shared our tiny grace But because it's real doesn't mean it's gonna work"

    ^ that is the part that i feel so much in this song. heh.

    Balidollon February 05, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i dont think it has anything to do with not being good enough for one another. i don't think its that literal. i think it has more to do with 2 people being in 2 different places. the song mentions distance, and not wanting to admit, that you are this person are just to far apart, relationship wise.

    I wanted a junction and often there was one You'd surface face first and we'd share our thought bubbles And I still believe in the phrases that we breathed But I know the distance isn't fair to cross

    she wanted it to work, and at times it was really good, but in the end, they just werent in the same place. and they just couldnt make it work.

    freckon October 29, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is so lovely. Mikhaela Maricich's lyrics speak to me perhaps more than any song I've heard. I fell for a guy who was out of my league, but complicatedly enough, I was out of his league. We had an intense fondness for one another but putting ourselves alone together was difficult.
    When we would meet at the surface, it was bliss...but always too soon we would have to part ways. Logistically, we couldn't be more wrong for each other, yet our chemistry was utterly extraordinary. "Just because it's real don't mean it's gonna work" I would alternate between feeling so close and so alone and in the end..true affection sank like a stone :/

    GlynMilonon March 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The best way to get over someone who is not reciprical in their affection: Think of someone that has been really attracted to you that you had zero interest in. Really think about that blah feeling you have for them and then imagine you are the person you are really attracted to and think of yourself with that same blah. Then keeping thinking about it and you will eventually be able to move on.

    nilfon November 14, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I really believe this song is about her crushing on a girl that she got really close too but couldn't have because she was straight and that's why they were out of each other's leagues

    poz52000on May 15, 2013   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    I really like this song. It's catchy and it has good lyrics. I didn't really pay too much attention to what this song means until recently. This song describes my situation with a guy I was seeing to a perfect T and I will explain.

    "I was out of your league and you were 20,000 underneath the sea, waving affections." -I was out of his league from the get-go, not just literally but figuratively too.

    "You were out of my league at a distance that I didn't want to see down to the bottom." -He was mentally somewhere else than I was but I didn't know it.

    "I wanted a junction and often there was one, you'd surface face first and we'd share our thought bubbles and I still believe in the phrases that we breathed but I know the distance isn't fair to cross." -We both had a lot in common and great chemistry and a natural attraction for each other, but we both weren't ready for a relationship so we compromised. I wanted to compromise and still see each other and do everything couples do without the official title and we made it work for a while. We would spend time together and talk about everything together. We shared a lot of things with each other and I meant what I said and I was always genuine with my feelings.

    "Chorus" -And then it just goes on to explain how we were both on two separate wave lengths but didn't realize it and I didn't want to see gthe difference and wanted him to be close to me anyways.

    "Your depths made a pressure that punctured my works and all your fluids couldn't tolerate the force of my thirst. I love the place where we shared our tiny grace But just because it's real don't mean it's gonna work." -To me this says that, he had a lot of emotional issues that extended far deeper than just on the surface and they negatively impacted my emotions as well. I had emotional needs that needed to be met and he wasn't meeting them and he didn't want to either. I miss the times and intimacy we shared together and exchanged feelings for each other. We had something real, but that doesn't mean it was going to work and it didn't.

    "Chorus" -I still didn't want to see the emotional distance between us and I wanted to keep him close.

    "And true affection floats. True affections sinks like a stone. I never felt so close. I never felt so all alone." -Our affection and feelings for each other were real and genuine and they worked for a while, but then when it was realized that we were both in different emotional states, our affection ended. I had such great chemistry with him and I had never felt so close to someone intimately before. But without my emotional needs being met and having that established commitment, it just left me feeling alone, very alone.

    So take it from me, if you like someone and they like you and everything seems great and it could work out yet it can't, then just walk away and don't try to compromise and meet in the middle and make something work because even if it's real, it doesn't mean it will work.

    ALO09on March 08, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think this song speaks of a relationship between two people who, despite loving one another, aren't able to make a real relationship work. They are on the same page in terms of intellect and in that way are able to communicate (or better yet, just plain talk), but that does not always translate to a relationship. They need, or perhaps one of them needs, something more that they aren't getting ("never felt so close/never felt so all alone"). I speak from experience: "just because it's real doesn't mean it's gonna work"

    womanofheartandmindon March 14, 2007   Link

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