Tears you see on my face, you do have something to do with
Fear starts creeping up when you have so much to lose
Your love waits you while you're cheating
Lightning strikes you when you're moving

The light you see in my eyes, you do have something to do with
Play the game namely love, play it like you have nothing to lose
Horse loves you when you move with him
People hate you when you're changing

Don't let the dress trick you
I love you less now that I know you
I won't count the scars again
I love you less now that I know you

The glow you see on my face, you do have something to do with
Fear starts creeping up when you have so much to lose
Your love wait you while you're cheating
Lighting strikes you when you're moving

Don't let me wonder away
I love you less now that I know you
Don't let the dress trick you
I love you less now that I know you

I won't count the scars again
Because I love you



Lyrics submitted by RomanCandle

The Dress song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    I just heard this, and now I'm listening to it on repeat! They lyrics are great, "Dont let the dress trick you/I love you less now that I know you."

    SGK531on April 11, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I heard this song a long time ago, and it's so powerful; I usually turn to it when I'm sad.

    "Horse loves you when you move with him People hate you when you're changing"

    This line seems to have the most confusion over it, but I really love it. I've always interpreted to deal with change. When riding a horse, if you let it go at it's own pace, you'll have an easier ride. Trying to change pace is usually a bit difficult if it's young or not very well-trained, however. For this reason, I've always read it to mean everyone/your lover/your friends "love" you because you always go the same as they do; doing something else, "changing" by not being like how they want you to be, shakes those superficial relationships and breaks them down.

    Fionnon December 29, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think it's inspired by Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina".

    It's basically a story about one person (Levin) who seeks happiness by pure love and creating a family, and another (Anna) who seek happiness in a selfish way, caving to desires and having an affair. It's beautifully written and goes through the ups and downs of the relationships over the years and culminates into this great tragedy.

    Anna and Vronsky's relationship starts at a ball where she wears a striking black dress, hence "The Dress". Anna's eyes are a feature noted often in the book as full of life, and Vronsky's precious horse is a recurring symbol of Anna and how he treats her, so: "The light you see in my eyes, you do have something to do with Play the game namely love, play it like you have nothing to lose Horse loves you when you move with him People hate you when you're changing"

    carriefishon May 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    She had a terrible horse accident a few years ago (she was trampled by her horse and spent a very long time in the hospital). A lot of her songs since then have been about that in some way, including most of Misery is a Butterfly. I think this song is about how she knows her horse's true nature now, and can't trust it as fully. The references to scars are literal--she's probably covered with them. "The Dress" might be referring to the dress that she wore the day of the accident; perhaps the dress caught the horse's eye while she was riding and spooked it, causing it to hurt her.

    aaaannddyon August 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song has this bizarre hypnotic vibe like "Publisher"

    The only thing that throws me off is the horse reference, I'm not sure what her accident would have to do with someone cheating.

    Jonsion April 28, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song.

    "I won't count the scars again Because I love you "- i think she's in a relationship with someone that treats her badly but she's going to ignore it no matter what they do because she loves them.

    pandora_ash_avalieon May 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I believe that the 'true love' waits the girl to make up her mind and to return at him, and not to cheat over a wedding dress...

    zgaybyon September 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think he's in love with drugs more then her - hence the reference to Horse, slang for heroin

    davidbeauyon March 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song, "People hate you when you're changing"

    knight!rideron April 05, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I am in utter amazement at this truly magnificent work of music Blonde Redhead has produced!

    "Tears you see on my face, you do have something to do with Fear starts creeping up when you have so much to lose Your love waits you while you're cheating Lightning strikes you when you're moving..."

    Unique set of lyrics :)

    Doors101on October 31, 2008   Link

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