This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Soldier is turning
See him through white light
Running from strangers
See you in the valley
War upon war
Heat upon heat
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Sitting on a park bench
Years away from fighting
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Standing in the dark
Oh, I was waiting for man to come
I am beautiful and clean
And so very very young
To be standing in the street
To be taken by someone
Standing in the dark
Oh, I was waiting for man to come
I am beautiful and clean
And so very very young
To be standing in the street
To be taken by someone
Questions questions
Give me no answers
That's all they ever give me
Questions questions
Oh, look at the strange boy
He finds it hard existing
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Oh, to cut a long story short
I lost my
Mind
See him through white light
Running from strangers
See you in the valley
War upon war
Heat upon heat
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Sitting on a park bench
Years away from fighting
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Standing in the dark
Oh, I was waiting for man to come
I am beautiful and clean
And so very very young
To be standing in the street
To be taken by someone
Standing in the dark
Oh, I was waiting for man to come
I am beautiful and clean
And so very very young
To be standing in the street
To be taken by someone
Questions questions
Give me no answers
That's all they ever give me
Questions questions
Oh, look at the strange boy
He finds it hard existing
To cut a long story short
I lost my mind
Oh, to cut a long story short
I lost my
Mind
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When We Were Young
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
An interpretation of this song is that a traumatized veteran is relaying his experiences from a war. He was just a boy when he enlisted/drafted ("I am beautiful and clean and so very very young...") Sounds like he was captured and tortured as a POW ("That's all they ever give me. Questions questions...") And emerged from the experience worse for wear. Now he's "sitting on a park bench, years away from fighting" and basically muttering what amounts to nonsense. So to cut a long story short, he lost his mind.
I always thought it's about post-war male prostitution. He saw the soldier like a saviour (in the white light), but soon he had to run from those stranger soldiers, separated from his family and got to survive as he could (war upon war / heat upon heat)
then, years away from fighting, he's cruising in the park. "Standing in the dark Oh I was waiting for man to come I am beautiful and clean And so very very young To be standing in the street To be taken by someone"
the strange boy receives a lot of nasty questions, but no one can explain what's the point in the war that completely shredded his life.
to cut a long story shot, he lost his mind.
Seems like the OST from Manchurian Candidate - mixes war trauma, childhood and adult manipulation - it's hauntingly paraniod.
Great song full of typical new romantic nonsensical nonsense. Classic.
I've always believed it's about war
One of their best songs in my opinion, though I've never quite understood the meaning behind it. Damn you people, and your bad tastes for no commenting here your thoughts ! >;
IMO this song is about male prostitution "Standing in the dark Oh I was waiting for man to come I am beautiful and clean And so very very young To be standing in the street To be taken by someone"
Same as most peoples' posted already except "war" does not necessarily mean putting on a uniform and wielding a gun. Truleigh said it best, but a bullied/abused child goes through a personal war as well.
I think this song is about a young person fighting drug addiction. He lost his mind because he cannot resist it. By saying that he’s clean I think he means that he’s not on drugs for some period of time. “Standing in the dark” because he thinks life isn’t nice without it. “To be standing in the streets” I think he has no home since he tries to change his lifestyle and get rid of addiction, so he doesn’t sell drugs anymore. That’s my interpretation.