Skinny Love was the first single released from Bon Iver's 2007 debut album For Emma, Forever Ago. Justin Vernon wrote and recorded the album in his father's isolated log cabin in north Wisconsin, where he...
Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall
And I told you to be patient
And told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted?
And then who the hell was I?
And now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall
And I told you to be patient
And told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted?
And then who the hell was I?
And now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
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I recently met this guy, and holy cow. Hoooly cow. Possibly just infatuation, but nonetheless, I can't stop thinking about him. I haven't had feelings for someone this strongly for at least a year or two. However, I KNOW it won't work, I know it. I like him for all of the wrong reasons.
But.
"Come on, skinny love, just last the year."
Oh, how I wish it could last just for that long, at least.
"Pour a little salt; we were never hear."
Okay, so salt can erode all kinds of things. Pour a little salt, everything will disappear.
"I tell my love to wreck it all,
cut out all the ropes
and let me fall."
Let me fall in love, basically, just don't hold anything back.
"I'll be holding all the tickets, and you'll be owning all the fines."
I'll have just the evidence that shows I've paid and am entitled to your love, while you'll have the highest quality.
It could be that OR it could be saying they owe fines, you know, they're in debt, but since it says 'owning' instead of 'owing', my guess would be the former.
"Come on, skinny love, what happened here?!"
ah, what a line. where did it go, what did you do?
"and now all your love is wasted?
then who was I?!"
pretty self-explanatory.
"Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?"
I think of that as, who's next to try to win you over? Who will bother to waste that time?
Honestly, the song is brilliant. Easily relatable, yet ambiguous, and absolutely breathtaking.
<3
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted?
And then who the hell was I?
And now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
because no matter who he's with or how many girls he's been with....I know no girl will ever love him as much as I did. and I was at the end of all his lines....because he was a big sweet talker and it turned out he was just like my exs who hurt me...the only difference between him and them..my love for him was genuine and real. and I haven't moved on since...because Im truly waiting on someone who will stay true, love me at my worst, and, most importantly someone I can laugh with and let my guard down like I did with him...
this song will always mean something for me. It's beautiful.
I know it's hard to believe, but I actually understand how you feel. I read your post and felt deeply sorry because when I read your story it was like I read mine. I was almost dating someone, he is from Cali, way million miles away from me. Everything was very beautiful since July of last year, we unexpectedly met by fate's work. I felt so in love more and more everyday, it started from gerat feelings inside because he was like a sunshine to me, he always made me smile. There are many feelings that can't put in words, but I know it is love. I decided to go visit the states this March, and we were planing on having the real meet. there were many things I wanna do, and so did he. But from some reason my plan was canceled, and after we both sure wouldn't meet this time, he acted different. It turned out like he was not that into me like I thought, I had been staying behind my guards, but he sort of teared them down. I completely fell in love with his warm heart. But it's kinda too late, he has been ignoring me lately, and I hardly text him because I'm aware of it, I am annoying and disturbing. I just don't know how he feel for me at all, because we never talked about our real feelings, and I am kinda sure he is not that into me. So, I am just knowing where to stand, he is probably dating somebody, he might not telling the truth of how he feel, but his silence is the answer, and that means enough.
Well, I have been playing guitar and singing this song, I feel deeply sad, and like my whole world is crumbling. just read through your story and we are just the same.
Hope you feel better, and get recovered soon :)
You see, my life before her was train wreck. I drink and smoke a lot, I was insecure, I hated my life an the world, had so many problems, etc. Then I met her. We got to know each other until she confessed her feelings towards me. For a guy like me who had a miserable life, I never really expected that love still existed. She turned my life around, made me quit smoking, I became a positive person and felt that there is hope in everything. I was in love with her and I'm the type of person who loves rarely and when I do, it's real. I thought my life was complete and filled with happiness everything was perfect until one day it started falling apart. She treated me different, doesn't talk to me like the way she used to, and she didn't seemed to be interested anymore. I never really understood why because I her her almost everything. I showed her how much I loved her, cared for her, give her surprises, EVERYTHING. All I ask myself is "what I did wrong and wasn't anything I did for her enough?" It really was the most depressing time of my life especially when she ended the relationship. One day she was telling how much I meant the world to her and that out of all the guys that dated her, I was the only one who took her seriously. Then the next day, we were like strangers with memories. Right now she likes this guy. Can't believe she moved on that fast. It's like she came into my life and just left without giving me a clear reason on why.
I definitely agree with what you said that "no one will ever love him as much as I did." Well yeah, that's how I see things with her. I talked to her friend and thanked me for having a genuine love for her. That even though there were so many reasons for me to be angry, I never changed and still loved her after she broke me into pieces. Moving on will be definitely hard especially when your love was real. We just fell in love with wrong person. I just really do wish as well that there will be someone who would stay true, and love us from the bottom of their hearts. I still love her and hope she's happy. God bless to you and wish you all the best. Lwt's take care of our hearts this time shall we? :)
Come on skinny love just last the year - the love was dwindling but he still hung on to it desperately even though he knew if was empty and without substance. He wants it to last at least a year to make him feel better. For him to feel that he actually put effort into the relationship for a whole year while in truth he just went along with it without letting the bygones of his past be bygones.
Pour a little salt we were never here - he wants the love to pur salt (which would speed healing) to the wounds of his past and act as if it is completely healed or like it never happened.
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer- the same wounds from his past relationship are still bleeding and all of his problems resurfacing; the salt did not work. He stares at it hoping that it would go away.
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall- these two lines show that he wants his new skinny love to remove all the ties, feelings, connections to his past and cut them lose so he can truly fall in love with her.
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall- He is asking for too much, he knows that he could never love her the way he should ans she could never love him the way he wants to be loved.
And I told you to be patient
And told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind- in these lines he is rebuking both himself and his love. they shouldn't have rushed into things with unfinished business at the side, he should have had a balanced, healthy and kind type of love where there are no distractions from his partner, he invests in the relationship and she does also letting it blossom and be nourished and go from skinny to wholesome.
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines- here he has finally told himself that he can not be in this relationship anymore, this loveless, skinny relationship. He wants to be loved and he is fining his love for not treating him the way he longs to be treated.
Come on skinny love what happened here- he does't even know how the relationship got to this point or even started.
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere- he drinks away his worries and sadness
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split- he doesn't know how to end the relationship, it doesn't feel right to him because it was so fragile in the beginning. Like breaking an already fractured bone in half. He is burdened.
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted?- His love replies to him that all her love was wasted on him
And then who the hell was I?- If that was all her love, who was he to her. That love was empty and if it was just a waste he was just a receiver of some hap hazardously dismissed 'love'
And now I'm breaking at the britches- he is cutting her lose
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind? - she did everything systematically, always linear, repetitive and in a structured pattern. When the pattern of their skinny love comes to an end who is going to be there to receive more 'skinny' love? Nobody wants that kind of love and nobody fights for it either. His rhetorical questions imply that nobody wants that.
In the first verse, when he says "Come on skinny love just last the year, pour a little salt we were never here. My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my. Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer" He is saying that he needs this relationship, and he needs it so "just last the year" he says once it's over they can move on by "pouring a little salt" but for now, it's hard to look at the blood and gore of the relationship; meaning that they are currently going through hard times.
Then in the second verse, he says "I tell my love to wreck it all. Cut out all the ropes and let me fall. My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my. Right in the moment this order's tall..." he saying that he is over the relationship, but with out it he should just "but out all the ropes and fall" meaning that he would have nothing, and nowhere. He then goes on to say; that "right in the moment, this order is tall" meaning that what he is asking for, which is to just keeping this going for a while longer, seems like a big deal right now, but over time it will become easier.
In the chorus, he says the she has to be; patient, fine, balanced, and kind. meaning that in order for the relationship to seem real they have to obey these rules. "But it will be a different 'kind'" says that it will be different. "you'll be holding all the tickets and all the fines" says that if you don't do what was said, there will be consequences.
Then in the bridge/ending, he is pleading and trying to get her to stay, by telling her that no one else with love her and no one else would fight for her.
That's all I got.
Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt, we were never here
He obviously tries to let her stay in the relationship, at least for a few months, believing (or just hoping) that in a few months everything will be okay and that she won't feel the need to leave then. She should pour salt so no other relationship can 'grow', 'cause he doesn't want her to love another man but him.
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I think this represents their destroyed relationship. He stares at it, therefore he sees the issues in their relationship. He doesn't just see it, he stares at it, what probably means he thinks about it and tries to find out what went wrong.
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
It would break him if she'd end the relationship. He tries to let her know how lost he would be without her and tries desperately to convince her to go on with the relationship by letting her feel bad for the pain she'd cause if she ended it.
I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
He feels for a moment like he can't stop her from ending the relationship, and in desperate anger he makes her responsible for all the things that went wrong in their relationship. He tells her that it isn't fair that she just leaves even though she's the one who caused this mess.
And in the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
Nothing will be the same if she leaves him. He tries to keep her by telling her that a breakup wouldn't just mean the end of all the bad things in their relationship, but also the end of the good ones.
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
I'm not sure about the meaning of this, but I think it's meant like this: She owns fines, that means that people have to pay to her for their mistakes. He holds all the tickets to make sure that he doesn't have to pay anything to her. The fact that he holds all the tickets, even though he only needs one so he doesn't have to pay fines, shows how afraid he is of owing her something. Therefore I think it's about the fact that, if she leaves him, he won't trust her ever again because she would hurt him so immensely by leaving him, therefore she won't get another chance if she ends their relationship now.
Come on skinny love what happened here
We suckled on the hope in lite brassieres
He tells her that she won't find something better then their relationship, what she believes to find after the end of the relationship is just an unrealistic hope.
Sullen loads is full, so slow on the split
There's a lot going wrong in their relationship, which burdens them both a lot, and he thinks that she's overreacting (by ending the relationship). She should just wait a little time until things get better again and then they'll see (Again he hopes that letting her stay for a few more months in their relationship's gonna change her mind)
I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
Again he starts losing hope. In anger, he makes her (again) responsible for all their faults.
And now your love is wasted
And who the hell was I?
He accuses her of leaving without caring about him, therefore to act selfish. He again tries to make her feel guilty for his pain. Also, he acts like a breakup would mean that she has never loved him
I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
'Her lines' are the border between both of them which she puts by leaving him, and they're at the same time the emotional distance that'll exist once their relationship ended. He will break down at those lines, because he can't handle this distance that will exist between them.
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
He want's her to reflect about this questions so she'll realise that he's the only one who truly loves her and the only one who will fight for her. In addition he asks her if she really want's to hurt the person who loves and protects her.
(Again trying to make her feel guilty)
"And I told you to be patient." He tells her that if she can hold onto him for just a little longer, it'll all be worth it. "And I told you to be fine." He's telling her to pretend that the bruises he gave her don't exist, that he never hurt her and that she's okay. "And I told you to be balanced." He can't be stable. He's got so many emotional issues; he needs her to be a rock, for him. "And I told you to be kind." He needs her to understand why it is that he does what he does, that he doesn't mean to, that he does love her, and she can be kind by staying with him because he needs her.
"And in the morning I'll be with you, but it'll be a different kind." Instead of sleeping beside her, he'll probably go to the couch or maybe even a hotel until she can forgive him for hitting her, but in the meantime, he's with her in spirit. "'Cause I'll be holding all the tickets, and you'll be owing all the fines." He's the one who did everything wrong, but she's the one who pays for it.
"Come on, skinny love, what happened here? Suckle on the hope in light brassiere." He's apologising, but even he doesn't know what happened to their relationship. He destroyed it, and the only hope left for their love isn't emotional love, it's physical. "Sullen load is full, so slow on the split." They can't be any sadder than they already are, and their breakup is inevitable, but he doesn't want to say goodbye, so while it should've ended a long time ago, they're still together.
"And now all your love is wasted, then who the hell was I?" They get into another fight, and she screams at him that her love was wasted. Furious, he screams back that he loved her; was her love wasted on him? He's delusional; he thinks she loved him, but he doesn't realise he ruined all chances she had of ever having a normal relationship. She can't love anyone the same because of his abuse. "'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches, and at the end of all your lines." He's already bursting at the seams with anger and confusion and heartbreak, and he's breaking even more with everything she shouts at him, because even though she's angry, she's telling the truth, and he knows it.
"Who will love you?" He thinks that he's the only one who ever loved her the right way. "Who will fight?" He fought for her, fought WITH her, to keep her by his side. "Who will fall far behind?" He will, because she'll leave him, and he'll never get her back.