This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I watched you steal away
A man's best years
With the drumming of his fingers
And the kicking of his heels
I watched you put away
Your sweetest sins
I watched tempters satisfy
With the sweetest taste of wasted time
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
I watched him travel down
A steady road
With no milestones
Just a gentle slope
Soft underfoot, no sudden turns
Warn of sliding down that safe and sound
But not too familiar road
This is all too familiar
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
I watched you steal away
A man's best years
With the drumming of his fingers
And the kicking of his heels
Without a twinkle in his eye
I watched him beg and plead
With moving lips and bended knees
Just to have you back
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
Be numb my heart
Oh, nothingness
Be numb my heart
Oh, nothingness
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
A man's best years
With the drumming of his fingers
And the kicking of his heels
I watched you put away
Your sweetest sins
I watched tempters satisfy
With the sweetest taste of wasted time
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
I watched him travel down
A steady road
With no milestones
Just a gentle slope
Soft underfoot, no sudden turns
Warn of sliding down that safe and sound
But not too familiar road
This is all too familiar
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
I watched you steal away
A man's best years
With the drumming of his fingers
And the kicking of his heels
Without a twinkle in his eye
I watched him beg and plead
With moving lips and bended knees
Just to have you back
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
Be numb my heart
Oh, nothingness
Be numb my heart
Oh, nothingness
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me disappear
Don't let me fall apart
Don't lead me to the wayside
Just don't let me go
Don't let me fade away
Don't let me disappear
Don't lead me to the wayside
Anything or not a thing will do
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
Oubliette (Disappear) Lyrics as written by Jonathan James Farriss Michael Hutchence
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Revenga is right. the lyrics are from The Screwtape Letters. Here's the section of the book where Brendan got it from:
"Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man's best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in a drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off. You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
A dead fire in a cold room is an example of how his character can be satisfied with nothing.
Brendan said this about the song:
"The lyrics for this were really inspired by a book called "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. This song sort of follows the character falling into one of the most camouflaged of all vices; nothing."
what the fuck? why do you do this?
yeah youre a douchebag
yeah youre a douchebag
I watched you steal away A man’s best years With the drumming of his fingers With the kicking of his heels
I watched you put away Your sweetest sins I watched tempters satisfied With the sweet taste Of wasted time
Don’t let me disappear Don’t let me fall apart Don’t lead me to the wayside Just don’t let me go Don’t let me fade away
I watched him travel down A steady road With no milestones Just a gentle slope
Soft underfoot, No sudden turns to warn of sliding Down that safe and sound But all too familiar road This is all too familiar
Don’t let me disappear Don’t let me fall apart Don’t lead me to the wayside Just don’t let me go Don’t let me fade away
Just keep this off my mind Anything or not a thing will do
I watched you steal away A man’s best years With the drumming of his fingers With the kicking of his heels
Without the twinkle in his eye I watched him beg and plead with moving lips And bended knee Just to have you back
Be numb my heart O’ nothingness
Don’t let me disappear Don’t let me fall apart Don’t lead me to the wayside Just don’t let me go Don’t let me fade away
They’ve got you wrapped around their fingers Because anything or not a thing will do (A dead fire in a cold room)
i don't mean to be a perfectionist but this song is actually called "Oubliette (Disappear)" not Disappear (Oubliette)
oh yeah, and the Screwtape Letters is a great book. Very deep and a tough read, but great nonetheless.
i'm probably wrong but it seems as if this song refers back to the heart and synapse...? the last few seconds plays the melody of "he can be anywhere" that is repeatidly in that album...
Wow, I love this song. Forgot how great these guys were :P