Just give me a second darling
To clear my head
Just put down those scissors baby, on this single bed
The sand in the hourglass is running low
I came through thunder, the cold wind
The rain and the snow
To find you awake by your windowsill
A sight for sore eyes and a view to kill

I broke down in horror at you standing there
The glow from the moon
Shone through cracks in your hair.
I shouted with passion,
"I love you so much"
But feeling my skin, it was cold to the touch.
You whispered "where are you?"
I questioned your doubt
But soon realised, you were talking to God now

You've got blood on your hands
And I know it's mine
I just need more time
So get off your low and let's dance like we used to
But there's a light in the distance
Waiting for me, I will wait for you
So get off your low and let's kiss like we used to

I looked in the mirror
But something was wrong.
I saw you behind but my reflection was gone.
There was smoke in the fireplace
As white as the snow.
A voice beckoned gently
'Now it’s time to go'
A requiem played as you begged for forgiveness
"Don’t touch me!" I screamed
"I've got unfinished business"

You've got blood on your hands
And I know it's mine
I just need more time
So get off your low and let's dance like we used to
But there's a light in the distance
Waiting for me, I will wait for you
So get off your low, and let's kiss like we used to



Lyrics submitted by greynostalgia

Track duration: 04:19


Unfinished Business song meanings
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14 Comments

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  • 0
    Song Meaning:i think this might be about a man who's wife thought he was cheating when he wasn't. She killed him, but he refused to move on without her.
    Flag meredithbrousteron June 20, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:like many White Lies songs this not metaphor but actual.

    a very refreshing approach to lyrics.
    Flag partenopeion February 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great song, try catch the Mumford and Sons version if you haven't listened to it before ^___^ love it
    Flag SukkaFish92on January 04, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's so beautifully dark that it's impossible to pin exactly how you feel about it. They don't have a bad song on the whole album, all the songs are lyrically and musically brilliant.
    The earlier explanation was spot on for me as well.
    Flag JakeUtdon November 17, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've only just recently come across this song and I can't stop listening to it, I find it so haunting. Just to add my two pence's worth I think that at first he doesn't realise that he's dead. He knows he's been hurt by her with the scissors and the blood on her hands etc. but the line "I looked in the mirror
    But something was wrong. I saw you behind but my reflection was gone" seems to imply that his being dead was not an immediate realisation. That or he can't accept that he's dead but I think it's more the former from the lyrics

    Either way Miss Moto is spot on with the explanation she shared and this is an awesome song.
    Flag evilshmeeon October 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:" a sight for sore eyes and a view to kill "

    that just gives me the chills > 3<
    love this song ~ <333
    Flag overcuteon April 12, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Its kind of like "You have killed me" by Morrisey, just wrapped in a need little Allegory.
    Flag Hindenpeteron November 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:The songs to me seems as metaphor for a bad realtionship that ended. Death in the song represents his broken heart, and unfinshed business is the fact that he cant accept the relationship is over without knowing a reason. He feels like she killed him. Although the song can be taken literally as well...LOL. Good song all together.. anyways.... Yeah.
    Flag zojunioron August 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I believe this song is about giving a farewell gesture to console the one he loved.Even though he is dead, he wants to spend one more moment with her, to consolidate her, and relive what they had in the past. His unfinished business was about not yet giving a good farewell to his beloved.Moreover, his spirit can't quite move-on since he hasn't completed his farewell even though "there's a light in the distance" waiting for him.
    Flag poetman08on August 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is so sad and gets more epic every time i hear it

    agreed about the 'Being Human' thing, rmeinded me of that too
    Flag dustisprettyon July 09, 2009   Link

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