With every sun that sets I am feeling more
Like a stranger on a foreign shore
With an eroding beach disappearing from underneath

And when my mirror speaks it never minces words
Because these eyes don't shine half as bright
As they used to do and they haven't for quite a while

Because I'm a man who hides from all that binds
And a mess of fading lines
And there's a tangled thread inside my head
With nothing on either end

I always fall in love with an open door
With a horizon on an endless sea
As I look around the ones who were standing right in front of me

And then my mirror speaks with irreverence
Like a soldier I can't command
It sees a child in the body of a full-grown man

And he's a man who hides from all that binds
And a mess of fading lines

And there's a tangled thread inside his head
With nothing on either end
There's nothing on either end

A new position for a different view
And nothing changes but the slightest hues
And I am standing face to face

With a man who hides from all that binds
And a mess of fading lines
And there's a tangled thread inside his head
With nothing on either end

I'm a man who hides from all that binds
And a mess of fading lines
And there's a tangled thread inside my head
With nothing on either end

There's nothing on the ends
No there's nothing on the ends


Lyrics submitted by doda

My Mirror Speaks [Version] Lyrics as written by Nicholas Harmer Benjamin Gibbard

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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My Mirror Speaks song meanings
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24 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    This is my favorite of the new ep.

    I feel like the person in the song isn't passionate about anything and therefore keeps looking for new things to find passion in. He can't seem to get his identity together and he's then the frightened child even though a full grown man.

    Excellent song, of course

    Sir Brett Tietzon April 16, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i'm noticing that this song seems to have some subtle references to other songs.

    "It sees the frightened child in the body of a full-grown man" that one reminds me of Brothers on a Hotel Bed

    "no longer easy on the eyes, but these wrinkles masterfully disguise, the youthful boy below. who turned your way and saw, something he was not looking for, both a beginning and an end. but now he lives inside someone he does not recognize when he catches his reflection on accident."

    and "With an eroding beach disappearing from under me" could correspond to Transatlanticism, "I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere when the water filled every hole"

    those are the most obvious two. it could be me just making connections, but they seem too obviously placed to be accidents

    DerangedHippo13on April 19, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I agree with with a lot of the people are saying about the line "I always fall in love with an open door Or the horizon on an endless sea As I look around the ones who are standing right in front of me"

    But, for some reason I feel it is more about falling in love with opportunity. This song just really seems optimistic to me.

    Lechtner19on April 06, 2013   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    This song tells a story of the realization of a man getting older and the unwanted move to the next step of getting married.

    "With every sun that sets I am feeling more Like a stranger on a foreign shore With an eroding beach disappearing from underneath"

    As time passes, the beach (youth) that he knows and loves is disappearing gradually beyond his control.

    "And when my mirror speaks it never minces words Because these eyes don't shine half as bright As they used to do and they haven't for quite a while"

    His true older age is validated by looking into a mirror. He realizes that he isn't as young as he used to be.

    "Because I'm a man who hides from all that binds And a mess of fading lines And there's a tangled thread inside my head With nothing on either end"

    He's running from anything that binds or the commit of marriage. "a mess of fading lines, tangled thread" refers to his unwillingness to "tie the knot". Nothing on either end means there is no want to tie that knot.

    "I always fall in love with an open door With a horizon on an endless sea As I look around the ones who were standing right in front of me"

    He always takes any opportunity to run from commitment, he sees it as endless possibilities. But he realizes he would be hurting the ones around him if he left.

    "And then my mirror speaks with irreverence Like a soldier I can't command It sees a child in the body of a full-grown man"

    The mirror shows him that he can't do this for much longer. He feels young in heart but the mirror shows that this isn't true.

    A beautiful song with such deep undertones.

    pizzapizzaon January 29, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    My personal favorite off the new EP. I think it's about someone who can never really focus on the present and what his life is. He always moves around, looking for new things to become interested in. He's not really committed to anything and just bops around life with nothing tying him down.

    jkjk13on April 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think its like an homage to Kerouac. its ben's main influence. I agree with Jkjk13 as well. that its about somebody that sorta travels without strings attached and when he tries to settle down his soul sorta rebels lol.

    teamkantneron April 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with jkjk13 and teamkantner.

    I can only add that it seems like he's realising the negative aspects of that lifestyle when he takes an honest look at himself: how immature ("A child in the body of a full-grown man") and unfruitful ("These eyes don't shine half as bright as they used to do") it can be.

    Possibly?

    lizzie88on April 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    definitely the best song of the new ep. it doesnt sound similar to any of the stuff on narrow stairs, more like the earlier album something about airplanes. probs why it didnt make the cut for narrow stairs. too bad.

    yeah lizzie88 i think "because im a man who hides from all that binds" and "and there's a tangled thread inside my head with nothing on either end" follow that theme of immaturity. it kind of sounds like ben is somehow disappointed...

    carrotflowerkingon April 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    my favorite off the open door as well. with the fear that it would've been commercialized, i'm glad it wasn't on narrow stairs.

    humsss.on April 12, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    So great! i think it's about some one who was oblivious to what he was doing untill one day he looks in the mirror and see's what he has truley become.

    ACryingWolfon May 12, 2009   Link

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