Placebo – Ashtray Heart

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  Song Meaning:Brian Molko stated in an interview the following:
  
  "There's an old story that somebody told me once about James Dean. For those of you who don't know this yet, James Dean was gay. Yes, I'm sorry, it's true. He had a particular fetish where he liked to have cigarettes stubbed out on his chest. That's kind of an image that's always stayed with me, and part of the inspiration for this song."
  
  It was about the inspiration he had for This Picture, but obviously it also applies for this song.

  Flag molkoyknowon March 18, 2013   Link

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  Song Meaning:Cenicero, mi cenicero, Mi corazón, mi cenicero - It's Spanish "My Ashtray Heart" (Mi cenicero - My ashtray... Mi corazón - My heart.... it makes "My Ashtray Heart"
  
  "You are the birth and you are waste" - She/he was born but she was a waste...
  "You are the one who took my place" - (he's talking to the guy who stole his gf) He took Brian's place by taking his gf...
  "You took a jump into forever" - She promised their relationship would be forever...
  "A leap of faith I could not take" - Brian couldn't beat her new bf...
  "And it was, A leap of faith I could not take" - (like I said above)
  "A promise that I could not make" - He couldn't promise her anything...
  "You were alone before we met" - (It's exactly what it says)
  "No more folorn than one could get" - It means they were so depressed before they met....
  "How could we know, We had found treasure" - how will they know that the relationship was right...
  "How sinister and how correct" - It was evil what she did... (I think)...
  "I tore the muscle from your chest" - He tore her heart out...
  "Used it to stub out cigarettes" - (Ashtray Heart) He broke her heart (revenge) and "used it to stub out cigarettes"...
  "I listened to your screams of pleasure
  And I watch the bed sheets turn blood red" - I think he killed her that's why the sheets turned Blood red...

  Flag ChaneyBearon January 16, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:i thought this song was about the drummer moving on from the band? "you took a leap into forever" and "my ashtray heart" being the old name of the band, when he was in it...

  Flag jessierutherfordon July 25, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Just a point,
  
  Brian and Stefan in the early 90's were just a band of 2 and at that time they called themselves Ashtray Heart. could these lyrics be somehow connected to brian writing about his and stefans past???
  
  just a thought.. :)
  

  Flag Placebo13on January 27, 2011   Link

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    think you might be right. Plus, Stefan's boyfriend is Spanish, so maybe that's why lyric in spanish?!
    i always thought there was something between them :)

    Flag yanushkaon May 30, 2012  
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  General Comment:I have not the faintest notion of Spanish, and, being mainly French speaking, I often misunderstand some lyrics... So my Mondegreen repertoire is pretty well furnished! This is how I thought the chorus went:
  
  "Said he'd settle, he said he'd settle,
  He caught us all, he said he'd settle"
  
  I thought it went well with the whole commitment issue of "promise I could not make", though I couldn't quite figure why it'd switched to the 3rd person suddenly... ^^

  Flag RiverGirlon November 02, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:Has anybody else noticed a similarity between this song and the beginning of 'This Picture'? Also, it's interesting to see How Brian changes personae, from 'my heart is an ashtray' to 'I tore the muscle from YOUR chest'. Who is the victim and who is the villain of the piece?

  Flag Flyingfishon January 20, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I guess it's like this:
  
  "Cenicero, cenicero!
  Mi corazón de cenicero
  
  You're the birth and you're waste..."

  Flag 0mart212on November 10, 2009   Link

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  General Comment: Placebo are big in the UK and really big in Latin American countries. Doesn't surprise me that Molko would put some spanish lyrics in there.
  
  By the way, the first verse is wrong. It's "You are a birth and you are waste". It sounds contradictory in itself, but that's what he says.

  Flag Disgaeaon September 12, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:i love love love this song. i think the incorporation of spanish is a perfect touch, in the perfect spot.

  Flag AirRaeon August 06, 2009   Link

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    Okay Placebo fans. I can't believe you don't know this one ... yes, Ashtray Heart was the name of Molko's first band and he came up with the name because he said he'd heard that James Dean liked his gay lovers to snub out cigs on his chest ... apparently it was a turn-on. So that's where the idea of "Ashtray Heart" first came about. As for the other lyrics, I suppose only Brian would know, but yes, it does sound like someone was ready to commit to him and he couldn't return the favor.

    Flag whitmansincuboon September 04, 2009  
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  General Comment:I think the first line sounds more like:
  "You are the birth and you are waste"
  I love this. Not my favourite - but a good song.
  I didn't like the spanish in the beginning but I quite like it now.

  Flag cameoon June 28, 2009   Link

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