Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's quiet company, it's quiet company
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's quiet company, it's quiet company
It's quiet company
And I can't fall asleep
Without a little help
It takes awhile to settle down
My ship of hopes
Wait til the past?
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
Company
It's quite company
It's quiet company
But I won't follow you into the rabbit hole
Last night I woke but then I saw
The ship of woes but didn't want me to
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's quiet company, it's quiet company
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's quiet company, it's quiet company
It's quiet company
And I can't fall asleep
Without a little help
It takes awhile to settle down
My ship of hopes
Wait til the past?
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
Company
It's quite company
It's quiet company
But I won't follow you into the rabbit hole
Last night I woke but then I saw
The ship of woes but didn't want me to
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It's a terrible love that I'm walking with spiders
It's a terrible love that I'm walking in
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
It takes an ocean not to break
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Anyway, that's what the song is about for me.
repitition and apostrophes.
JUST SAYING.
But this time?
THAT does not equal AND.
YOU DUMB****.
Like, WHAT THE ****????
I am starting to think that you are STUPID. Person who submitted lyrics!
AND WEBSITE. :|
After the initial rush, this kind of thing indeed becomes a "terrible love." You are walking with monsters, or spiders, whatever creepy image fits. And it's "quiet company," because you doubt your own perceptions and can't even discuss them with the other person.
Anxiety sets in, and indeed you cannot sleep "without a little help." "It takes an ocean not to break," an ocean of wine, perhaps, as another poster suggested.
And finally, recognition of the gravity of the situation. You can't go any further down that rabbit hole of misadventure into insanity. You see the bones of the person, who they really are, and it's clear.
Of course, this track will mean many things to different people, I suppose that's the brilliance of good songwriting.
But I won’t follow you into the rabbit hole
I said I would but then I saw
Your shivered bones
They didn’t want me to
i think that at first he wanted to be in this relationship, but then he saw that she's scared and not ready to be in stable relationship so although he loved her, he wouldn't follow her in this 'hole', endless darkness, where you can' see the way out.
that kind of love reminds me of Carrie and Big, haha The National, i'm sorry for comparing you to them two :)
"It's a terrible love and I'm walking in it's quiet company." - He's alone, lonely, even though he's with someone. It takes everything within him ("an ocean") not to completely fall apart.
Has anyone heard the Birdie cover of this song? Seriously beautiful.
probably one of the most beautiful lines ever written for a song. So much emotion and truth.
"On High Violet, the band’s fifth overall, Berninger opens up like never before, using apocalyptic images of floods, bee swarms, and even brain-eating zombies to express the fear of a man who now must put a wife and young child ahead of himself."
"[...] taking on a potentially trite subject—being a new father—and making listeners feel the sledgehammer pounding of a scared (but committed) man’s heart."
Here's my interpretation. Hopefully others can point out flaws in my understanding of the lyrics, or offer other meanings that never occurred to me. I don't think the lyrics are that cryptic to break apart, but it took me a while to give consistent meaning to every single line.
It's a terrible love and I'm walking with spiders,
It's a terrible love and I'm walking in,
It's quiet company,
The words terrible love, while also alluding to being infatuated and deeply in love, describe the heavy feelings of fear and anxiety from starting and loving a family.
Spiders refers to creeping and tingling feelings, and the fear of walking into a web, to be doomed.
Walking in refers to committing oneself despite said fears.
Quiet company refers to how the feeling isn't really expressed out loud or saying anything; it's just there, lingering, and the future isn't certain. Another meaning I find likely is that quiet company refers keeping oneself composed and together, and not breaking apart from the feelings of fear and anxiety.
And I can't fall asleep without a little help,
It takes a while to settle down, my shivered bones, until the panic's out,
It takes an ocean not to break,
The meaning here seems clear enough to not need much explanation. There's a terrible amount of stress, and in turn it takes a terrible amount of will and effort not to break under the pressure of it all. Matt mocking himself makes sense sense as well, given his frequent wine drinking--it takes an ocean of alcohol not to break.
But I won't follow you into the rabbit hole,
I said I would but then I saw your shivered bones, they didn't want me to,
Rabbit hole is an Alice in Wonderland reference, and describes the feeling of being lost and overwhelmed in a strange new world--i.e. of being a new parent.
On a personal level for Matt, "you" refers to his wife. Matt saw that his wife has the same fear and anxiety as he does, and so he wants to be strong for her, to be the help for her as she's been for him. Matt (quietly) resolves not to mess it up and to be a good husband and father.