Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that's alright, because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that's alright, because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

I can't tell you what it really is
I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now, there's a steel knife in my windpipe
I can't breathe, but I still fight while I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right, it's like I'm in flight
High off of love, drunk from her hate
It's like I'm huffing paint and I love her, the more I suffer
I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown
She resuscitates me, she fucking hates me
And I love it, "Wait
Where you going?" "I'm leaving you"
"No you ain't, come back"
We're running right back, here we go again
It's so insane 'cause when it's going good, it's going great
I'm Superman, with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane
But when it's bad, it's awful
I feel so ashamed, I snapped, "Who's that dude?"
I don't even know his name, I laid hands on her
I'll never stoop so low again, I guess I don't know my own strength

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that's alright, because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that's alright, because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe when you're with 'em?
You meet, and neither one of you, even know what hit 'em
Got that warm fuzzy feeling, yeah, them chills, used to get 'em
Now you're getting fucking sick of looking at 'em?
You swore you've never hit 'em, never do nothing to hurt 'em
Now you're in each other's face
Spewing venom in your words when you spit 'em
You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em
Throw 'em down, pin 'em, so lost in the moments when you're in 'em
It's the rage that took over, it controls you both
So they say you're best to go your separate ways
Guess that they don't know ya 'cause today, that was yesterday
Yesterday is over, it's a different day
Sound like broken records playin' over
But you promised her, next time you'll show restraint
You don't get another chance, life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again
Now you get to watch her leave out the window
Guess that's why they call it window pane

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that's alright, because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that's alright, because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean
Then we fall back into the same patterns
Same routine, but your temper's just as bad as mine is
You're the same as me, when it comes to love, you're just as blinded
Baby, please come back, it wasn't you
Baby, it was me, maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though
Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?
Told you this is my fault, look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall
Next time? There won't be no next time
I apologize, even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games, I just want her back, I know I'm a liar
If she ever tries to fucking leave again
I'm a tie her to the bed and set this house on fire

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that's alright, because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that's alright, because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie


Lyrics submitted by caseykins, edited by RubixCube89201, ratchapon1, Amahleinam

Love The Way You Lie Lyrics as written by Marshall Bruce Mathers Alexander Junior Grant

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

154 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +13
    General Comment

    It's about two people who meet and fall in love, however, as time goes on, they start to resent each other and the man becomes physically abusive. The woman takes it at first, but then she tries to leave him. He promises her that he'll never hurt her again and he'll try to control his temper, but he's lying. He says that if she ever tried to leave again, he'd kill her. The woman knows that this is all just a lie, but she keeps going back to him because she loves him.

    I think this song is especially powerful since Rihanna knows exactly what she is singing, due to her relationship with Chris Brown.

    ddarkpassengerron June 09, 2010   Link
  • +10
    General Comment

    Not only does Rihanna know what she's singing about here, but does no one remember Eminem and Kim? This is as much about them as it is Rihanna and Chris. Apt people for this song.

    cutewhensedatedon July 04, 2010   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    Great song, obviously about a both verbal and physically abusive relationship and how it seems the guy will say anything to keep his girl with him even though he's just spewing lies. Eminem is one of the few rappers I have strong respect for, he keeps it real. I adore the last set of verses the most, awesome lyrics and it makes the song even better with Rihanna singing the chorus considering her experience with abuse.

    Evanescence+MCRLuvron June 13, 2010   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    I think this song works on two different levels and perspectives.

    One one hand, the song reads like a realtime story. It is unfolding with every verse Eminem sings. His lines are describing what's happening right now, and Rihanna recaps the theme of the song with her chorus. It's an abusive relationship that she is unable/unwilling to get out of. Their relationship is spiralling downwards, and at the end he makes a threat of what will happen if she leaves again. And we're left to wonder what DOES happen.

    But if you look at it another way, we find out what happens. All of Eminem's verses are a flashback of the events leading up to that threat, which is the last thing that happens before the song starts. This is what's happening right now:

    "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn But that's alright because I like the way it hurts Just gonna stand there and hear me cry But that's alright because I love the way you lie"

    He is literally standing there, watching her burn and hearing her cry, and thinking about everything that happened leading up to this. Rihanna's lines become the present.

    Listen to the song back to back. The first time picture Eminem's verses as the present. The second time, picture his verses as the past. And in between imagine that she tried to leave again and he acted out his threat. This perspective certainly makes the song a lot darker.

    Not sure if that makes sense to anyone, it looks a little confusing when I put it in writing...

    MaxPower38on August 20, 2010   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    There is domestic violence where the abuser who has no remorse and the victim, who at 1st thinks it is love but later realizes the other person is just abusive & really wants to leave the other but is afraid of what the other will do to them or their children if they do leave.. then there is the other..

    and to me this is what Eminem is addressing, the dynamic of a relationship when 2 people have the most TOXIC LOVE imaginable for one another. They victimize the other person as well as themselves. They are both victims as well as guilty of being literally crazy for one another. I hope people dont have to experience this type of relationship but if you do I believe you go through it once. It's hard to truly understand unless you have been through it but the song as well as the video paints the picture of the turmoil that the extremity of emotions and how it is handled effect the people in these relationships. What they go through and what happens when they have no control of those emotions. You see what they are willing to endure for one another because no matter how bad it gets nothing seems worst then leaving each other. Their destructive relationship is a contradiction of what love should be but they truly are madly in love, Its heartbreaking...

    • "And I love it the more that I suffer. I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown she resuscitates me. She fucking hates me and I love it."
    • "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. But that's alright because I like the way it hurts"
    • "It's so insane 'cause when it's going good, it's going great... But when it's bad, it's awful. I feel so ashamed"
    • "You're the same as me. When it comes to love you're just as blinded. Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems, maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano. All I know is I love you too much to walk away though"

    those are the verses that really hit home when I hear this song. I have to say the hardest thing about being in that relationship was realizing that even though we wanted to to be together we needed to be apart. He showed me how much he loved me by leaving me. I knew it was killing him just as much as it was killing me.. Maybe years from now we can try again or maybe not but, one thing is for certain I dont ever doubt the depth of his love for me.

    serenegadeon August 06, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    Not Eminems' best song, but it's okay.

    I think it's basically about a troubled relationship. Saying things you don't mean when you're mad, doing things you don't mean to because you're mad beacause it's in the heat of the moment. You love the person so much so you say whatever you can to make them come back, to make them stay. You say that it'll never happen again, but deep down you know it will but you just want to say whatever you can to prevent them from leaving. Then the cycle continues...

    stagnateon June 13, 2010   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I can't stop listening to this. I personally think this is Em's greatest song yet.

    jessicanunez09on July 12, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song is a powerful reality of what many women go through. It is a viscous cycle of violence that often originated with trauma in childhood (but doesn't have to). I counsel women who have been abused and they often will pick out men who will abuse them again. There are many factors to it, but one major aspect is if they have not worked through and grieved the pain of the abuse they are destined to repeat it. They have no respect for themselves, thus seek out the creeps who will confirm their low self concept. Their tolerance for taking compliments is often amazingly low, where their tolerance for taking criticism is amazingly high. I had one client save voicemails of her ex-boyfriend cussing her out and calling her names, whereas when she got a nice card from a friend she would quickly throw it away.

    If you are finding yourself in this cycle, I plead with you to find some help. Someone who can gently lead you through what you are doing to yourself. You are worth so much more, and there really is help.

    mhbuddyon June 25, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I think your all wrong. I think its about a disfunctional relationship, but they both live for it. They have so much passion whether its with love or when they fight. but they cant leave each other because they feed off it. SO they just sit back and watch them destroy each other. And regardless of how much they both hurt each other, they both keep coming back for more, cause like he said when its good its great, but when its bad its awful.

    angela808on August 10, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    best song ever so much love and sadness

    joanne298on April 28, 2011   Link

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!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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/
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.