Met a girl in the parking lot,
And all I did was say hello.
Her pepper spray made it rather hard
For me to walk her home,
But I guess that's the way it goes.

Tell me again was it love at first sight
When I walked by and you caught my eye.
Didn't you know love could shine this bright?
Well smile because you're the deer in the headlights.

Met a girl with a graceful charm,
But when beauty met the beast he froze.
Got the sense I was not her type
By a black eye and bloody nose,
But I guess that's the way it goes.

Tell me again was it love at first sight
When I walked by and you caught my eye.
Didn't you know love could shine this bright?
Well smile because you're the deer in the headlights.

It's suffocating to say,
But the female mystique takes my breath away.
So give me a smile or give me a sneer,
'Cause I'm trying to guess here.

Tell me again was it love at first sight
When I walked by and you caught my eye.
Didn't you know love could shine this bright?
Well smile because you're the deer in the headlights.

Tell me again was it love at first sight
When I walked by and you caught my eye.
Didn't you know love could shine this bright?
If life was a game, you would never play nice.
If love was a beam, you'd be blind in both eyes.
Put your sunglasses on 'cause you're a deer in the headlights.

You're the deer in the headlights.
You're the deer in the headlights.


Lyrics submitted by Angel721Ninja

Deer in the Headlights Lyrics as written by Adam R. Young

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Deer In The Headlights song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    I love this new song, and I'm so stoked about the album.

    I wanna say that:

    "Met a girl in the parking lot And all I did was say hello Her pepper spray made it rather hard for me to walk her home But I guess that's the way it goes"

    Is basically a boy meeting a girl, but the girl being standoffish despite the fact that he's only trying to be a gentleman. Maybe the girl has been hurt before, or just doesn't trust people easily, the two could even go hand-in-hand, because of course, that the way it goes. :)

    "Met a girl with a graceful charm, But when beauty met the beast he froze Got the sense I was not her type by the black eye and bloody nose But I guess that's the way it goes"

    Different scenario, same concept: Boy meets girl (could even be the SAME girl ;)). He's quite obviously smitten with her, she's beautiful and charming, and it intimidates him. He doesn't know what to say, and doesn't want to ramble or say the wrong things. Through conversation, he's getting the feel that, she's not going to be into him because despite all of her positive qualities, she's the type of girl that prefers relationships with struggle. The black eye and bloody nose to me symbolize the types of guys she'd rather be with.. ones that may not care, but make it a challenge instead. Truth be told, this is the path a lot of girls choose. Again, thats just the way it goes. :)

    "Tell me again, was it love at first sight, When I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well smile because you're the deer in headlights"

    The chorus is basically saying that he's head over heels for her, and this girl is always on his mind, and always in his focus; hence her being "the deer" in his "headlights". Asking about love being bright is kind of saying: You do know that there is real, TRUE love out there, and GOOD, honest guys too. He just wants to be with her, and make her smile, and love at first sight is always a cute concept. Sometimes you meet that girl, and no matter how many others you meet, you can never get her out of your head.. even if she doesn't exactly treat you the greatest.

    "It's suffocating to say, but the female mustike takes my breath away So give me a smile or give me a sneer 'cause I'm trying to guess here"

    I feel like this a lot with a particular female in my life. Sometimes you meet that girl and she may have feelings for you, and you can tell by the things she says or the actions she makes, but she's caught up in something else, or doesn't want to admitt to it. Sometimes when you're in that situation, you'd do just about anything to know for sure. :)

    By saying "Sorry I ever tried", he feels sometimes that he just isn't good enough, no matter how hard he tries or how much effort he makes to prove to her. We all have those moments when we're in love.. and theres nothing we can do about how the other person feels.

    "If life was a game you would never play nice If love was a beam you'd be blind in both eyes Put your sunglasses on 'cause you're the deer in the headlights"

    Is my favorite part of the song, and Adam did an awesome job wrapping this one up. Metaphorically, this girl is the kind to play with his heart, and by saying she'd never play nice means she's unwilling to cooperate, and she may even been giving him mixed signals. The second line to me, means that the girl thinks she knows what love really is, despite how many times she's attempted and had it fail, and he's basically saying: If you gave me a chance, if you let me in and open your heart up to my love, it'd be WAY more amazing and spectacular than anything you could have ever imagined.. so prepare yourself.. because one day, on way, or another.. I'll make you mine. <3

    Sir3nglishon May 20, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I smell a hit here...

    oceanheart13on July 02, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love Adam's new style:)

    oceanheart13on May 20, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    All of those are correct but I would like to add on (of course, hes my future husband!) But as I ALWAYS say, Adam makes these songs for us to figure out, to help us or make us feel better or to interprite. I personally take this song as a simple giggle-song. He meets a chick in the parking lot, he tries to be slick, she gets ticked and freaks :P And even in that short little time, he thinks hes in love! Haha that simple! Tell me more of what you think, Im an emotional person sometimes and he makes me so friggin happy! I love seeing every way this sonmg can be thought of!

    MsAdamYoungon September 07, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I went to one of his concerts (IN DENVER COLORADOOOO!!!) and he said this was about a girl he tried to sweet talk in Walmart, but she sprayed him with pepperspray:)

    musicmindedon September 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    If life was a game you would never play nice If love was a beam you'd be blind in both eyes

    I put that on Quote section on my facebook page :)

    AdamYoungAddicton May 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I'm sorry, but can someone tell me what mustike is? Thanks :)

    supercourtney1on June 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    dis is adam best song in dis album :D

    l0ve2kn0won June 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's "mystique"...

    Anyway, I dance a lot to this song, and the lyrics are a different direction for him. The lyrics are funny:

    "Her pepper spray made it rather hard for me to walk her home." What the heck? xD

    "But when beauty met the best, he froze"

    ViolaFanon June 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is basicly about Adam trying to find love, right? Right. So he sees this girl and it was "love at first sight" but she isn't really sure about him, but if she mucks up she can just say "Oh, I'm sorry. Can we start over?" and then he says' "Yeah, sure." and so he is kinda confused after a while and want's to stop it, and since he's such a shy person, he wrote this song. <3 We all love you Adam. Keep up all the good work...<3

    OwlCity123on July 12, 2011   Link

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