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The lover held her love
She begged him not to go
The fighter wrapped his gloves
The fighter said I know, I know, I know
Just this one last time
I swear you'll still be mine
But he can't promise much
He goes for one last touch
One last touch
Maybe we were meant to be lonely, lonely
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
But maybe we don't have to be all alone
The fighter goes inside
The doubt is creeping in
He swings with all his might
At all that might have been
And she's in love with him
But lovers don't always win
He never even saw the swing
She calls out his name, calls his name
Maybe we were meant to be lonely, lonely
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
But maybe we don't have to be all alone
What breaks your bones
Is not the load you're carrying
What breaks you down
Is all in how you carry
The lover held her love
She begged him not to go
She unwrapped his gloves
The lover said I know, I know, I know
Kissed his trembling lips
She touched fingertips
But somehow they both know
He's not coming home
Coming home
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
But I got to try or it will destroy me
Cause maybe we don't have to be all alone
She begged him not to go
The fighter wrapped his gloves
The fighter said I know, I know, I know
Just this one last time
I swear you'll still be mine
But he can't promise much
He goes for one last touch
One last touch
Maybe we were meant to be lonely, lonely
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
But maybe we don't have to be all alone
The fighter goes inside
The doubt is creeping in
He swings with all his might
At all that might have been
And she's in love with him
But lovers don't always win
He never even saw the swing
She calls out his name, calls his name
Maybe we were meant to be lonely, lonely
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
But maybe we don't have to be all alone
What breaks your bones
Is not the load you're carrying
What breaks you down
Is all in how you carry
The lover held her love
She begged him not to go
She unwrapped his gloves
The lover said I know, I know, I know
Kissed his trembling lips
She touched fingertips
But somehow they both know
He's not coming home
Coming home
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
But I got to try or it will destroy me
Cause maybe we don't have to be all alone
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Regarding the background of the song, during a performance at the University at Buffalo, Issac Slade mentions that he wrote the song "The Fighter" while on a "getaway" in a cottage, located in the mountains of Colorado. The song was inspired by a picture called "Strictly a Sharpshooter" by Norman Rockwell that he saw in a book he purchased. The painting depicts a boxer who has succumbed to his opponent, and a female companion by his side.
The thing that is wonderful about the Fray's lyrics is their ability to make one song individual to so many people. In a sense, I think it can be up to your own interpretation. The literal meaning of the song is that the man is a boxer, and even though his significant other loves him, he goes off to fight, reassuring her (I know I know I know) that it is his last fight. In the end, she is by his side as he is dying (he's not coming home) from an unexpected hit (he never even saw the swing).
A second interpretation is a less literal one, and my first impression of the song before I knew Issac's inspiration. When I first actually listened to the lyrics, it made me think of John Mayer's song "Assasin," because of the use of a metaphor of a fighter to symbolize the way relationships can be sometimes. The woman is in love with a man who is incapable of returning that love, and she tries to hold on to him as he is slipping away. He's a man who can't commit his love to her and always thought he would be alone (maybe we were meant to be lonely), but is questioning that belief (maybe we don't have to be all alone).
He does his best to return that love (he swings with all his might at all that might have been) and she gets even more desperate (she calls out his name, she begs him not to go), but in the end, their attempts are futile because he leaves (somehow they both know, that he's not coming home). He leaves, questioning his decision, and we are left wondering if he will return...
Loneliness has always been with me, with me
Maybe we were meant to be on our own
But I got to try or it will destroy me
Cause maybe we don't have to be all alone
The first time I listened to this song and read the lyrics, I got chills.
I think it speaks about a couple, where he's the Fighter (not only for work, but in life too) and she's the one who tries to convince him not to fight. Actually it looks like he's going to change his mind (The Fighter said I know, I know, I know.) but he HAS to go, and he tries to reassure the girl.
But she undestands something's wrong: look at the lyrics of the chorus, it looks like it's the girl thinking that they were both destinated to remain alone, as she has alwais been, but then she hopes she won't be alone.
Then the match, he doesn't see a punch, which hits him so strong that he falls on the floor, he probably hits his head, too. She runs next to him, she prays him not to go (here we see how 'she begged him not to go' is used with 2 different meanings: in the first occasion, she's asking him not to go on the ring, not to go away from her; in the second, she's asking him not to die, not to leave her.), she kisses him and they both understand he's going to die anyway.
In the end there's the chorus again :)
Maybe I was meant to be lonely, but we don't all have to all alone.
But I got to try it, or it will destroy me.
Guys, try it. Try to love your girl with everything you have, don't fight it. She is perfect for you.
The chorus is amazing. That's all I really have to say about that.
Then there's the bridge. You can pretty much count on every Fray song having one of these types of lines. One that if you didn't know better you might think is an ancient proverb or something. "What breaks your bones is not the load you're carrying. What breaks you down is all in how you carry." Regardless of what you're going through, as long as have the right attitude, you can get through it.