I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you'll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you'll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies
But you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast
Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep
Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
Well you let her go
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you'll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you'll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies
But you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast
Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep
Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
And you let her go
Oh oh oh no
Well you let her go
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go
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More Featured Meanings
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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/
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I heard this song on the radio for the first time today. I like to think of the backstory like this - it's about a guy who breaks up with his lover because he doesn't have the ability to recognize that he has something special with her, and he doesn't have the courage to stay in the relationship when she starts asking for a commitment from him. So he lets her go, because he feels incapable of giving himself over to what has actually become real love. The line, "Maybe one day you'll understand why everything you touch, surely dies" speaks to this guy's chronic inability to return love and form a deep bond with someone else. It may be that his ideals of love are actually unrealistic ("Hoping one day you'll make a dream last"), and he keeps choosing to let love go because he doesn't understand that love can be a messy and difficult thing worth fighting for. But ultimately, this song is about the regret of only realising after breaking things off that he truly loved her. And of course, by the time he realises this, it will have been too late to get her back - she will have moved on to someone who can reciprocate her love. This kind of stuff is pure tragedy.
Thank you for this interpretation. <br /> sadly, I know what this is about.
I agree; it is pure tragedy. Loss and regret to music. It is beautifully done.
Keliyah... I'm so glad that you decided to add your interpretation. You articulated it so well and I think you are spot-on. One thing to add... It is possible that he is the victim of the unrequited love and is actually regretting that she didn't value and commit to him, rather than the other way around. Cheers!
Well... this story is exactly what happened to me. <br /> <br /> I heard this song yesterday for the first time and I was in shock. I've used to have a loved one, the mother of my little girl. But I considered myself not enough strong for her. I've got my lots of life issues and still deal with my demons. I considered I was not happy, this feeling had an impact on my loved ones. <br /> <br /> I wanted her to be happy, so I let her go. <br /> <br /> She need a man, someone who can warm his heart. Someone who know what real love is. She deserved this, she deserve to be loved and live happy. She's the greatest woman on earth.<br /> <br /> We are now separated since January, still we are best friends for the rest of our life and we keep an excellent relationship, it's important for our little girl. <br /> <br /> Now, I know what I've lost.<br /> <br /> I don't know what I need right now, she is now with someone who love her with passion, it make me happy. I saw her today, she was smilling. <br /> <br /> As for me, only god know.<br />
@Keliyah - great interpretation, I'm learning this on the guitar albeit very slowly ;) It resonates a lot with me and a beautiful lady I've lost and who I love with all my heart and with whom I didn't have the courage to forget all the practicalities of life, and just lover her.
This to me, is obviously a breakup song.
He is remembering her now that they are no longer together. He realizes he loved her, while he was maybe unsure or didn't realize it while they were still a couple.
There is a lot of truth to this song, since a lot of people don't realize they were really in love until after it is over. We miss what we no longer have. Sometimes in relationships, people take significant things for granted until it's too late to go back.
He is taking responsibility for the relationship ending with lines like: And you let her go
Maybe one day you'll understand why Everything you touch, oh it dies
You don't truly know happiness until you've seen the pits of despair. I thought he was singing "You only know your lover when you let her go" which also makes some sense. It seems you learn a lot about someone during the breakup period too. Sometimes it's even more telling than the relationship itself.
The song alludes to the fact the protagonist is still reeling from the breakup. It's fresh because he has an attitude that paints the relationship as better than perhaps it really was. People have a tendency to idealize the past.
Living life with regret.
I think it is pretty self explanatory, but this song is is the whole "you don't know/realize what you've got till it's gone" thing.
"Only know you love her when you let her go. And you let her go."
Relationships are tough. You can start to feel as though things have gotten stagnant, or that you've lost feelings for the other person. Sometimes we think that the best action to take is to just 'get out'. However, it's only once you've left that person that you realize just how strong your feelings for them really are, how much you really miss them, how much you really love them.
You might realize this quickly, or you might not. The song is about living life with regret.
You wont know how good it was until to late, when its gone - very true and something most people felt im sure. But, gone here could mean break up or even death, the song never reveals... still the lyric is cryptic about who is in fact letting this go, does he break up from dissapoinment or did she let him go and in lack of action he just lets her go instead of fighting for it.. But it could be also that loss puts you inthis state the lyric describes and the message 'let her go' simply means that you have to try to carry on because the pain lingers on
The best interpretation I've heard in my life...!
When you let her go you finally realized how important she was in your life. You let something great go because you were scared and to proud to admit the way you felt. Don't let her go.
<3
@wrily4 <br /> That's sweet ❤️and it's true
The songs is simple and easy to understand but so deep and powerful for everyone who ever live a situation like that.
@colorkey <br /> <br /> >3<br /> True hey it even hurts
Dissection create choppy sentences.
The feeling is pure as white linen. Its a beautiful feeling without distraction. I want to make love to the one who returns home from war. It is when you have been abused. It is emotional deprivation. It is the yearn of the one you love who doesn't love you back. It is the rainbow to my soul.
I put my dog down tonight. This was the first song that came on in the car on the way home. From now it it will always remind me of my best friend and the most loving soul I have ever met.
Im so sorry. just had to put my horse, Missy, down about three weeks ago. I love her so much my baby, I love u forever Miss! ur the most beautiful mare ive ever known and no matter what youll always be my girl! ur the sassiest, sweetest and most gentle mare ive ever known! life is hard without u but I know ur not suffering anymore and were always together forever!
@jollyjee That is so bittersweet and painfully beautiful... I can relate to it completely.
Person (in this case a guy) took his girlfriend/wife for granted.
After she is gone he can now appreciate what he ONCE had. "Only know you love her when you let her go"
Well you only need the light when it's burning low “You only need something when you’re running low of it”
You only miss the sun because the snow makes everything cold and dull "Only miss the sun when it starts to snow"
You once had it all and after you don’t have anything you can then see what was one there "Only know you've been high when you're feeling low"
Generally, most people enjoy travelling or driving around but once you’re sick of it or start hating it, one obviously starts missing home. "Only hate the road when you're missing home"
These lyrics fit my 'current relationship' so well. So touching.