Lyrics for Unfinished Sympathy as interpreted by shut

Unfinished Sympathy Lyrics
Shara Nelson
I know that i've been mad in love before
And how it could be with you
Really hurt me baby, really hurt me baby
How can have a day without a night
You're the book that I have opened And now i've got to know much more
The curiousness of your potential kiss
Has got my mind and body aching
Really hurt me baby, really hurt me baby
How can you have a day without a night
You're the book that I have opened
And now I've got to know much more
Like a soul without a mind
In a body without a heart
I'm missing every part (x5)

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  • 27 Comments
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natalie81
09-04-2002

Rated 0 
This song is about fear of getting hurt by someone you are falling in love with-fear of getting too close. I think that sometimes the lyrics are misrepresented-in my mind I hear them as
Will it hurt me baby Will it cut me baby?

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phatcat
03-03-2003

Rated 0 
So that's what she says.... hmm... I could never tell. I actually think she already broke up with him because she's afraid of getting hurt. Nice to see others listening to the sound of the Massive. Most people I know are like who?

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Riot Grrrl
03-22-2003

Rated +1 
Sharas voice is so fitting for this track and i think that massive attack have definatly cracked it.They are masters of their art.

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lowsky
04-17-2004

Rated +1 
I think this songs talks about someone falling in love with someone else but they are unable to get involved with them. The line "You're the book that I have opened And now i've got to know much more" makes me think that this person had an experiance with the other person they are in love with that makes them want to get to know them more intimately.

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aphex_Twin2002
04-19-2004

Rated 0 
i think this is about the uncertainty thet there is at the beginning of a relationship after being in a painful one. you are unsure whether it is going to hurt you like the previous one and asking the questions about what will go wrong even though it seems so perfect "How can have a day without a night" and whether you are being naive with your heart "Like a soul without a mind" or just lusting for a physical relationship without thinking of the hurt it could cause "In a body without a heart". "I'm missing every part" could be the uncertainty. im unsure though

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kayleighronson
01-03-2005

Rated 0 
....beautiful.

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venus in furs 28
02-03-2005

Rated 0 
so, the guy and the girl are close friends, have hooked up once, and the girl wants more, but the guy is now pushing her away, and that really hurts her.

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1 Reply
Sirius1
03-18-2005

Rated 0 
The song that summed up the 90's

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steffers
09-05-2005

Rated 0 
This song stops me in my tracks everytime I hear. It conjours up so many mixed memories & feelings, it is absolutely beautiful.
I will NEVER tire of hearing this song. Beautiful video too.

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1 Reply
madamehollywood
01-19-2006

Rated 0 
"Like a soul without a mind/ In a body without a heart / I'm missing every part" gotta love those lines...

really sexy song, love it

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~anner~
01-23-2006

Rated 0 
Really hurt me baby, really hurt me baby

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ripelivejam
02-05-2006

Rated 0 
The essence of unrequited love

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CEREAL
02-17-2006

Rated +1 
The lyrics are actually "Really hurt me baby, really cut me baby." Also despite all the lyrics Ive found on the net agreeing with this, listening to the song I'm sure it's "I know that I've IMAGINED love before." It makes more sense as well with the following line "...and how it could be with you."

To the song. I read I think it was nut's (crappy blokes mag) top 50 songs ever. The review of this mentions nelson's "eerie" vocals. Sums it up perfectly to me, they go so perfectly with the violin, just send a shiver up my spine every time I hear it. The video is awesome as well, simple but effective. This is one of those songs that still sounds as mind blowingly good as the day it was released. It's 15 years old and everyone I know thinks it's incredible. If you like this listen to max graham-gone. similar sorrowful lyrics, evocative violin and pain over a relationship.

The meaning. I'd agree it's about beginning to get involved with someone who then pulls away- "How can I have a day without a night, You're the book that I have opened, and now I've got to know much more." These both suggest she's had some kind of contact with the person but only a limited amount and it's left her wanting more. "Like a soul without a mind..." beautifully conveys the feeling of emptiness as a result of this desire, she is missing something she needs. Also perhaps a resignation to the fact she won't get what she wants. The line "You really hurt me baby..." expresses her angst and despair about the fact the other person pulled away or does not requite her love, I don't think it's a reference to a previous relationship or questioning whether she will get hurt if she enters a relationship.

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1 Reply
Catty
02-27-2006

Rated 0 
( agree with cereal ) hence 'unfinished' in the title-she just cant bring herself to let go

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GaryJamesGil
03-02-2006

Rated 0 
I also agree with Cereal, the line "The curiousness of your potential kiss, has got my mind and body aching" backs up your theory about the primary stages of a relationship.

Amazing track, never fails to enthrall me.

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~*~nadine~*~
03-08-2006

Rated 0 
I agree that she has come out of 1 relationship but too scared to move on to the next like she has not yet finished grieving over her last lover hence unfinished sympathy

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rubyoverdiamonds
05-16-2006

Rated 0 
Along with Lamb's 'Gorecki', this may well be trip-hop's defining song. Superb vocals complimented with a catchy beat.

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my_sharona
12-25-2006

Rated 0 
i've read somewhere that this is supposedly the best song of the 90's, period. I find this very perplexing because it isn't as unique as alot of their songs, cant be compared to many of the most beautiful songs of the 90's and personaly, it doesn't do anything for me..."teardrop", however, is an amazing song...it stirs something in most people who listen to it

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~*~nadine~*~
05-15-2007

Rated 0 
I was in my car the other day with my mum and this song came on the cd player and my mum was like, this was came out when i was pregnant with you and how she liked it. It made me swell up because my mum went through hell when she was pregnant with me, her boyfriend left her and she was homeless etc, and i just imagined myself in my mums position, pregnant and still in love with her ex. It reminds me of a situation I was inmyself recently, I fell "in love" Or infatuation with someone, even though I had a longterm boyfriend, and the questions in this song were the ones I asked myself " I know that i've been mad in love before
And how it could be with you, Will it hurt me baby Will it cut me baby? have to agree with natalies interpretation there,
and The curiousness of your potential kiss
Has got my mind and body aching, any way to cut a long story short, I followed my heart and yeah, I got hurt :)

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Catalista
03-29-2008

Rated +1 
I can't describe what this song means to me.
I thought it said really hurt me , really cut me.

I met someone online... a few months ago, really powerful and unexpected. the first song he sent me was this one and i described exactly the wonder.
the book i opened and how i have to know much more, and the curiousness of the potential kiss, and missing every part. and the reticence of my mind reasoning with my heart had for falling in love with someone online, really not my style, weirdo behavior.

But definetely it feels crazy, butterflies like i have never felt before. and it's everything , physical, mental, emotionally stimulating. Anticipation has been building in the last 4 months, we talk on skype.... will meet soon, we live 25000km away from each other, and 40 flight hours away. But will put some reality into it.

Wish me luck, i'm in love!

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missme
05-10-2008

Rated 0 
I definitely think it's about someone who's promised her something, started something with her, only to finish it prematurely, leaving her feeling extremely hurt. Amazing song, really haunting.

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Sinnerman
06-15-2008

Rated 0 
hhmmm....to me this song somehow reminds me of a spiritual/religious song. as in

I know that i've been mad in love before
And how it could be with you

as in love without God in it....but thats probly cos i became religious to s certain extent rescently....
awesome song though. definetly one of my favourites

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poetspirit
08-08-2009

Rated 0 
This song is the title of my red thread

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LazyLeopard
08-19-2009

Rated 0 
One of the greatest songs of the last 20 years, if not THE greatest.

To me the line is 'will it hurt me baby, really cut me baby' which emphasises her wariness of falling (in love) heavily again after previous hurtful relationship. The use of 'will' shows things are at a very early stage with this new dude.

The lines 'curiousness of your potential kiss' & 'You're the book that I have opened & now I've got to know much more' also convey a tentative hope that things have the potential to work out with this fledgling romance, although she is fully aware it could turn sour.

The 'Like a soul without a mind In a body without a heart I'm missing every part' refrain again shows the hope and yearning she has for this to blossom into the real deal & replace the misery that went before.

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maximillion
09-03-2009

Rated 0 
I think they are one and the same desired lover she wants more as she knows him, for me the key words are in the tense of where she sings YOU.."and how it could be with you" for me speaking of experience "with you' then straight to really hurt me baby,... ive tasted it i want it "a body without a heart"- "im missing every part" want to go there to what ive tasted but ohh the pain, im aching for you,..that which i know,. "The curiousness of your potential kiss" i think this means your love in return because she goes on to sing has got my mind and body aching,...but i could be all wrong, just my take as it hits my feelings

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