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I wanted to be like you
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away
I didn't know that it was so cold
And you needed someone
to show you the way
So I took your hand and we figured out
That when the time comes
I'd take you away
[Chorus]
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
was somebody who cares
I'm sinking slowly
So hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
[Chorus]
All you wanted was somebody who cares
If you need me you know I'll be there
Oh, yeah
[Chorus]
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away
I didn't know that it was so cold
And you needed someone
to show you the way
So I took your hand and we figured out
That when the time comes
I'd take you away
[Chorus]
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
was somebody who cares
I'm sinking slowly
So hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
[Chorus]
All you wanted was somebody who cares
If you need me you know I'll be there
Oh, yeah
[Chorus]
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
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She's in love with a guy and he's leaving for "bigger, better" things. So she goes with him.
(I wanted to be like you / I wanted everything / so I tried to be like you / and I got swept away)
Now that she's out in the world with him, he reveals that he's scared about this new life and he doesn't want to be along - but she's here to help him.
(I didn't know that it was so cold / And you needed someone / to show you the way / So I took your hand and we figured out / That when the time comes / I'd take you away)
She can help him if he wants her to. She can help him through the lonely weeks and months starting off in a new city, which is alway lonely despite all the people around. Last line is self explanatory: All you wanted was somebody who cares (and that can be her for him).
(If you want to / I can save you / I can take you away from here / So lonely inside / So busy out there / And all you wanted / was somebody who cares)
It's a harder time keeping him "up" than she thought it would be, so now she's telling him how much she needs him too. She thinks he's doing something that's making this scary life transition easier for him (maybe alcohol, drugs, another woman?) and she just wants to know why he's not having as hard of a time now.
(I'm sinking slowly / So hurry hold me / Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on / Please can you tell me / So I can finally see / Where you go when you're gone)
To me, it's about caring for a friend or a lover who is going through hard times in their life and the struggle to try and change them in order to save them from the destruction of themselves. This could involve drugs and/or they might be suicidal and just not in a good place.
In Michelle's music video, however-
what I got from that was a girl being involved with a guy whom was doing a lot of partying and getting involved with drugs, ultimately going down a bad path while masquerading the truth that he was depressed and needed someone and despite anything she could say or do, she was unable to pull him out of it. He pushed her away time after time, making her feel unappreciated until she eventually realized it was hopeless and let it go, but then reminded him that she would still always be there if he ever needed someone.
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I wanted to be like you
I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you
And I got swept away
**She might be talking about how she really like a guy who she was friends with and thought he was very interesting or enviable. He may not have saw the depth because outwardly, they appeared so different. Even though he didn't see it, she saw the potential for a life-long relationship. In order to try and get him to see their potential, she tried to be like him. She filled in any gaps that she was worried he thought disqualified her to be his girlfriend--this could be partying, for example. As long as she was with him, she loved it.**
I didn't know that it was so cold
And you needed someone
to show you the way
So I took your hand and we figured out
That when the time comes
I'd take you away
**Once she was in a relationship with him, she found so much sadness and emptiness that was not apparent when they were just friends. He may have outwardly been happy, but really had nobody to guide or care about him, therefore he didn't care about himself. She may have gone on a date with him and there was a strong connection, they may have talked about being in a relationship and how much they cared about each other. Once everything fell in place, she could sweep him up.--note that there is no timeframe**
[Chorus]
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted
was somebody who cares
**If he could see the potential in their relationship that she sees and how much she could do for him, she would be able to bring him true happiness. Instead, she sees him partying, drinking, sleeping around...all to try and fit in and receive validation--although never receiving it because the people he was surrounded with didn't care about him.**
I'm sinking slowly
So hurry hold me
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
**She is losing it not being able to be with him. She is implying that there isn't much time left--that her feelings have been hurt but that the small amounts of affection he shows her are what keep her wanting him. She wants him to tell her what about his life (partying, drinking, etc) is so much better and more exciting than what they could have together.**
[Chorus]
All you wanted was somebody who cares
If you need me you know I'll be there
Oh, yeah
**She knew that, even though he had a cool, partying mentality, he really wanted somebody who would love him. After being rejected too many times, she says that she will be there, but only as a friend.**
[Chorus]
Please can you tell me
So I can finally see
Where you go when you're gone
**More time has passed and she still loves him on the inside, and she is still mad because he still has never given them a chance.**
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I'm not saying that I am right, but it might be possible.
I think the beginning means that she wanted to be like the guy and wanted to go through the same things he was going through (drugs and that lifestyle) and she ended up getting very involved in that lifestyle and ended up very deep into it/addicted.
Next part – the girl realizes the addiction is a very cold way of life and empty. She wants to take the guy out of that life so she gives him an escape and tells him that when he’s ready for it, she will give him a safe place to go.
I believe the song is about the great attempt to reach inside someone and try to understand what that person is going through. It says the guy is doing just great on the outside and looks so held together, but on the inside he is actually just lonely, lost and feels cold.
Then it says she’s sinking too far into the addiction and she is on the edge of completely losing control and she just wants him to give her the word so they can get away before it’s too late.
She says she wants him to tell her where he goes when he’s gone. Like the guy is so gone and so into the drugs that she doesn’t even recognize him at times. She also wants him to know she’s always within reach whenever he is ready to surrender to her. She’s ready to runaway with him and get out of there.
“Please can you tell me so I can finally see where you go when you’re gone.” She wants him to talk to her and open up to her so she can help him. He’s gone in his mind.
“I'm sinking slowly, so hurry hold me.
Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on.” – This line maybe him talking to her or it could be her talking to him. I don’t know. Can go either way.
2nd meaning -
I think that in the beginning of the song, “I wanted to be like you…but I got swept away.” I believe that means she wanted to be ‘like a guy’ and not feel anything for the guy but she fell in love anyway.
“I didn’t know that it was so cold..” She didn’t realize that his heart is so cold and he doesn’t feel anything for her. She believes he needs someone to show him there are good girls with good hearts out there and she believes she is that girl for him. As soon as he is ready to feel something for a girl and he is ready to be her boyfriend, she’ll take him away [from his single life].
“…and all you wanted was somebody who cares..” She believes that deep inside he does want to feel love but he is putting on his front and protecting his heart by staying busy.
“I’m sinking slowly…” She is waiting for him and is so lost in love for him, but she is also falling away from him as more time passes. She just waits for that small sign from him to make her feel a connection to him and that sign that he does care about her. So she continues to hold on a little longer. “Please can you tell me so I can finally see where you go when you’re gone..” This line has me perplexed. I’m trying to get its meaning. Maybe it’s that for a moment, she sees that he is showing signs that he does love her but then he falls away from her again. Like he has a memory of someone who hurt him and that memory makes him turn away from her love and he doesn’t allow himself to fall for her.
I think both meanings have the same idea – She wants him to open up to her and talk to her and allow her to be part of his life. She wants him to allow himself to be loved.
she talks about it herself, here.
she has a tendency to fall in love with guys who have problems, and as a woman has also a naive tendency to think she can change them.
which is so true... all we want to do is save them, and take them away.
She then realizes that he just doesn't care about her. Despite everything she does for him.