She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye
She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise
She's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright
For answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight

She must rinse this all away
She can't hold him this way
She must rinse this all away
She can't love him this way

How she'd be soothed, how she'd be saved if he could see
She needs to be held in his arms to be free
But everything happens for reasons that she will never understand
'til she knows the heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man

[Chorus]

And if she runs away she fears she won't be followed
What could be the worse than leaving something behind
And as the depth of oceans slowly become shallow
It's loneliness she finds
If only he was mine

She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye
She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise
She's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright
For answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight

She must rinse him
She must rinse him
She can't rinse him
She can't rinse him
She can't, she won't, she must rinse him
She can't, she won't, she must rinse him
She must rinse this all away
She can't hold him this way
She must rinse this all away
She can't love him this way


Lyrics submitted by carboncentric

Rinse Lyrics as written by Vanessa Carlton

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Rinse song meanings
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    General Comment

    "And as she runs away she fears she won't be followed. What could be worse than leaving something behind? And as the depth of ocean slowly becomes shallow, It's loneliness she finds." Those are my favorite lyrics on BnN, although this is my least favorite song. I love the lyrics. So potent, so transcendent. It's about letting go of an unhealthy relationship that you perceived to be life-giving, but it's about slowly realizing that you need to "rinse" it away.

    nagyovafanon June 25, 2007   Link

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