Spinning, laughing, dancing to
Her favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
Is all alone

Eyes wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
That comes along

Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound

Crooked little smile on her face
Tells a tale of grace
That's all her own

Spinning, laughing, dancing to her
Favorite song
A little girl with nothing wrong
And she's all alone



Lyrics submitted by Lilbleu

Track duration: 02:25

"Seven Years" as written by Lee / Alexander

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Seven Years song meanings
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34 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I cannot say what it must really mean, but I will say it reminds me of myself during my "depressing" teen years. When I was 16 I ran away from home and left my family a suicide letter. I was found later that night by the police and I was brought to a mental institution because of the suicide note. My sister came to visit me often. I was not really that depressed, I was feeling very down about something going on in my life that made me feel, unnoticed and alone. I still managed to smile at everyone, sing songs everyday, and I was generally happy, I was just suffering from a bit of loneliness. My sister put together this photo album for me while I was in the institution and the album was filled with photos from all the happiest times with my family, and even photos of just myself, wonderful photos that she had taken herself. At the end of the album, there was a sheet of paper with the lyrics to this song written on it, and then a little note from her telling me how much she loved me and cared about me, and this song made her think of me because I was happy but alone, "sing a song to anyone that comes along" was like my desperate cry for a friend, "fragile as a leaf in Autumn fallin to the ground" was very much me the night I ran away from home.
    Flag ebarrett91on April 18, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've always thought that maybe this had a connection to Norah's dad, as she only saw him sporadically as a child.
    Flag kitabon December 01, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I loved this song, I always saw it as a young girl who was left alone (abandoned) but kept a facade up, a smile for all to see... It reminds me of myself, and that's probably why I love this song so much.
    Flag angelcat2828on January 11, 2012   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:I think people have neglected the lyric "...with nothing wrong".

    This to me speaks to a child with a sibling who is sick or disabled (the subject of the song is the child with "nothing wrong", which could be used as a descriptor to differentiate the child from a child *with* something wrong).

    In that scenario, her parents, sibling and other adults could be preoccupied with the ill/disabled child, and thus the other little girl craves attention, but doesn't get it "She'll sing her song to anyone who comes along". Even though there's "nothing wrong" with her, she's "all alone".

    Just my 2 cents.
    Flag TheGirlInPorton June 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For some reason this songs reminds me of me. I'm not a girl but a man and when I was at school I was bullied and felt alone. Amazing song.
    Flag RunrigTimbo2006on May 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song kinda reminds me of a little girl that loves to spin and sing alone she doesn't mind being alone but she likes to be heard when she sings or talks maybe and she loves to smile because she likes being in her little world of make believe but to her it's real. well i tried but i do love this song it's beautiful it's one of those songs that you can get lost into and never stop listening to... i believe this song means something to different people even though it's about something totally different. i hope this makes since you every one.
    Flag AcrossTheDarkenSkyon July 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Someone I met once knew the composer of the song and he said the song is *actually* about a younger sister who has an affair with the singer's (i.e., Norah's) significant other. I refer to Norah as the singer because I don't think this actually happened to her, so I don't want to make it sound like it did, more so I think these are the emotions that Norah is trying to convey while singing the song.

    The younger sister is naive, self-centered, and insecure. The line "and she'll sing her song to anyone that comes along" is a reference to the sister's willingness to betray even her older sister in order to get what she wants, (i.e., she'll sing her song or seduce anyone that comes along... even her sister's lover). The singer is trying to cope with what her sister has done. She is angry, but she knows that it wasn't about betrayal, rather that her sister has this childishness and insecurity about her. Normally, an older sister would be taking care of her younger sister when she's insecure and fragile ("as a leaf in autumn"), and so the singer is torn between being angry at her sister and wanting to reach out and help her because she loves her. Ultimately, the singer is trying to forgive her sister for all of her wrongdoings in the song.

    The song is spent mostly depicting the younger sister as childlike, but also as lonely and insecure, which are sort of excuses to the singer as to why her sister had the affair. Despite this, her eyes are always "wide open, always hoping for the sun," suggesting that the younger sister puts on a facade to hide her insecurities, and in doing so she has fooled everyone (except the singer) into thinking she is confident and admirable, which is probably how she seduced the singer's lover.

    Underneath the insecurities, the singer can see the truly beautiful parts of her sister (in the line: "Crooked little smile on her face tells a tale of grace that's all her own) that even she can't see. The singer knows that deep down, her sister wants to be a good person and tries to make the right choices, but her insecurities and childishness sometimes cause her to make mistakes. This understanding is perhaps what is pushing the singer to forgive her sister.

    I think the title "Seven Years" is in reference to the number of years separating the sisters in age, which is a relatively big span, and the singer is further elongating the distance in maturity between the two in the way that she depicts her sister as child-like and herself as more adult-like and a protector of her sister.

    So yeah, that was kind of a lot, but I don't think people really know that about the song and I really wanted to share it with people who might be interested.
    Flag rrweberon March 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:kind of reminds me of matilda
    Flag sem3000on August 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its my song :)

    i think its about how everything can seem like theres 'nothing wrong' and how someone can be 'spinning laughing dancing' yet 'all alone'.

    i love it
    Flag Nevershotfirston March 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is so beautiful to me. It reminds me of my friend from fourth grade. She never had any friends, and got made fun of a lot and had to share attention with little sibblings, but she was always so happy. She was such an optimist and no matter how many people didn't like her or made fun of her, she always kept her head up. Smiling like she was having the best day in the world. Everytime I hear this song, I see her face.
    Flag Turtlegrlion August 23, 2007   Link

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