I heard this version before the one that gets played on the radio, and I have to say, I like it a LOT more. It just sounds darker, more desperate, I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the other, but this one just GRABS you.
I have a different interpretation from any others I've seen. I don't think the speaker was ever in a relationship with this girl; it sounds like he wants her, but she's already in a relationship. She's given him some signs of wanting him back, but every time she's about to act on it, she loses her nerve. ("You always fold just before you're found out.") They interact with one another on a superficial basis, which I think because of lines like 'She says she's no good with words, but I'm worse-' they've never done anything but talk to one another, but neither is really confident with that, and they never say anything but cliche lines. The repetition of 'dance, dance' in the chorus seems to fit this as well- Just dance, imagine how you'd like your life to be if you were free to have it how you wanted.
The line, "Why don't you show me the little bit of spine you've been saving for his mattress, love?" is one of my favorites- Just listen to the way he says 'love,' he's challanging her. Then there's "I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me." It sounds like she's passive, she doesn't take action, and he's telling her, you need to decide what you're going to do. Act. Take what YOU want, for once, instead of letting yourself get pushed around. BUT he's miserable because of things outside of the situation, and maybe she's acting sympathetic, but because she's 'no good with words,' her sympathy doesn't carry much meaning, and nothing she does will, unless she finally takes action, and, well, crawls into bed with him.
I heard this version before the one that gets played on the radio, and I have to say, I like it a LOT more. It just sounds darker, more desperate, I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the other, but this one just GRABS you.
I have a different interpretation from any others I've seen. I don't think the speaker was ever in a relationship with this girl; it sounds like he wants her, but she's already in a relationship. She's given him some signs of wanting him back, but every time she's about to act on it, she loses her nerve. ("You always fold just before you're found out.") They interact with one another on a superficial basis, which I think because of lines like 'She says she's no good with words, but I'm worse-' they've never done anything but talk to one another, but neither is really confident with that, and they never say anything but cliche lines. The repetition of 'dance, dance' in the chorus seems to fit this as well- Just dance, imagine how you'd like your life to be if you were free to have it how you wanted.
The line, "Why don't you show me the little bit of spine you've been saving for his mattress, love?" is one of my favorites- Just listen to the way he says 'love,' he's challanging her. Then there's "I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me." It sounds like she's passive, she doesn't take action, and he's telling her, you need to decide what you're going to do. Act. Take what YOU want, for once, instead of letting yourself get pushed around. BUT he's miserable because of things outside of the situation, and maybe she's acting sympathetic, but because she's 'no good with words,' her sympathy doesn't carry much meaning, and nothing she does will, unless she finally takes action, and, well, crawls into bed with him.