This seems to be about depression and falling into a state of perpetual gloom and self-pity. A more detailed analysis follows. This is just my interpretation, and is no doubt influenced by my own experiences with feeling depressed, which I see reflected in this song.
Verse 1:
"Sorrow found me when I was young / Sorrow waited, sorrow won"
The narrator first felt depressed when young, and over time he has given in to these feelings. Note that right away the narrator is personifying "sorrow" as an external entity that has overcome him, rather than something that comes from within. This is consistent with the narrator's portrayal of himself as a victim throughout the song.
"Sorrow, they put me on the pills / It's in my honey, it's in my milk"
A reference to clinical depression - the narrator is being medicated for his condition. The specific mention of honey and milk invokes the idea of the Biblical "promised land" for the people of Israel, a land "flowing with milk and honey". This suggests that even the narrator's happiness is infused with this feeling of melancholy.
Chorus:
"Don't leave my hyper heart alone on the water / Cover me in rag and bone sympathy / 'Cause I don't wanna get over you"
The tone shifts slightly here from a general description to a direct address, apparently to the narrator's love interest. He asks for sympathy and then states that he doesn't want to "get over" the love interest. Instead of trying to move on from a lost love, he wants to remain in his gloomy, depressed state. It seems that the narrator is "in love with being sad", as an earlier commenter put it. The use of the phrase "rag and bone" is a bit puzzling. Apparently a "rag-and-bone-man" is someone who collects unwanted household scraps (such as rags and bones) to sell to merchants. So perhaps this "rag and bone sympathy" refers to scavenged bits of kindness and/or pity that the narrator seeks.
Verse 2:
"Sorrow's my body on the waves / Sorrow's a girl inside my cave"
These lines offer more metaphors for depression. I think the second line ends with "cave", not "cake", because it's closer to a rhyme with "waves" and also because it makes more sense to me. The reference to waves suggests narrator feels adrift in his sadness, at the mercy of more powerful forces. This also connects to the first line of the chorus where the narrator refers to his heart being "on the water". The "girl inside my cave" could refer to the narrator's self-enforced isolation and further emphasizes the idea of being in love with sadness, which he has chosen to portray as female. Alternatively, the cave could be the narrator's own body, suggesting a feeling of internal hollowness/emptiness and the constant presence of sadness inside of him.
"I live in a city sorrow built / It's in my honey, it's in my milk"
These lines suggest that the narrator is living in his own world (the "city sorrow built"), with his perceptions colored by depression. And again, the repeated line "It's in my honey, it's in my milk" suggests the idea of sweetness tinged with melancholy. The narrator is trapped in a cycle of self-pity where he is continually reinforcing his depressed mood.
Chorus:
The repeated chorus reiterates the central idea of the song: "I don't wanna get over you."
This seems to be about depression and falling into a state of perpetual gloom and self-pity. A more detailed analysis follows. This is just my interpretation, and is no doubt influenced by my own experiences with feeling depressed, which I see reflected in this song.
Verse 1: "Sorrow found me when I was young / Sorrow waited, sorrow won" The narrator first felt depressed when young, and over time he has given in to these feelings. Note that right away the narrator is personifying "sorrow" as an external entity that has overcome him, rather than something that comes from within. This is consistent with the narrator's portrayal of himself as a victim throughout the song.
"Sorrow, they put me on the pills / It's in my honey, it's in my milk" A reference to clinical depression - the narrator is being medicated for his condition. The specific mention of honey and milk invokes the idea of the Biblical "promised land" for the people of Israel, a land "flowing with milk and honey". This suggests that even the narrator's happiness is infused with this feeling of melancholy.
Chorus: "Don't leave my hyper heart alone on the water / Cover me in rag and bone sympathy / 'Cause I don't wanna get over you" The tone shifts slightly here from a general description to a direct address, apparently to the narrator's love interest. He asks for sympathy and then states that he doesn't want to "get over" the love interest. Instead of trying to move on from a lost love, he wants to remain in his gloomy, depressed state. It seems that the narrator is "in love with being sad", as an earlier commenter put it. The use of the phrase "rag and bone" is a bit puzzling. Apparently a "rag-and-bone-man" is someone who collects unwanted household scraps (such as rags and bones) to sell to merchants. So perhaps this "rag and bone sympathy" refers to scavenged bits of kindness and/or pity that the narrator seeks.
Verse 2: "Sorrow's my body on the waves / Sorrow's a girl inside my cave" These lines offer more metaphors for depression. I think the second line ends with "cave", not "cake", because it's closer to a rhyme with "waves" and also because it makes more sense to me. The reference to waves suggests narrator feels adrift in his sadness, at the mercy of more powerful forces. This also connects to the first line of the chorus where the narrator refers to his heart being "on the water". The "girl inside my cave" could refer to the narrator's self-enforced isolation and further emphasizes the idea of being in love with sadness, which he has chosen to portray as female. Alternatively, the cave could be the narrator's own body, suggesting a feeling of internal hollowness/emptiness and the constant presence of sadness inside of him.
"I live in a city sorrow built / It's in my honey, it's in my milk" These lines suggest that the narrator is living in his own world (the "city sorrow built"), with his perceptions colored by depression. And again, the repeated line "It's in my honey, it's in my milk" suggests the idea of sweetness tinged with melancholy. The narrator is trapped in a cycle of self-pity where he is continually reinforcing his depressed mood.
Chorus: The repeated chorus reiterates the central idea of the song: "I don't wanna get over you."
Wow, excellent analysis here! I really enjoyed reading it, thank you. I also agree 100%.
Wow, excellent analysis here! I really enjoyed reading it, thank you. I also agree 100%.
good anaylsis--you're a natural semiologist.
good anaylsis--you're a natural semiologist.